A/HRC/43/11 20. Combating trafficking in persons was a priority and the National Human Rights Strategy 2019–2022 included a section on that. Angola had joined the Southern African Development Community database. An interministerial commission to combat human trafficking had been established in 2014 and Angola was committed to the implementation of regional and international plans to combat trafficking in persons. 21. As for the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, the new government’s opening up of the political space had led to licences being granted to more than 200 newspapers. Demonstrations and meetings organized by different political and civic groups routinely took place. Important progress could also be noted on the issue of the registration of associations: during the previous four years, the number of registered national and international organizations had increased from 302 to 603. 22. In January 2019, a law on freedom of religion, belief and worship had been adopted. The law incorporated new measures aimed at safeguarding the exercise of the rights to freedom of religion, belief and worship by promoting the formal recognition of religious confessions and at the same time protecting citizens from religious practices that violated their rights. In Angola, there were 83 recognized religious confessions and 1,106 unrecognized and 77 para-ecclesiastical organizations. 23. Concerning education, the number of schools had increased by approximately 7.3 per cent from 2017 to 2019 and there had been a considerable increase in the number of teachers in 2017 and 2018, with a further increase of some 10,000 teachers predicted in 2019. The proportion of children dropping out of the education system had been reduced to 37 per cent. 24. The right to health was constitutionally guaranteed. There were more than 3,000 health units throughout the country and in the previous two years new units had been opened, including with specializations in orthopaedics and physical rehabilitation. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate was 2 per cent, the lowest in the region. 25. With regard to access to land and housing, the delegation noted that land in Angola was the property of the State and that a programme known as “My land” was under way to award land titles to rural communities. Angola had continued to promote the construction of houses throughout the country. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 26. During the interactive dialogue, 110 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 27. Timor-Leste congratulated Angola on ratifying core human rights instruments and noted the criminalization of female genital mutilation in the new Penal Code. 28. Togo thanked Angola for the presentation of its report, which highlighted progress on the protection of human rights. 29. Tunisia welcomed the national legislation and programmes adopted since the previous universal periodic review to combat corruption and promote gender equality. 30. Turkey noted the ratification of several international instruments in 2019 and praised the adoption of the new Penal Code. 31. Uganda welcomed the human rights protection initiatives, particularly the development of the National Human Rights Strategy 2019–2022. 32. Ukraine welcomed the implementation by Angola of recommendations on the protection of women’s and children’s rights and the eradication of early marriages. 33. The United Kingdom encouraged Angola to prioritize girls’ education. 34. The United Republic of Tanzania appreciated the ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 4