A/HRC/39/6 9. Attacks against human rights defenders and social leaders continued to be one of the greatest challenges facing the country. The Government rejected all acts of violence against those groups and recognized the importance of their work in the process of strengthening democracy and the rule of law. The Government was therefore working to consolidate its policy of prevention and protection, and had implemented the new Early Warning System, the Collective Protection Route, the National Commission of Security Guarantees and the Special Investigation Unit for the Dismantling of Criminal Organizations and Conduct within the Attorney General’s Office. Nearly 4,000 social leaders and human rights defenders, 60 per cent of whom were in rural areas, were currently receiving protection through the National Prevention and Protection Programme. 10. Over the past eight years, 5 million people had been lifted out of poverty in Colombia, and 8 million children had been given access to free education in public schools. Colombia was committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. 11. Colombia recognized the challenges it faced in terms of forced displacement, recruitment of children by illegal armed actors, collective reparation of victims, investigation and punishment of those responsible for human rights violations and violence against women. The State was committed to continuing to work to meet those challenges. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 12. During the interactive dialogue, 86 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 13. Turkey recalled the importance of the peace agreement as a road map to address human rights issues in a comprehensive way. It stressed that land issues were of utmost importance in tackling the root causes of violence. 14. Ukraine welcomed the adoption of the National Strategy to Combat Trafficking in Persons and the priority given in the Strategic Plan for 2016–2020 of the Attorney General’s Office to combating murder, sexual violence and domestic violence. 15. The United States of America raised concerns about extrajudicial killings, limited accountability for human rights violations and abuses, and attacks on Afrodescendent and indigenous leaders. It requested data on the prosecution of those responsible for the “false positive” killings. 16. Uruguay praised the progress achieved in the talks with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and encouraged Colombia to prioritize the allocation of the technical, financial and human resources necessary to implement the peace agreement in accordance with the principles of transparency, participation and accountability. 17. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela called for the parties to comply with the peace agreement in order to put an end to a conflict that had caused thousands of deaths and had lasted for more than 50 years. 18. Zambia commended Colombia for its promotion and protection of human rights and its ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 19. Algeria congratulated Colombia on its determination to build a sustainable and lasting peace through the 2016 peace agreement. Algeria welcomed the mainstreaming of human rights in trade issues and the measures taken to ensure due diligence in the economic sector. 20. Angola noted that, since its previous review in 2013, Colombia had bolstered its legislative framework in order to protect and guarantee the rights of all, in particular through legislation concerning human rights and humanitarian law. 21. Argentina commended Colombia for the peace agreement, the establishment of the Commission on Truth, Coexistence and Non-repetition, and its efforts to combat impunity. 3