A/HRC/26/14 the Government. In the past, Turkish Cypriot parents had expressed their preference that their children attend the public school of their area, indicating that the measures adopted were adequate and students’ educational needs were met. Turkish Cypriot children had the opportunity to receive language lessons in Turkish. Public schools attended by a considerable number of Turkish Cypriot students provided lessons in the students’ own language, religion and culture. 108. Cyprus had been a pioneer in introducing the Law for Education and Training of children with Special Needs in 1999, setting the legislative framework that regulated all matters regarding the education of children with special educational needs who attended public schools. The Law entitled children with special educational needs to “free appropriate public education” alongside their peers and stipulated that the State was responsible for making education and schools fully accessible to them. The inclusion of children with special educational needs in the common core of education was the underlying philosophy and policy of the Ministry of Education and Culture, and was fully aligned with international declarations and tendencies such as the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education. The Commissioner for Children’s Rights, having consulted with stakeholders, had examined the application of the Law and issued a report which she had communicated to the Minister of Education and discussed in Parliament. Her recommendations were being taken into consideration in preparations for amending the current legislation. 109. The Government’s priority was to ensure equal access to education for all children living on the island. To that end, free and accessible education was offered to all pupils without prejudice based on gender, ability, language, colour, religion, political belief or ethnic background. The Policy Report for Multicultural Education promoted an intercultural policy regarding the integration of non-native speaking students with the collection and analysis of data, development of programmes, actions, language courses and teacher training. The aim of the policy was the smooth inclusion of students from all countries in the Cyprus Educational System. 110. Students from national religious minority groups could attend any public or private school of their choice. Whether they opted to attend their national school or another private school, the tuition fees and other expenses were fully subsidized by the Government. The cultural identity of Armenian, Latin and Maronite communities was safeguarded by the implementation of special programmes which were funded by the State. 111. With regard to racism and xenophobia, a multidisciplinary team of experts called the Task Force on School Violence had been established in order to provide immediate support and guidance to schools facing incidents of violence and racism. Through the team’s interventions in schools, vulnerable students received psychological support on a regular basis. Following a recommendation from the Anti-Discrimination Body, the Ministry of Education and Culture was currently drafting a Code of Conduct against Racism in schools, which was expected to contribute to a decrease in bullying and discrimination based on any form of diversity in schools. 112. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus believed that the results-oriented mechanism of the UPR, as well as its monitoring nature, could be seen as a road map for internal assessment and further improvement in compliance with international standards. Cyprus was committed to addressing the new challenges it faced in the field of human rights and to realizing the rights of all people in Cypriot society. 113. The President of the Human Rights Council brought to the attention of the delegations the rules of procedure for the preparation of the reports of the Working Group, according to which the reports were factual and must reflect the interventions made by the State under review and other delegations that took the floor. 15