A/HRC/48/8 went hand in hand. Several laws had been passed to strengthen the fight against extremism and terrorism while ensuring respect for human rights. 18. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, respect for human rights had remained a core concern for the Belgian authorities. Measures had been adopted, on the basis of recommendations made by experts, to pursue a legitimate objective by means that were necessary, proportionate, non-discriminatory and transparent. 19. To conclude, the Minister mentioned a long tradition of collaboration with civil society. All Belgian authorities consulted and listened to civil society on a regular basis. The Government undertook to continue its dialogue with civil society as part of its follow-up to the universal periodic review. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 20. During the interactive dialogue, 119 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 21. The Republic of Korea, Romania, the Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, the State of Palestine, the Sudan, Switzerland, the Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Zambia, Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, the Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Togo, Uganda and Uzbekistan made statements. The webcasts of the full statements are available online.4 22. In response to the statements made by member States, the Minister confirmed that Belgium was committed to ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment as soon as possible. The only reason for the delay was that it wished to establish a national preventive mechanism that would be operational as soon as possible after ratification. 23. There had been a marked decrease in prison overcrowding in Belgium since 2013: the average rate of overcrowding had fallen from 21.4 per cent for the period 2011–2012 to 11 per cent for the period 2015–2020. The Government was continuing its efforts in that area. 24. The national action plan against racism was being actively prepared and would include measures covering all aspects of society. 25. With regard to Islamophobia, religion was a protected characteristic under Belgian anti-discrimination legislation. Religious or philosophical belief was one of the discriminatory criteria that had been taken into account during the collection of data relating to equality in Belgium. The fight against Islamophobia was the subject of many measures taken by the federated entities and would also be an integral part of the national action plan against racism. 26. Regarding the ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Belgium attached great importance to ensuring respect for the rights of migrant workers. However, the approach set out in the Convention that consisted of conferring equal rights on all migrant workers, 4 4 See http://webtv.un.org/search. GE.21-09330