A/HRC/12/12 Page 7 28. Pakistan commended steps taken by Uruguay to improve the status of women and children and other vulnerable groups. Pakistan recommended that Uruguay (a) expedite the legislative process to create the national human rights institution, in accordance with the Paris Principles; and (b) prioritize action on the recommendations of different treaty bodies, in particular the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee against Torture. 29. Azerbaijan commended the Government for its achievements and encouraged it to increase efforts to eliminate extreme poverty and reverse underrepresentation of women and domestic violence. It raised questions about the minimum age of marriage and measures to combat human trafficking. It recommended that Uruguay (a) establish a national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles; (b) take practical steps to address the serious problems of street children and sexual exploitation of children; and (c) improve prison conditions, including the problem of overcrowding in prisons. 30. Malaysia commended Uruguay for the measures taken to address extreme poverty and destitution in the country and asked about measures to ensure a balanced distribution of resources among different groups in the country. Malaysia recommended that Uruguay: (a) step up efforts to improve the overall quality of education for children, including by providing increased budget allocations for the education sector; (b) provide more allocations for social expenditures that could sufficiently benefit women and children, in particular those from the poor, rural and vulnerable sections of society; (c) conduct more public prevention and awareness-raising campaigns on protection measures against HIV/AIDS, in particular for poor adolescents and people from vulnerable groups. 31. Sweden referred to the concerns expressed by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women over several discriminatory legal provisions in matters relating to family and marriage. It also noted the concerns expressed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child about sexual exploitation and the sale of children being growing problems in Uruguay and welcomed the information that a new bill is being discussed in this area. Sweden recommended that Uruguay (a) strengthen its efforts to ensure full equality between men and women and bring its legislation into line with the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, as well as human rights obligations and other international standards; (b) continue taking strong measures with a view to fully combating sexual exploitation and sale of children; (c) ensure that the law is strengthened to tackle impunity for crimes of sexual exploitation and sale of children. 32. Uruguay addressed the questions regarding impunity, memory and application of Law No. 15848. Uruguay produced an eight-volume report which serves as a register of the violations committed during the dictatorship. Since the current Government took over, Law No. 15848 has been so restrictively interpreted that all cases raised, without exception, have been dealt with and shown not to be covered by the statute of limitations. This has lead to prosecution of the past two dictators, as well as civilians and members of the police and the military who were involved in serious human rights violations. The first two instance sentences were handed down on 26 March 2009. In addition, a public prosecutor has argued in one case before the Supreme Court of justice that this law is unconstitutional and the executive and legislative bodies accepted this. Besides, signatures are currently being collected in order to convene a referendum that will seek to eliminate the law. A draft Criminal Procedure Code, which will substantially increase the role of victims in criminal proceedings, will be submitted.