A/HRC/42/9 to the police. Access to health care was not denied to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. 41. In concluding, the delegation reiterated that Dominica remained fully committed to the universal periodic review process and fulfilling its obligations under treaties to which Dominica was a party. As a small island developing State, Dominica was challenged by a lack of adequate financial and technical resources, which had been further exacerbated by the economic devastation caused by the recent storms. 42. Dominica expressed its gratitude to the troika, the universal periodic review secretariat and the Working Group for the support received during the process and reaffirmed its commitment to the Human Rights Council. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 43. During the interactive dialogue, 52 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 44. Uruguay acknowledged efforts made by Dominica to ratify international human rights treaties and commended the reform of the Sexual Offences Act, which classified spousal rape as a crime and strengthened penalties against perpetrators of acts of sexual violence. 45. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela noted with satisfaction the project on housing initiated after Hurricane Maria and commended Dominica on its universal access to education, which was free of cost from kindergarten to secondary school, and noted that school transportation service was offered in rural areas. It welcomed the support that had been offered to vulnerable groups, such as to elderly persons and persons with disabilities, including through the programme “Yes we care”. 46. Algeria welcomed the efforts that Dominica had made towards the protection of children, including the measures adopted in May 2018, despite the financial and economic constraints it had faced following the 2015 and 2017 natural disasters. 47. Argentina congratulated Dominica for the establishment of the “Yes we care” programme, through which free assistance and home care was provided to the elderly. 48. Australia commended Dominica on improvements to its approach to development and human rights, and on its commitment to democracy. 49. Azerbaijan noted that natural disasters had created major challenges for Dominica. It welcomed measures taken by Dominica for the protection of human rights, in particular the ongoing efforts to adopt national action plans to that end. It also took positive note of the human rights training activities conducted in 2015 for government officials in Dominica. 50. The Bahamas noted the challenges faced by Dominica, in particular with regard to the catastrophic natural disasters suffered during the past five years, which had severely affected the State’s financial and human resources. It commended Dominica for strengthening systems for the prevention of and response to gender-based violence through the amendment of the Sexual Offences Act and collaboration between the Bureau of Gender Affairs and UN-Women. It also noted positively measures to secure the human rights of the indigenous Kalinago people through the creation of the Ministry of Kalinago Affairs, and commended Dominica on the concrete steps taken to create the world’s first climate-resilient country. 51. Barbados commended the national report of Dominica. It appreciated the State’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, in particular in relation to the rights of women and girls. It welcomed efforts aimed at combating gender-based violence, strengthening the social protection network and seeking to safeguard the overall security of citizens by promoting resilience to climate change. 52. The Plurinational State of Bolivia expressed appreciation for the adoption of the Climate Resilience Act of 2018, which was aimed at helping overcome climate-related 6