A/HRC/19/12 human rights and National Children’s Council for the protection of children. It made a recommendation. 86. Indonesia noted that despite the internal political situation, Venezuela continued to take measures to ensure a better quality of life for its people. It also acknowledged the progress Venezuela had achieved: extreme poverty was reduced, the right to food was legally guaranteed and the level of food security was increased. Indonesia made recommendations. 87. Chile recalled that it shared with Venezuela the fact of having ratified a number of international human rights instruments and assumed a judicial and political commitment with their implementation. This was a responsibility of Governments, civil society, human rights defenders and required the participation of all political actors. Chile encouraged Venezuela to issue a standing invitation to special procedures, to strengthen guarantees for freedom of expression and information and to incorporate a human rights approach into policies on citizen security. 88. Australia recognized the ongoing efforts of the Government to strengthen the country’s legislative framework on indigenous rights and on economic and social rights. It was deeply concerned by reports on the undermined independence of the judiciary and limitations on freedom of expression and opinion. Australia made recommendations. 89. Israel recognized Venezuela’s progress in the fields of health, education and poverty reduction. It expressed concern over the Government’s interference with the exercise of certain human rights and freedoms such as the right to life, liberty and security of the person, restrictions on freedom of expression and political interference with the judicial process. It asked about measures to address labour exploitation, child prostitution and human trafficking. It made recommendations. 90. Belgium expressed concern at the prison situation and the high number of deaths that had occurred in prisons. It was also concerned about the functioning of the judiciary and that the high number of complaints on criminal cases submitted to investigation remained unsolved. Belgium was concerned at statements of Executive’s representatives that the rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights were not applicable at the national level. It made recommendations. 91. The Minister of People’s Power for Indigenous Populations, Ms. Nicia Maldonado, indicated that the Bolivarian Revolution led by Commander Hugo Chavez arrived 500 years after the European invasion to transform the excluding system into a democratic, participatory society in which the people played the leading role, one that loved peace and recognized the rights of historically excluded populations like Afro-descendant and indigenous people, farmers, women and people with disabilities. These rights had been concretized in 46 laws, thereby complying with the obligations established in international instruments: laws that ensured prior and informed consultations, intercultural and multilingual education, that translated texts into indigenous languages that were now official, created an indigenous university, university campuses, a Ministry of People’s Power for Indigenous Peoples, a health system that ensured the formation of indigenous doctors, including 1,583 community workers, 310 defenders of indigenous health, people giving vaccinations, cultural paramedics. A special format for Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples had been incorporated into the national census. Finally, Racial Discrimination Act had been adopted. 92. In conclusion, the head of Venezuelan delegation affirmed that, for Venezuela, they were convinced that there was no alternative route to the real and deep democratization of society, which could only be achieved through the effective transfer of power to the people, for the concrete realization of human rights for all Venezuelans. 12