A/HRC/26/15 Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT; in December 2011); adherence to the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty (December 2011). It also stated that, while the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OP-CRC-AC) was pending signature of approval by the Senate, the Deputy Chamber had sent International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169 (1989) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries to the Senate for approval, and the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty (ICCPR-OP 2) was being examined. 8. In relation to institutional progress, the delegation referred to, inter alia, the creation of the Human Rights Unit of the Attorney General’s Office, the election of the Ombudsperson, and the establishment of the Dominican Constitutional Court, in order to ensure the supremacy and protection of constitutional rules, the principles of international law and fundamental rights and freedoms. 9. The delegation reported institutional advances in both the health and the education system, including the programme for early childhood care “Quisqueya Empieza Contigo”, which would have an effect on more than 90,000 children aged up to 5 years and their families. 10. Changes within the Organic Act on the National Police were highlighted and it was explained that for specific cases of excessive use of force, discrimination and corruption, independent commissions would be established to evaluate the actions of law enforcement officers. The draft bill also laid down minimum rules for the use of force, in line with the basic principles that should govern it. 11. At the recommendation from the first cycle of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Germany and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the delegation reported that the Dominican prison system continued to develop, and there were currently 17 correctional centres for more than 10,000 inmates. Joint work was being carried out to integrate prisons operating under the old system into the new system, and the ultimate goal of reintegrating persons deprived of liberty once they have served their sentence. 12. The delegation made observations about a recent Constitutional Court ruling concerning an amparo legal action that had attracted the attention of the international community because of the effect it could have on the rights of those born to foreign parents under irregular conditions living in the Dominican Republic. 13. The delegation stressed that the different opinions and recommendations had been listened to and the legal alternatives available studied in depth, and that, on that basis, the Government had worked to provide the best solution to the challenges faced by the Dominican Republic regarding the registration and documentation of its citizens and the immigration control of foreign citizens. 14. Under article 184 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Tribunal is “to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution, defence of the constitutional order and the protection of fundamental rights” and that its decisions “are final and irrevocable and constitute binding precedent for the public powers and all State organs”. 15. The Government had expressed its respect for the Court’s decision and its independence, and had abided by the ruling from the strictest respect for the country’s institution. However, at the same time, President Danilo Medina had expressed the Government’s firm resolution to preserve fundamental rights and the rights acquired by all people living in the Dominican Republic. Since the beginning of his administration, the President and his Government had been committed ensuring modern and transparent 4