COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCLUDES THIRTY-FIFTH SESSION

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concluded today its three-week fall session by adopting its concluding observations on the reports of Slovenia, Austria, Uzbekistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Libya which were considered during the session.

These countries are among the 151 States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which are required to submit periodic reports to the Committee on efforts to implement the provisions of the treaty, which entered into force in 1976.

Among the positive developments in the initial report of Slovenia, the Committee noted with satisfaction the State party’s efforts to fulfil its obligations under the Covenant and the protection generally afforded to economic, social and cultural rights in Slovenia. The Committee was concerned that, despite the various measures taken to improve the status of women, they continued to be at a disadvantage in society. Among other things, the Committee recommended that the State party consider adopting a national action plan in the field of human rights, in accordance with paragraph 71 of the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The Committee called on the State party to take effective measures to combat trafficking in persons, particularly trafficking in women and children, including by ensuring that those responsible for such trafficking were prosecuted.

Concerning the third periodic report of Austria, the Committee noted with satisfaction that half of the ministers of the federal government were women, who were in charge of key ministries. The Committee welcomed the comprehensive programmes that the State party had adopted to combat domestic violence and human trafficking in, and sexual exploitation of, women and children. The Committee noted with concern that the Covenant was not directly applicable in the State party and that the rights recognized in the Covenant could not directly be invoked by individuals in courts. The Committee called on the State party to continue and intensify its efforts to promote tolerance and respect for cultural diversity, through school education, training of police officers and other State employees, and awareness-raising campaigns aimed at the general public.

With regard to the initial report of Uzbekistan, the Committee welcomed the creation of the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the National Human Rights Centre with competencies on economic, social and cultural rights. It also welcomed the measures taken by the State party to promote equality between men and women. The Committee was concerned about the reported lack of independence of the judiciary in the State party. It was also concerned about the revival of traditional stereotypes in relation to the role of women in society and the reappearance of phenomena like polygamy and forced marriages. Among its recommendations, the Committee encouraged the State party to take all measures necessary to ensure that all persons under its jurisdiction enjoyed the economic, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Covenant without discrimination. The Committee further recommended that the State party take urgent measures to prevent and combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Concerning the initial report of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Committee noted with satisfaction that the competent courts of the State party, as well as the former Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina, had largely resolved cases concerning the return of property lost during the armed conflict to original owners. The Committee was concerned that, despite the progress made by the State party in combating trafficking in persons, there continued to be a lack of qualified medical and psychological personnel with sufficient knowledge about the needs of trafficking victims. Among its recommendations, the Committee urged the State party to ensure the justiciability of the Covenant rights in domestic courts, and to intensify its efforts to ensure the sustainable return of returnees to their home communities by ensuring their equal enjoyment of the Covenant rights, especially in the fields of social protection, health care and education.

As regards the second periodic report of Libya, the Committee noted with satisfaction that the State party had the highest literacy and educational enrolment rates in North Africa, and welcomed the high rates of female students in schooling. The Committee was concerned that 28 per cent of the population did not have sustainable access to an improved water source. It also expressed deep concern about domestic law prohibiting the use of other languages than Arabic in many fields. Among its recommendations, the Committee urged the State party to strengthen its efforts to improve training programmes on human rights and on the Covenant, in particular for the judiciary, and other actors responsible for the implementation of the Covenant. The Committee further recommended that the State party consider adopting measures ensuring that Amazigh persons had adequate opportunities to learn their mother tongue.

During the session, the Committee adopted its General Comments number 17 and 18 on article 15.1 “c” of the Covenant on the right to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author, and on article 6 of the Covenant on the right to work.

The next session of the Committee will take place from 1 to 19 May 2006 in Geneva when it will consider reports from Monaco, Liechtenstein, Canada, Mexico and Morocco.

Concluding Observations on the Initial Report of Slovenia

Among the positive developments in the initial report of Slovenia, the Committee noted with satisfaction the State party’s efforts to fulfil its obligations under the Covenant and the protection generally afforded to economic, social and cultural rights in Slovenia. The Committee also noted that the Covenant had been incorporated into domestic law and could be invoked in the country’s courts. It was pleased that the institution of the Ombudsman was functioning well and that the Ombudsman was competent to submit complaints concerning human rights to the Constitutional Court. The Committee welcomed the amendment to article 14 of the Constitution banning discrimination between men and women, the entry into force in 2002 of the Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Act and the establishment of the Equal Opportunities Office. The Committee observed with satisfaction that there were few restrictions on the right to join a trade union and the right to strike in either the private or the public sector in Slovenia, and that members of the armed forces and the police also enjoyed those rights. The Committee further welcomed the State party’s ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

The Committee was concerned that, despite the various measures taken to improve the status of women, they continued to be at a disadvantage in society, particularly with regard to access to employment, equal pay for equal work, the size of their retirement pension and their involvement in decision-making, and the limited number of women in high-level public positions. The Committee remained concerned about the large number of unemployed young persons, members of minorities and persons with disabilities. It was also concerned that sexual harassment in the workplace was not classified as a specific offence and for this reason victims might not be adequately protected. The Committee was concerned that nationals of the former Yugoslavia had been “erased” as their names were removed from the population registers in 1992, as a result of which they had lost their Slovene nationality and their right to reside in the State party. The Committee observed that the situation entailed violations of those persons’ economic and social rights, including the rights to work, social security, health care and education. The Committee noted with concern that trafficking in women and children was a serious problem in the State party, which was a country of origin, transit and destination for the trafficking of women and children. The Committee regretted the lack of specific legislation to combat that phenomenon, as well as the low number of enforcement measures.

The Committee recommended, among other things, that the State party consider adopting a national action plan in the field of human rights, in accordance with paragraph 71 of the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The Committee urged the State party to take measures to combat discrimination between indigenous and non-indigenous Roma and to guarantee access without distinction to Roma children in school. The State party was called upon to take measures to guarantee that education was provided also in the mother tongue of minorities. The Committee urged the State party to adopt effective measures aimed at overcoming regional disparities in its programmes for the labour market development and employment as well as promoting equal access to welfare benefits and social services in different regions. The Committee urged the State party to take the necessary legislative and other measures to remedy the situation of nationals of the States of the former Yugoslavia who had been “erased” as their names were removed from the population registers in 1992. The Committee called on the State party to take effective measures to combat trafficking in persons, particularly trafficking in women and children, including by ensuring that those responsible for such trafficking were prosecuted. The Committee encouraged the State party to consider adopting specific legislation rendering domestic violence a criminal offence, and also offering to judges training, as currently provided for police officers, to raise awareness of the criminal nature of domestic violence.

Concluding Observations on the Third Periodic Report of Austria

Concerning the third periodic report of Austria, the Committee welcomed, as positive developments, the publication, in February 2005, by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Finance, of strategic guidelines for Austrian engagement with international financial institutions reinforcing the need for coherence between the human rights approach and the policies of international financial institutions. It noted with satisfaction that half of the ministers of the federal government were women, who were in charge of key ministries such as external relations, interior, justice, social affairs, education and health and women affairs. The Committee also welcomed the comprehensive programmes that the State party had adopted to combat domestic violence and human trafficking in, and sexual exploitation of, women and children.

The Committee noted with concern that the Covenant was not directly applicable in the State party and that the rights recognized in the Covenant could not directly be invoked by individuals in courts, as reflected by the absence of court decisions containing references to the Covenant. The Committee expressed its deep concern about the persistence of racist and xenophobic attitudes among some sectors of the population. The Committee regretted that none of the Austrian constitutional laws contained a provision on gender equality. It noted with concern that, despite the recent amendment of the Federal Law on Equal Treatment extending its scope of application to all working environments, women were disproportionately represented in poorly paid part-time jobs and often received lower remuneration than men for equal work. It was also concerned about the fact that the wages fixed in certain collective agreements reportedly fell far below and sometimes do not even reached 50 per cent of the average net wage in the labour market. The Committee was concerned about the lack of childcare facilities for children under the age of three years and of effective measures to facilitate the re-entry of women into the labour market following parental leave.

The Committee recommended that the Sate party consider the adoption of a comprehensive national human rights action plan and the establishment of a national human rights institution. The Committee called on the State party to continue and intensify its efforts to promote tolerance and respect for cultural diversity, through school education, training of police officers and other State employees, and awareness-raising campaigns aimed at the general public. Further, the Committee recommended that the State party adopt measures to enforce the principle of equal pay for equal work, as well as enact legislation to strengthen the protection of persons working under atypical employment contracts. While noting the principle of neutrality of the State in the collective bargaining process, the Committee urged the State party to ensure that any wages negotiated in collective agreements should secure workers and employees a decent living for themselves and their families. The Committee recommended that the State party consider amending its legislation to ensure that foreign workers who were not nationals of a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area had the right to stand for election to work councils.

Concluding Observations on the Initial Report of Uzbekistan

With regard to the initial report of Uzbekistan, the Committee welcomed the creation of the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the National Human Rights Centre with competencies on economic, social and cultural rights. It also welcomed the measures taken by the State party to promote equality between men and women, including the establishment of the Women’s Committee of Uzbekistan and the setting-up of a minimum quota of 30 per cent for women candidates for Parliament elections. Moreover, the Committee welcomed the full and disaggregated information provided by the State party on the vaccination programmes carried out in the State party; the adoption of the National Personnel Training Programme to improve the quality of education and the use of interactive methods of instruction in the learning process; and the information that public education in the State party was free and compulsory until the completion of secondary education and that it was conducted in seven languages.

The Committee was concerned about the reported lack of independence of the judiciary in the State party. It was also concerned about the revival of traditional stereotypes in relation to the role of women in society and the reappearance of phenomena like polygamy and forced marriages. The Committee was concerned about the persistent reports on the situation of school-age children obliged to participate in the cotton harvest every year who, for that reason, did not attend school during that period. The Committee was deeply concerned that 28 percent of the population—or about 6.7 million people—were living below the poverty line and were unable to meet their basic food needs, two-thirds of whom lived in rural areas. The Committee was concerned about the degree of environmental degradation in the country, which had an extremely negative impact on the health of the whole population, in particular women and children.

Among its recommendations, the Committee encouraged the State party to take all measures necessary to ensure that all persons under its jurisdiction enjoyed the economic, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Covenant without discrimination. The Committee called upon the State party to ensure that the compulsory residence registration system (propiska) would not infringe upon the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. It recommended that the State party adopt specific anti-discrimination legislation and increase awareness about international anti-discrimination standards among judges and other members of the legal profession.

The Committee encouraged the State party to ensure that women and men enjoyed equal access to all paid positions, and encouraged the State party to ensure that the minimum wage enabled workers and their families to enjoy an adequate standard of living and that the minimum wage standard was thoroughly enforced. The Committee encouraged the State party to adopt specific legislation on domestic violence, and to consider domestic violence as a criminal offence. It urged the State party to criminalize trafficking in persons, and to continue to take other measures to combat that phenomenon. It also urged the State party to integrate economic, social and cultural rights into its poverty reduction strategy, and to allocate sufficient funds for its implementation. The Committee further recommended that the State party take urgent measures to prevent and combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Concluding Observations on the Initial Report of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Concerning the initial report of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Committee noted with appreciation the adoption by the State party, in 2003, of the Law on the Protection of National Minorities, which recognized all 17 national minorities that existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and of the Law on Gender Equality containing, inter alia, a comprehensive definition of gender-related violence and establishing an Agency for Gender Equality at the State level. The Committee noted with satisfaction that cases concerning the return of property lost during the armed conflict to original owners had largely been resolved by the competent courts of the State party, as well as the former Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Committee also noted with appreciation that priority was given to preventive health strategies at the entity and cantonal levels, e.g. through the training and the promotion of an active role of family doctors providing primary health protection and advising patients on health risks.

The Committee expressed its deep concern that returnees, in particular those belonging to ethnic minorities, were often denied access to social protection, health care, school education for their children and other economic, social and cultural rights, thereby impeding their sustainable return to their communities. The Committee was concerned that, despite the progress made by the State party in combating trafficking in persons, there continued to be a lack of qualified medical and psychological personnel with sufficient knowledge about the needs of trafficking victims. The Committee was deeply concerned about the extent of poverty in the State party, especially in rural areas and among the vulnerable groups. The Committee was deeply concerned about the practice of “two schools under one roof,” whereby common premises were either divided or being used at different times to teach separate curricula to children belonging to different ethnic groups, and about the trend in some locations to build separate schools for the respective ethnic groups. The Committee expressed its grave concern about the fact that 80 per cent of Romani children did not attend school.

Among its recommendations, the Committee urged the State party to ensure the justiciability of the Covenant rights in domestic courts, and to intensify its efforts to ensure the sustainable return of returnees to their home communities by ensuring their equal enjoyment of the Covenant rights, especially in the fields of social protection, health care and education. The Committee also urged the State party to increase its efforts to combat unemployment through special targeted programmes, including programmes aimed at reducing unemployment among youth, women, especially female heads of households. It recommended that the State party take effective measures to ensure that employers respect their contractual obligations towards their employees. The State party should also ensure that victims of sexual violence suffered during the armed conflict of 1992-1995 obtained the status of civilian war victims. The Committee urged the State party to ensure the right of the Roma people to repossess their pre-armed conflict property, to guarantee security of tenure to inhabitants of Romani settlements and to ensure that adequate alternative housing or compensation is provided to the Roma people and to pre-armed conflict tenants who had been evicted from their settlements and homes.

Concluding Observations on the Second Periodic Report of Libya

As regards the second periodic report of Libya, the Committee welcomed the State party’s accession to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and noted with satisfaction that the State party hosted a technical assistance mission of the International Labour Organization in July 2005, with the aim of fostering the fulfillment of its obligations under several ILO social security conventions. The Committee noted with satisfaction the delegation’s statement that women might now travel abroad freely. It also noted with satisfaction that the State party had the highest literacy and educational enrolment rates in North Africa, and welcomed the high rates of female students in schooling.

The Committee was concerned about the absence of legislative measures to prohibit racial discrimination, and that Libya did not have a law on asylum seekers and refugees, and that in the absence of a legal protection framework, the effective guarantee of refugees and asylum seekers’ rights, in particular their economic, social and cultural rights, were seriously undermined. It noted with concern that 28 per cent of the population did not have sustainable access to an improved water source. It was also concerned that improvements achieved in the North of the country in terms of access to safe water had not yet been made available to the Amazigh population, in particular in the regions of Nefoussa and Zouara. The Committee was deeply concerned about reports that HIV/AIDS had increased since 2000, and that an estimated 90 per cent of recent adult infections were the result of injection drug use. The Committee expressed deep concern about domestic law prohibiting the use of other languages than Arabic in many fields, as well as prohibiting the registration of non-Arabic names for newborn children.

Among its recommendations, the Committee urged the State party to give full consideration to its previous concluding observations. The Committee invited the State party to include information concerning case law on the application of the Covenant in its next report. It recommended that the State party strengthen its efforts to improve training programmes on human rights and on the Covenant, in particular for the judiciary, and other actors responsible for the implementation of the Covenant. Further, the Committee recommended that the State party consider establishing an independent national human rights institution, in accordance with the Paris Principles, and to ensure that independent non-governmental organizations for the promotion of human rights freely operated there. The Committee recommended that the State party adopt legislative and other measures to prohibit racial discrimination, especially against Black Africans. The Committee urged the State party to respect and protect freedom of information and expression in the State party, including on the Internet, to enable all persons under its jurisdiction to take part in cultural life and enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications. The Committee further recommended that the State party consider adopting measures ensuring that Amazigh persons had adequate opportunities to learn their mother tongue or to have instruction in their mother tongue, that their access to media be facilitated, and that they be granted the right to use their language in their relationship with the administration.

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