A/HRC/18/2 Convention prohibited discrimination in article 14. Muslim women in Denmark faced prejudice in employment, because they wear a headscarf, and this was a violation to article 11 of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. It quoted article 1 of the Declaration on Social Progress and Development on discrimination. It noted prejudice against Muslim citizens as common, such as the publication of a controversial cartoon of the prophet Muhammad. It urged Denmark to comply with human rights laws to which it was party, and to take measures to provide their citizens with a better understanding of Islam by promoting acceptance of its Muslim citizens and re-establishing tolerance towards them. 270. The European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Federation commended Denmark for its constructive participation in the universal periodic review process and appreciated the positive steps taken to ensure the full equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and took note of stakeholders’ submissions indicating that Denmark required hormonal or surgical sex reassignment before legal recognition of gender identity was possible. It noted this practice breached the right to privacy and health. The Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe was of the view that these laws should be abolished and recommended that Denmark should take the steps necessary in this regard. It encouraged Denmark to include gender identity explicitly in its anti-discrimination legislation. It strongly urged Denmark to consider applying the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity as a guide to assist in policy development. 271. Save the Children regretted the fact that Denmark had not accepted the recommendations calling for the establishment of an ombudsman for children. It called on Denmark to implement the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to conduct an evaluation of the current monitoring system and to apply the findings to establish an independent body with the mandate, competence and authority to monitor the realization of children’s rights. It reminded Denmark of the Committee’s deep concerns on the issue of the age of criminal responsibility, and referred it to general comment No. 10 thereon. It urged Denmark to meet rehabilitation and restorative justice objectives in dealing with children in conflict with the law. It noted that recommendation No. 106.119 called on the Government to revise the amendments to the Aliens Act with respect to unaccompanied and separated children seeking asylum. It deeply regretted the fact that Denmark had chosen not to revise the law, and called on the Government to ensure that the best interest of the child was enforced as the guiding principle in the Act when finding a durable solution for separated children or for children in asylum seeking families. It welcomed Denmark’s acceptance that the detention of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers should only be applied as a last resort. 272. Amnesty International was disappointed that most recommendations accepted were very general in nature and that substantive recommendations had been rejected. It urged the new Government to keep those recommendations under review. It appreciated the involvement of civil society in the preparation of the national report, although key input was absent from the final version of the report, and urged the authorities to ensure that future consultations were more substantive. It welcomed Denmark’s commitment to observe the principle of non-refoulement and not to resort to diplomatic assurances to circumvent it. It noted in this regard a recent decision by the courts regarding the case of the halting of the extradition of a Danish national. It regretted the fact that Denmark had rejected recommendations to conduct an evidence-based review of antiterrorism legislation, and noted its serious concerns about unfair procedures for terror suspects in deportation proceedings and weakened legal safeguards for the protection of privacy. It urged Denmark to bring legislation on rape into line with international law, and was disappointed that Denmark had rejected the recommendation to create an ombudsman for children’s rights. 118 GE.12-17756