A/HRC/12/13 Page 5 Violence against Women was established in 2003. The first Yemeni Conference on Combating Violence against Women was held in 2001. 14. Regarding the so-called “tourist marriage”, a limited number of cases occurred in a prior period and ended after the authorities took strict measures to hold accountable those who were behind them. The adoption by the House of Representatives of the age of 17 as the minimum marriage age has made the marriage of minor girls to a Yemeni or non-Yemeni a crime subjecting its perpetrator to legal penalty. The law will be implemented upon completion of its issuance procedures. 15. Six years ago, the Gender Strategy was approved to realize equality in practice between men and women. 16. The delegation affirmed that reports of persecution of religious minorities in Yemen are incorrect. For example, Jewish Yemeni citizens enjoy all the rights provided for in the Constitution and the laws in force as other Yemeni citizens. With regard to allowing international organizations to visit detention places, the Government provides all the facilities required to carry out the visits with the utmost ease. The Government is always keen to strengthen cooperative relations with the various international mechanisms and bodies of the Human Rights Council, including the Special Rapporteurs on human rights issues. In this context, the Government considers the visit requests submitted to it and is very keen to provide all the facilities which contribute to the success of these visits. Yemen received, in previous years, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and agreed to the visit of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, and the Independent expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia visited Yemen. 17. The delegation reported that the Council of Ministers issued a decision to study the establishment of an independent national human rights body in accordance with the Paris Principles and that Yemen is seriously moving forward in this direction. 18. The delegation stressed that despite the significant efforts made in the context of the promotion and protection of human rights, there are still many challenges and difficulties, most notably limited resources and assets, poverty, negative social and cultural heritage, emergency challenges such as terrorism and the continued flow of refugees from the Horn of Africa, particularly from Somalia. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 19. During the interactive dialogue 62 delegations made statements. A number of delegations thanked the Government for the comprehensive national report, prepared through a large consultation process; for its comprehensive presentation; and for responses to advance questions that allowed for an assessment of Yemen’s human rights promotion and protection efforts. Many delegations also welcomed the ratification by Yemen of most international human rights instruments and the establishment of the Ministry of Human Rights in 2003. Recommendations made during the interactive dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 20. Algeria noted the establishment of commissions mandated to align national law with international conventions ratified by Yemen. Algeria welcomed Yemen’s commitment to establishing an independent national human rights commission in accordance with the Paris Principles.