A/HRC/43/16 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Egypt applied all the guarantees with regard to the imposition of the death penalty that had been indicated in previous reports, in accordance with international standards. The death penalty was not imposed on persons under 18. Verdicts in absentia were repealed once the convicted person was arrested, and a retrial was obligatory. 25. The enjoyment of all human rights was guaranteed by the Constitution and law, and due process was not suspended under the counter-terrorism law. Declaration of a state of emergency was constitutionally restricted to ensure its justification, in line with article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and its renewal required a twothirds majority in parliament. Despite a rising number of terrorist attacks since 2013, a general state of emergency had only been declared in 2017 after the attacks on churches had heightened, killing and injuring over 200 citizens. 26. Laws Nos. 178, 179 and 180 of 2018 had been enacted to ensure the independence and professionalism of the media and the Media Workers Syndicate, prohibiting their subjugation to any punishment in fulfilling their roles. Those laws eliminated deprivation of liberty penalties for those working in the media, except in cases of incitement to violence, discrimination or defamation. Accordingly, no censorship on the media was permissible, except in times of war or general mobilization, although even then it was limited and no suspensions or closures were admissible. 27. Egypt considered its stance vis-à-vis the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as part of its regular reviews of the status of ratification of international treaties. 28. With regard to preventing trafficking in persons, including for domestic work and organ removal, training programmes had been expanded in close coordination with NGOs, channels for reporting such crimes had been improved, a number of social protection programmes had been launched to support the most impoverished families, hence helping to protect them from falling victim to such crimes, and the national referral mechanism to support victims had been upgraded to ensure the provision of necessary legal, physical and psychological assistance to victims, and to facilitate their admission in shelters. Dedicated judicial circuits had also been created, as well as a specialized department in the Ministry of the Interior and units in all governorates to combat the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons, so that the effective prosecution of perpetrators was ensured. The Ministry of Manpower and Migration monitored the working conditions of children over 15, women, persons with disabilities and foreigners, to protect them from exploitation. Cooperation with other African States had been enhanced, and 12 bilateral agreements had been signed to regulate the status of Egyptian domestic workers abroad and ensure that they did not become victims of trafficking. In addition, a new law had been drafted on the employment of domestic workers, and was currently under consideration by the parliament. 29. Fighting corruption, promoting tolerance and peaceful coexistence, empowering women, young persons, the elderly and persons with disabilities, and safeguarding the rights of the child were national priorities. The Government vowed to safeguard human rights, ensuring equal rights and opportunities to all citizens without discrimination, and endeavoured to fulfil its people’s aspirations and to protect their safety and human dignity, despite economic challenges, terrorist threats and regional turmoil. 30. Egypt extended its appreciation to the President of the Human Rights Council and Member States for taking part in the review by raising questions and proposing recommendations. Egypt expressed its deep conviction in the role of the universal periodic review in improving the human rights situation worldwide. II. Conclusions and/or recommendations 31. The following recommendations will be examined by Egypt, which will provide responses in due time, but no later than the forty-third session of the Human Rights Council: 6