A/HRC/52/12 years, presidential pardons had been granted to more than 119,000 prisoners, of whom 58,000 had been released. 21. The Minister of Justice also emphasized the importance attached by Algeria to social and economic rights, noting that one third of public revenue was dedicated to welfare payments and that the education system catered for 11 million school pupils and 2 million students. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 22. During the interactive dialogue, 122 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 23. Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United Republic of Tanzania, the United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, the Congo, France, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Finland, Costa Rica, Gabon, the Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, the Russian Federation, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Somalia, Cuba, the Sudan, Spain, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, the State of Palestine, Sweden, Switzerland, the Syrian Arab Republic, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda and Mali. The complete version of the statements can be found in the webcast archived on the United Nations website. 4 24. During the interactive dialogue, several issues were also raised by the delegation of Algeria. 25. Article 87 bis of the Criminal Code was fully compatible with the relevant Security Council resolutions, at least on two points, namely the means used to commit a terrorist act and the purpose of a terrorist act. The lack of international consensus in this regard and the resolutions themselves gave States a degree of discretion over these matters. Article 87 bis defined certain acts as terrorist offences; however, judges, who enjoyed complete independence, could convict or acquit persons accused of such offences after a fair trial in which their right of defence had been fully ensured. 26. Algeria had been the first country in the region to declare a moratorium on the death penalty, in 1993. It was a de facto abolitionist country. For some offences, death sentences were commuted to prison terms by presidential pardon. 27. The Associations Act, which was reflected in the 2020 Constitution, included new provisions that enshrined the freedom to form civil associations simply by making a declaration to that effect. The preliminary draft organic act placed great importance on associations and would strengthen their role at the national level. 28. Algeria participated in good faith in Human Rights Council procedures. The small number of communications that had been received had been handled promptly and in a timely manner, and detailed and appropriate responses had been provided. Algeria had issued invitations to some special procedure mandate holders, but the visits had not taken place on account of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. They had been rescheduled for 2023 and 2024. 4 4 Available at https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1x/k1xq17lxal. GE.22-27762