A/HRC/48/15 59. The State of Palestine welcomed the steps taken by Latvia to improve the situation of asylum seekers, including the adoption of a new asylum law, and with regard to business and human rights. 60. The Sudan commended Latvia for the adoption of the National Action Plan on the Implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security. 61. Timor-Leste congratulated Latvia for its universal health coverage and noted the decrease in the number of children in State institutions and the measures it had adopted to combat gender-based violence against women. 62. Tunisia welcomed the progress made in preventing violence against women, advancing gender equality and combating all types of discrimination. It also welcomed the prison sector reform and the improved conditions of detention. 63. Turkey welcomed the granting of automatic citizenship to children born to noncitizens, unless the parents chose another nationality. 64. Turkmenistan appreciated the amendments that had been made to the legislative framework aimed at ensuring gender equality and the measures taken to improve access to education for persons with disabilities and their involvement in politics. 65. Ukraine highlighted the efforts Latvia had made in the area of minority rights, its leadership in the field of gender equality, the successful completion of its judicial reform and its cooperation with the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations. 66. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland welcomed the commitment of Latvia to supporting media freedom domestically and abroad, to achieving social integration and to eliminating child statelessness. 67. Responding to questions sent in advance and questions asked during the interactive dialogue, Latvia said that a report on the recommendations received in the context of the universal periodic review would be prepared with the participation of all ministries and submitted to the Cabinet for action. 68. On the rights of same-sex couples, Latvia explained that a working group, with the participation of civil society, had been established to prepare the legal changes required in the light of the two judgments that had recently been handed down by the Constitutional Court. 69. Concerning the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Latvia noted that, while the draft law was still pending, the Ombudsman’s Office had been allocated resources to act as the national preventive mechanism. 70. Regarding the definition of torture, Latvia observed that the development of its national legislation was the result of dialogue with the Committee against Torture, whose recommendation it had implemented. 71. Latvia reiterated that the status of “non-citizen” had been introduced in order to regularize the situation of persons after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Those persons enjoyed rights that went beyond those afforded by the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. 72. Regarding a comprehensive anti-discrimination law, Latvia noted that its Constitution contained a general prohibition of discrimination and that the Constitutional Court had ruled that all Constitutional provisions had to be interpreted and applied in line with the country’s international obligations. 73. Latvia stated that it had complied de facto with the recommendation to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions. 74. Likewise, it was already using a merit-based process when selecting candidates for international positions. 6