A/HRC/14/37 601. With respect to recommendations 36 to 38, the delegation stated that the 1997 Constitution clearly guaranteed the right not to be tortured and protection against unlawful arrests and detention. The challenge was how to implement these laws effectively. The Gambia was therefore committed to the protection of these rights, and efforts were being made to overcome this challenge. A human rights unit had been established to register complaints of such violations by security agents. Any complaints were investigated and the culprits dealt with accordingly. A human rights training component had also been introduced into the police training curriculum. The Ministry of the Interior and the Office of the Inspector-General of Police also worked in collaboration with other stakeholders to strengthen the capacity of the police with a view to improve the level of professionalism in the execution of their duties. 602. Concerning recommendation 47, an investigation was ongoing. However, the challenge faced by the investigators was that the two key witnesses were outside jurisdiction and all efforts to reach them had proved futile. The Gambia welcomed the assistance of the international community to enable it to close the investigation as soon as possible. The findings of the investigation would be made public once it had been concluded. 603. The independence of the judiciary was guaranteed by the Constitution, as indicated in paragraph 61 of the report of the Working Group, and paragraphs 36 to 38 of the national report. To ensure that those guarantees were strengthened, a code of conduct had been enacted for judicial officers for the first time, in 2009. The conditions of service and remuneration had also been improved tremendously during the 2008/2009 budget year. Thus, recommendations 44 and 45 were already being implemented. 604. Similarly, the rights and activities of human rights defenders were recognized and protected by law. This was manifested by the uninterrupted operations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, for more than two decades, the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, and the Institute for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, to name a few. Thus recommendations 48 and 49 were already being implemented; the allegation of lack of protection of human rights defenders was unfounded. 605. Recommendation 50 was also being implemented. Under the Education for All and the Fast Track initiatives, the Gambia was one of the leading African countries to lead in the Millennium Development Goals with respect to free primary school enrolment and gender parity. However, providing access to free education to all at all levels of education was a long-term process that could only be achieved progressively, on the basis of the availability of resources, and would need the intervention and assistance of the international community. 2. Views expressed by Member and observer States of the Council on the review outcome 606. Senegal recalled that, in February 2010, it had expressed its appreciation for the will of the Gambia to continue efforts to protect and promote human rights. In the light of the numbers of recommendations accepted by the Gambia, Senegal renewed its appreciation and encouraged the State to spare no effort to implement these recommendations. Senegal expressed its will to support the Gambia in this regard. 607. Algeria very much appreciated the acceptance by the Gambia in February 2010 of three of its recommendations, as well as the acceptance of the fourth recommendation it had made relating to the strengthening of the institutional human rights framework. Algeria welcomed the remarkable progress achieved by the Gambia in considering the 50 recommendations pending. Algeria commended the Gambia for its participation in the universal periodic review despite the lack of financial and material resources; this was a GE.12-17781 139