A/HRC/18/7 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, held its eleventh session from 2 to 13 May 2011. The review of Seychelles was held at the 5th meeting on 4 May 2011. The delegation of Seychelles was headed by Ronny James Govinden, Attorney General of Seychelles. At its 9th meeting, held on 6 May 2011, the Working Group adopted the report on Seychelles. 2. On 21 June 2010, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Seychelles: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Pakistan. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to resolution 5/1, the following documents were issued for the review of Seychelles: (a) A national report submitted and a written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/11/SYC/1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/11/SYC/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/11/SYC/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by the Czech Republic, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was transmitted to Seychelles through the troika. These questions are available on the extranet of the universal periodic review (UPR). I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. In his introductory remarks, the head of the delegation stated that, in preparing the national report, the Government had organized a workshop on the implementation of human rights in Seychelles in January 2011, at which the Minister of Foreign Affairs had stated: “Today’s workshop is a clear indication that we are not prepared to rest on our laurels. We want to continue to improve. And for us to improve, we must go out to partners and ask them for their points of view.” 6. Seychelles stated it was the smallest African State, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean composed of 115 granitic and coralline islands, with a vast Exclusive Economic Zone, a population of 88,310 people and 455.3 km2 of land mass. Creole, English and French are the official languages. 7. Seychelles gained independence in 1976. Multi-party democracy was established under the 1993 Constitution. Seychelles indicated that free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections were held every five years, supervised by the independent Electoral Commissioner. The President was elected by direct universal suffrage for five years, for three terms maximum. The National Assembly had 34 members, 25 elected under a direct universal suffrage and 7 by proportional representation. 8. Seychelles has achieved most of the Millennium Development Goals and has high social indicators, even comparable to some members of the Organization for Economic 3