A/HRC/48/5 responsible for the protection of human rights had been set up and existing ones had been strengthened. 8. The Niger had adopted several policies, programmes and strategies, with accompanying action plans, aimed at improving the living conditions of its people. The implementation of the policies, programmes and strategies had helped the country gain more than 10 development points and contributed to reducing the poverty rate from 48 per cent in 2014 to 40.2 per cent in 2019. Extensive reforms to the judiciary had made it possible to significantly increase the rate of court coverage, from 59.70 per cent in 2018 to 64.18 per cent in 2019, an increase of 4.48 percentage points. 9. In terms of cooperation with special procedures, the Niger had received visits from the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants (1–8 October 2018), the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (29 January–4 February 2017) and the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (9 and 11 July 2018), which had freely conducted their missions and prepared their reports. The Niger had also overcome all the delays in submitting all its initial and periodic reports to the treaty bodies of the United Nations and the various African entities. 10. The de facto moratorium on the death penalty was still being observed, with no death row inmates having been executed since 2016. The Government was actively pursuing consultations with all national stakeholders with a view to reaching a consensus on the abolition of the death penalty. 11. The new authorities’ political will to combat impunity had been clearly stated, as evidenced by the inaugural speech of the President, who had declared in substance that he would wage a relentless struggle against offenders, whatever their political affiliation, social status or family ties. 12. The gross primary school enrolment rate had risen from 63.5 per cent in 2010 to 73 per cent in 2020. The secondary school enrolment rate had increased from 17.8 per cent in 2010 to 34.4 per cent in 2020. The rate for the vocational and technical education sector had risen from 29.65 per cent in 2010 to 37.65 per cent in 2020. At the higher education level, four new universities had been established and the number of students had increased from 19,784 in 2010 to 89,674 in 2020. 13. Regarding the right to health, efforts had been made to improve access to health care and services, service delivery, preventive care and the availability of products and human resources. The health coverage rate was 52.74 per cent in 2020. The Niger had experienced its first case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on 19 March 2020 and had taken early measures to effectively manage the crisis, with the adoption of a comprehensive response plan comprising 38 measures and directives, including a state of health emergency. The plan had produced convincing results, resulting in a stable evolution of the pandemic, with a recovery rate of 95 per cent, a transmissibility coefficient that had moved from 5 to 0.17 per cent and a case fatality rate of 5.68 per cent. 14. Despite all the progress made by the Niger during the period covered by the report, many challenges still stood in the way of the effective realization of human rights. These included terrorism, organized crime, environmental issues, the high population growth rate, the status of women, sociocultural constraints and the massive influx of refugees and other migrants. 15. Terrorism, with its attendant killings, arson, destruction of property, displacement and enforced disappearances, was perhaps the most worrying of those challenges. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 16. During the interactive dialogue, 95 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 17. Zambia thanked the Niger for its comprehensive national report and made recommendations. GE.21-09329 3