A/HRC/29/6 national human rights institution and intensify efforts to fight more effectively against torture. It welcomed the establishment of a country office by OHCHR. 102. The delegation of Guinea said that the establishment of the Ministry of Human Rights and Public Liberties was an important step as far as the protection of human rights was concerned, although it was not enough to solve all problems relating to the violation of those rights. According to the delegation, the Government was endeavouring to improve the human rights situation, despite the burden of its political past and sociocultural attitudes. 103. The delegation announced that the following month national consultations on human rights would be held in order to take stock of the main problems that existing not only at the civil and political, but also at the economic and sociocultural levels. 104. The delegation said that the Government had decided to include human rights education in school curricula, ranging from primary school to university. 105. Regarding the problem of violence against women, the delegation said that an observatory had been set up in that respect. It added that such violence was intolerable for all those who valued human rights and those fighting for gender equality. 106. The delegation also announced the forthcoming opening of a national workshop on impunity, a problem that should not be confined to the will of public authorities, which were still in gestation in Guinea. 107. The delegation announced the establishment of an interministerial committee responsible for drafting periodic reports for submission to treaty bodies, with the support of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Another committee had been put in charge of following up the recommendations made during the UPR. 108. On the question of national reconciliation, the delegation noted that Guinea had expressed its political will by instituting an interim committee for national reconciliation. The Ministry of Human Rights and Public Liberties was the Government’s focal point for the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, and the fund gathering effort continued in order to support the work of that committee. 109. As far as torture was concerned, the delegation pointed out that Guinea had made considerable progress. It explained that only quite recently, the practice had been widespread in Guinean society but had come to be seen as a shameful act. It added that all those responsible for acts of torture should be punished severely, and it was planned to add a definition of torture in the Criminal Code that was in line with the provisions of article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The delegation confirmed that it was also necessary to train the defence and security services in that respect so that they were more respectful of citizens’ rights. 110. With regard to parity, the delegation noted that according to Guinean legislation at least 30 per cent of those included on lists of candidates had to be women. It added, however, that the aim was not merely to mention women on the lists, but also to ensure that they were duly elected. 111. With regard to the rights of assembly and demonstration, the delegation said that Guinea was working to strengthen its legal framework with a view to improving the exercise of those rights. Measures included, in particular, training political party activists in civil participation and citizenship. The delegation indicated that the State intended to punish all those responsible for violence, agents of the defence and security forces and demonstrators alike. 112. With regard to prisons, the delegation said that the Ministry of Human Rights and Public Liberties had been able to visit all the prisons in the country and that the main problem was prison overcrowding, due to the fact that the existing prisons dated back to 12 GE.15-07505