The Committee heard statements in the general debate on agenda item 7 made by the representatives of Benin , Canada , Costa Rica , the Dominican Republic , El Salvador , Greece ( on behalf of the European Union , and the acceding countries of Cyprus , the Czech Republic , Estonia , Hungary , Latvia , Lithuania , Malta , Poland , the Slovak Republic and Slovenia , the associated countries of Bulgaria , Romania and Turkey and EFTA country , member of the European Economic Area , Iceland , which aligning themselves with the statement , ) Japan , Mexico , Namibia , New Zealand and Venezuela . The representatives of the International Labour Organization ( ILO ) , the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights ( HCHR ) and the South African Human Rights Commission ( on behalf of National Human Rights Institutions ( NHRI ) ) made statements .