A/HRC/18/2 Singapore, Singapore partially withdrew its 1995 reservation to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Furthermore, Singapore intended to accede to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the end of 2012. 458. Singapore also assured its commitment to the fight against trafficking in persons and to the rights of victims. The Government worked closely with a network of nongovernmental organizations, hospitals and schools to ensure appropriate assistance, and was engaging several foreign embassies to strengthen partnership and coordination to counter trafficking in persons. Singapore also looked forward to working closely with the antitrafficking units of other ASEAN countries. It was in the process of developing a national plan of action to step up efforts to fight trafficking. 459. With regard to children and women’s rights, Singapore confirmed that it was committed to implementing the recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child, consistent with its treaty obligations, noting that several recommendations received during the universal periodic review affirmed Singapore’s efforts in this area. In particular, Singapore had made further progress in enhancing the legal protection of children by means of the recent amendments made to the Children and Young Persons Act relating to the licensing of children and young persons’ homes. Similar progress had been made in enhancing the legal protection of women in the amendments to the Women Charter, made in January 2011, with the aim of mitigating the impact of divorce on women. 460. Concerning the recommendations relating to racism and racial discrimination, Singapore stated that racial and religious harmony was of paramount importance to Singapore and that the Government would continue to support civic and community initiatives in this area. It also referred to its response, which had since been circulated as a document of the session, to the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance following his visit to Singapore in April 2010. Singapore took the well-being of migrant workers seriously and was continually reviewing regulations to refine employers’ responsibilities. For example, recruitment regulations had been recently tightened to reduce migrant worker debt in Singapore. 461. Lastly, the delegation acknowledged the role of civil society organizations in Singapore’s follow-up to the universal periodic review, and stated that the Government appreciated their tireless efforts. 2. Views expressed by Member and observer States of the Human Rights Council on the review outcome 462. Viet Nam commended Singapore’s positive reaction to many of the recommendations made, including three of its own, and welcomed Singapore’s efforts to implement them. In particular, it highlighted the efforts to continue to strengthen the harmony between different ethnic and religious groups, to take steps to accede to international human rights instruments, and to establish a process for the follow-up to recommendations. Viet Nam encouraged Singapore to continue to implement the recommendations in close cooperation with United Nations mechanisms. 463. Brunei Darussalam congratulated Singapore on its constructive engagement with the United Nations human rights system and its continued commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights. It commended Singapore for the efforts made in this area and for sharing its best practices in the fight against trafficking in persons. Brunei Darussalam would continue to work closely with Singapore as a regional partner through ASEAN. 146 GE.12-17756