A/HRC/39/9 and the Act on Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities had also been amended. Those efforts had been further strengthened by the second national action plan on persons with disabilities. 24. At the international level, Germany had continued to promote human rights in its bilateral relations and in multinational forums, particularly the United Nations. Germany had been a key supporter of OHCHR. The extensive humanitarian engagement undertaken by Germany had led to the implementation of human rights such as the rights to water and sanitation, to education and to housing. 25. The focus of the human rights-based approach in development policy was premised on the structural causes of social exclusion and on poverty, leading to the promotion of the rights of disadvantaged sections of the population. Important pillars of development policy included the empowerment of the population, especially women. 26. Germany was firmly committed to promoting responsible business that would respect human rights in its global supply chains. In that regard, a National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights had been developed. In 2020, a comprehensive report would evaluate the general implementation of the Plan by all stakeholders, including the Government. 27. Germany took specific measures to fulfil its obligation to protect human rights defenders in accordance with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 28. During the interactive dialogue, 109 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 29. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela expressed concern about structural racial discrimination and about the use of harmful practices against people with disabilities. 30. Viet Nam was encouraged by the initiatives Germany had taken to promote gender equality, particularly the enactment of legislation. 31. Zambia commended Germany for the positive steps it had taken to protect refugees’ rights. It expressed concerns about underreporting and low prosecution and conviction rates for gender-based violence cases. 32. Afghanistan valued the inter-State cooperation and development assistance provided by Germany for human rights. 33. Albania commended Germany for ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Convention), the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention), and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. 34. Algeria commended Germany for its efforts in ensuring birth registration and for the development of the National Action Plan against Racism 2017 and National Plan of Action to implement the Convention on Persons with Disabilities. 35. Andorra shared the concerns of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that the majority of pupils with disabilities were educated in separate institutions for children with special needs. 36. Angola welcomed the adoption of the National Action Plan against Racism. 37. Argentina noted the measures that had been taken to combat racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, and measures to protect migrant and asylum seekers. 38. Armenia welcomed the adoption of action plans to strengthen the rights of children and to combat racism. It noted efforts to assist victims of human trafficking. 4