COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS HOLDS DISCUSSION WITH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon held a discussion with non-governmental organizations on the implementation of the Covenant in four of the five countries under review during this session, namely Turkey, Republic of Moldova, Germany and the Russian Federation.

During the discussion with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), representatives from NGOs in Turkey noted that dams were being built without the prior consultation of affected communities, villages were being destroyed and cultural ways of life were also in danger. People were also being forcibly removed from their land and they were not receiving proper compensation for it. There were also huge gaps in gender equality between men and women, with low levels of participation of women in the workforce, high levels of domestic violence and double discrimination faced by Kurdish women based on language and ethnicity.

Regarding the Republic of Moldova, speakers raised the issue of discrimination against elderly persons as well as stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. Women were underrepresented in the public and political life in the country, including the employment sector, Roma were discriminated against in various sectors from healthcare to education and people with disabilities, despite some positive changes in governmental attitudes, still faced discrimination in most areas of life. Speakers also raised the issue of the lack of reproductive rights for women in the country.

Turning to the situation of economic, social and cultural rights in Germany, NGO representatives raised the issue of poor conditions in German nursing homes, the inadequacy of the social safety net, increasing hunger and malnutrition among school age children in the country, and inequality that continued to exist between East and West Germany. Several speakers raised the issue of the diminishing social safety net with pensions and unemployment benefits being cut and fees for universities being increased. This had led to an overall diminishment in the quality of life in the country and a growing gap between rich and poor.

Regarding economic, social and cultural rights in the Russian Federation, speakers said that the indigenous peoples of Russia suffered from low life expectancy, high child mortality rates, high rates of social diseases and high suicide rates compared to the majority Russian population and there was insufficient legislation guaranteeing access of indigenous peoples to natural resources. Another speaker said migrant workers and homeless people faced discrimination in accessing their economic, social and cultural rights, they generally lacked access to justice and they often faced extortion by police. They were often the victims of xenophobic attacks and other crimes, which went unreported and unpunished.

There were no representatives from non-governmental organizations in Yemen present.

The next public meeting of the Committee will be at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 3 May when it will begin consideration of the initial report of Turkey (E/C.12/TUR/1).

Presentations by Non-governmental Organizations

Turkey

With regards to Turkey, representatives from FIAN International said that Anatolia was facing unprecedented water pressures and up to 2 million people faced displacement due to the building of hydroelectric power plants and dams. Forced evictions needed to be stopped immediately, the unique biodiversity and cultural heritage of Turkey needed to be preserved and the full participation of civil society and the local population needed to be ensured. The Turkish Government had not held consultations with people and communities who would be affected by the building of eight dams along a particular river. These dams would produce energy for companies far away and have no positive impact for the people in the 86 villages in the small province. Even those people who had received some compensation for their expropriated land had not received enough to resettle or start new businesses. In addition, the State party was starting construction on dams before feasible resettlement plans were in place so it was unclear whether a large majority of those affected would be resettled and where. Some plans called for people to be resettled in places that were completely inappropriate and uninhabitable.

A speaker read a statement on behalf of a herding community in Turkey whose livelihood depended on goat and sheep herding. They had been forced to end their nomadic way of life and had settled down in an area, but now they were under threat from dam construction which barred them from watering their animals or letting them graze.

Representatives from Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights raised concerns about gender equality in Turkey. Across the country, women and women’s rights had barely seen any growth. Women’s participation in the labour market was low and they earned only 57 per cent of what men earned for the same work. There were no provisions for childcare that would allow women to work as from birth until the age of 5 children were considered to be in the full time care of their mothers and there was no paternity leave for fathers. There were also very few shelters for women who were victims of domestic violence and there was a lack of access to reproductive health services. Government programmes also reinforced gender stereotypes such as women as caregivers and homemakers. Kurdish women endured further discrimination due to geographical and ethnic factors, in addition to gender factors. The Turkish Government did not recognize religious or ethnic minorities, despite the fact that the Kurds made up 25 per cent of the population and spoke their own language and had their own culture. Kurdish women spoke Kurdish and not Turkish and this language barrier enforced their isolation and poverty. Kurds had been the victims of enforced migration and disappearances and armed conflict which had turned Kurdish women’s lives upside down and inflicted psychological stress on them. They lacked access to education and their participation in the workforce was only 6 per cent. They also suffered from domestic violence at higher rates than the rest of the population.

In a discussion with the NGO representatives from Turkey, a Committee Expert asked whether cultural barriers would undercut the application of laws. You could have all the laws in the world, but if the cultural barriers persisted the laws would be ineffective. Another Committee Expert asked if there was any way to manage the building of dams because people needed water and countries needed energy so water had to be rationally managed. Were the representatives asking that dam building be regulated by law or did they want a moratorium on dam building completely? Another speaker asked for clarification on whether there had been any consultations with persons affected by the dams. Also, the State seemed to have given no compensation to persons affected by the dam building. Was this in fact the case? Regarding the rights of women in Turkey, did they want a separate law on gender equality or could it be added to an existing law?

In response to these questions, the NGO representatives said that the current legislation did not require private companies to conduct an environmental impact assessment or hold consultations with affected communities before, during or after the building of dams. These dams were a governmental priority so the projects were fast tracked. Speakers said they were not against dams, but felt at the very least they should be built based on the best practices espoused by the World Commission on Dams.

Republic of Moldova

Concerning the Republic of Moldova, representatives from the National NGO Coalition said they were concerned that existing laws did not fully protect the economic, social and cultural rights of vulnerable groups such as older people, people living with HIV/AIDS, gays and lesbians and ethnic minorities such as the Roma. Elderly people made up 15 per cent of the population in the Republic of Moldova and they were severely affected by poverty and lived in a state of constant crisis. Pensions were inadequate and below the subsistence level. Also, many people worked in the informal sector and they would have no access to social security when they reached old age. Elder abuse was underreported in the country and elderly people were often the victims of discrimination, including in the healthcare sector. The Government should increase pensions to provide an adequate standard of living; the Government should also ensure people working the informal sector had access to social security pensions, and it should assure access to physical health for older people.

People living with HIV/AIDS often had their HIV status disclosed by family doctors and their right to privacy was often violated. People with HIV/AIDS and their children experienced stigma and discrimination in education, housing, healthcare and employment.

According to a 2010 study, there were strong homophobic attitudes in the Republic of Moldova and there was no legislation for the effective protection against discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The speaker wanted the Government to adopt a comprehensive, inclusive anti-discrimination including on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Women were underrepresented in the public and political life of the country, including in the workforce and in elected positions. Women faced higher unemployment than men and were more likely to lose their jobs in an economic downturn. Domestic violence was also an issue, with few cases being prosecuted and inefficient implementation of protection orders by authorities.

The Roma faced widespread discrimination and stigmatization, including in healthcare, education, employment and housing. Persons with disabilities, despite some positive changes, still suffered from the lack of a clear mechanism regarding employment and vocational training and placement. Educational segregation of children with disabilities led to social exclusion and lack of opportunities.

A representative of the Centre for Reproductive Rights raised the issue of the lack of access to reproductive and sexual education in schools, affordable contraceptive and abortions. The speaker told the story of a woman sentenced to 20 years in prison after she suffered a miscarriage which her doctors reported as a late term abortion.

Germany

Regarding Germany, a representative from Diakonisches Werk pointed out the deterioration of the positions of low income groups after changes to the social benefits structure. The Constitutional Court in Germany had ruled that the State needed to maintain benefits at a level that ensured an adequate standard of living, and the State had not met this obligation.

A representative from the Forum Pflege Aktuell said that the State needed to act quickly to ensure the dire situation in nursing homes was addressed. There were thousands of nursing home residents who received insufficient care and lacked sufficient food and liquids. Increasing poverty and malnutrition was increasingly affecting children and hunger in schools was not an isolated incidence. Half of pupils frequently came to school without having had breakfast and they did not receive breakfast in school either. Children of poor parents were no longer able to participate in social life and the gap between rich and poor was increasing. Children should be provided breakfast and lunch in school and more childcare facilities should be made available as well as measures taken to prevent hunger and neglect of children.

A speaker from FIAN International brought to the Committee’s attention the need to establish equal living conditions in the whole of Germany and to solve the East German pension problem. The deterioration of the social security systems needed to be addressed as well as the passivity of German courts in implementing the Covenant’s rights. Another speaker from FIAN International raised concerns about refugees and asylum seekers who were subject to restrictive residency policies that restricted the area in which they could live, sometimes to as little as 30 kilometres. This restricted their access to education and legal assistance, among other things. Illnesses were frequently not treated as preventive services. There were also restrictions on the rights to work and professional training.

A representative from Intersexuelle Menschen e.V. said that intersex people experienced human rights violations due to insufficient implementation of laws and obligations. They should have access to healthcare and genital mutilation of intersex people must end.

A speaker from Aktion Transsexualitat und Menschenrecht (ATME e.V.) said that transsexual people were still treated as if they had psychological problems and they had to undergo tests to be identified as the gender they practiced. These gender stereotypes had to end.

A speaker from the German Catholic Bishops’ Organization for Development Cooperation spoke about the need for human rights impact assessments in European Union agricultural trade and policies. These policies impacted the right to food in developing countries as foods were exported at costs far below the costs of production through the use of subsidies. This undercut small scale producers in developing countries and had implications for world food prices and food stability. The European Union was asking developing countries to open their markets to their imports so this was why there was a need for these human rights impact assessments. Another speaker raised the issue of export promotion schemes for German companies and extra-territorial obligations of the State in countries where its companies operated abroad.

Russian Federation

With regards to the Russian Federation, a representative from LIENEP said that the indigenous peoples of Russia were recognized in the constitution. The basis of life for most of these peoples was a close link to nature, but they were among the most marginalized and unprotected groups in the country. These groups suffered from low life expectancy, high child mortality rates, high rates of social diseases and high suicide rates compared to the majority Russian population. There was insufficient legislation guaranteeing access of indigenous peoples to natural resources.

A speaker from the International Federation for Human Rights drew the Committee’s attention to two vulnerable groups, namely migrants and homeless people. These two groups faced discrimination in accessing economic, social and cultural rights and they generally lacked access to justice and often faced extortion by police while crimes against them went unpunished. They were often the victims of xenophobic attacks, which went unreported and unpunished. They also faced abuse and exploitation by employees and had no access to healthcare. Roma migrants suffered double discrimination as an ethnic minority and as migrants. The number of homeless people had been increasing over the years and it was nearly impossible to obtain residency and registration permits which impacted a number of rights and freedoms recognized by the Covenant such as the right to identity papers, employment and social security.

Follow-up Questions by Committee Members

A Committee member asked for more information on residency requirements in the Russian Federation. Also, could more data could be provided on migrants and trafficking in persons? The Expert also asked for more information on abortion laws in the Republic of Moldova as the information provided was not clear.

Another Expert asked about human trafficking in the Republic of Moldova and what was being done to combat this.

Replies from NGO Representatives

Replies from the non-governmental organization representatives would be provided in writing or later in the week during lunch briefings with Committee members.


For use of information media; not an official record

ESC11/003E