A/HRC/43/11 10. There had also been considerable evolution in the legal framework for the promotion and protection of human rights, notably with the recent approval in January 2019 of the new Penal Code, which contained numerous innovative measures. 11. Angola had recently ratified important human rights conventions, notably the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, the Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of noninternational armed conflicts, the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. 12. Concerning national human rights institutions, the Office of the Ombudsman was an independent public entity and, in general terms, was in line with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) with regard to its competences, responsibilities and mandate as set out in its statute and in the Constitution. Therefore, as in other countries, the Office of the Ombudsman of Angola played the role of national human rights institution. 13. During the period under review, Angola had submitted many reports to the treaty bodies and had no overdue reports pending. Moreover, in 2016, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa had visited Angola. 14. Article 214 of the new Penal Code reinforced the principle of equality and nondiscrimination, punishing with imprisonment those who discriminated on the grounds of race, colour, ethnicity, place of birth, sex, sexual orientation, illness, physical or mental disability, belief or religion, political or ideological beliefs, social status or origin, or any other grounds. 15. The fight against corruption and organized crime was a top priority for the President. A strategic plan to prevent and combat corruption had been launched in December 2018. Throughout the reporting period, awareness-raising and best-practice campaigns had been carried out and systematic action had been taken against persons alleged to have committed acts of corruption. Over 600 cases of corruption, money-laundering and embezzlement were either under investigation, before the Attorney General’s Office, in respect of which 10 judgments had already been issued, and others were undergoing trial. 16. At the level of the justice system, implementation of justice and law reforms were expected to lead to the creation of 60 county courts, 14 of which were already fully operational. These courts brought justice closer to the citizens. 17. Some 200,000 foreigners were in Angola in a regular situation, 60,000 of whom were refugees, which meant that refugees enjoyed the same rights as Angolans under the law. In 2017, during a conflict in the Kasai area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, more than 30,000 people were welcomed into Angola. Through a tripartite agreement between the Governments of Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, an organized repatriation scheme began to be implemented in October 2019. 18. Since 2013, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights had developed a series of actions and campaigns to ensure the birth registration of all citizens, as a result of which over 8 million newborn citizens were registered during the period 2013–2018. 19. Torture and degrading treatment were prohibited by the Constitution and the new Penal Code provided for sentences of between one and six years in prison for those convicted of the crime of torture. During 2012–2016 more than 1,000 officers had been sanctioned and 262 agents had been punished during 2017–2019 through disciplinary and criminal sanctions. In order to avoid overcrowding in the pretrial phase, magistrates had applied non-custodial precautionary measures such as house arrest. The average rate of prison overcrowding was of only 3 per cent, with the highest incidence recorded in Luanda. 3