A/HRC/12/2 page 7 New York in 2009. Appreciating that capital punishment had not been applied since 1981, it strongly recommended its abolition. It recommended ratification of ICCPR-OP 2 and that the revision of the Criminal Procedure and Criminal Codes be used to tackle the question of the death penalty. Concerned about persistent discrimination against women and regretting that polygamy had not been abolished, it highly recommended that the Family Code be brought into line with international instruments. It urged the Government to respond to the Human Rights Committee’s request to submit information within one year on the follow-up to its recommendations in 2005 on female genital mutilation. It encouraged all rebel groups to release children serving in their ranks and to end further recruitment in accordance with international obligations. 25. France congratulated the State for signing the Declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity. France noted instances of extrajudicial execution of criminals and delinquents, gangland killings and a racketeering practice by members of the defence and security forces, and asked about measures to end impunity in that regard. France recommended that even if the death penalty had not been applied for many years, any reference to it should be removed from the penal code, as should the crime of witchcraft. Citing numerous reports of torture and ill-treatment in prisons and police stations, France said that those practices must end and the State should sign and ratify CAT and its Optional Protocol (OP-CAT). France recommended rapid accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED) and rapid review of the Family Code to abrogate all discriminatory provisions against women. 26. Burkina Faso welcomed the Government’s determination to respect international human rights commitments. It welcomed normative and institutional initiatives to guarantee women’s rights. It recommended that the State continue efforts to ensure human rights, despite the variety of real constraints facing it, and that this effort be supported by OHCHR as well as the whole international community. 27. The United States of America asked about measures to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers in Government-sanctioned self-defence militias. It recommended that the Government (a) demonstrate its firm commitment to preventing the unlawful recruitment of child soldiers by directing the Ministry of the Interior to systematically monitor self-defence militias; and (b) prevent extrajudicial killings by members of the military, including the presidential guard, and bring to justice those members of the military responsible for extrajudicial killings. 28. Mexico asked the donor community to work with the State to identify key programmes to achieve stability and development. Mexico enquired about reforming the governance and electoral process and re-establishing the authority of the State and security in the provinces, especially in the north. Mexico recommended (a) extending an open and ongoing invitation to all human rights mechanisms to visit the country; (b) continuing national efforts in the area of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and the reform of institutions involved in security and promotion of the rule of law; (c) ratifying CAT, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and CRC-OP-AC; and (d) taking all necessary measures to combat the recruitment and use of children in hostilities, including by releasing children associated with the conflict.