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

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights today concluded its thirty-ninth session and issued its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports presented by Costa Rica, Ukraine, San Marino, Belgium and Paraguay on the efforts of those countries to implement the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

These countries are among the 157 States parties to the International Covenant 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.

On the report of Costa Rica, the Committee welcomed the recent entry into force of the Act Criminalising Violence Against Women, as well as the implementation of the Comprehensive Care Programme for Domestic Violence. The Committee regretted that indigenous communities and Afro-descendants suffered from higher levels of poverty and unemployment than the national average. The Committee urged the State party to ensure that racial discrimination be criminalised as a specific offence and punished according to the seriousness of the crime, and that acts of racial discrimination be identified and its perpetrators duly prosecuted.

With regards to the report of Ukraine, the Committee noted with appreciation the legislative measures adopted by the State party to promote equal opportunities and eliminate discrimination against women and disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups. The Committee noted with concern reports about police abuse and denial of effective protection against acts of discrimination and violence committed against ethnic and religious minorities. Among its conclusions and recommendations, the Committee recommended that the State party ensure the independence and adequate funding of the Office of the Ukrainian Ombudsman, in accordance with the Paris Principles.

Having considered the report of San Marino, the Committee welcomed the adhesion of the State party to the Hague Convention of 1993 on the protection of children and cooperation in the field of international adoption. The Committee was concerned by the lack of a global judicial framework for protection against discrimination in all its forms. The Committee recommended the State party study the possibility of revising its social security system in order to ensure that non-nationals were not excluded from certain forms of social security.

With regards to Belgium, the Committee noted with satisfaction the high quality, comprehensiveness and almost universal coverage of the social security and health care systems existing in the State party. The Committee noted that despite the existence of several bodies with a mandate to promote and protect human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, no independent national human rights institution established in accordance with the Paris Principles existed in the State party. The Committee urged the State party to ensure the correct implementation by employers of its legislation on the right to strike, so as to guarantee its consistency in law and practice with the provisions of Article 8 of the Covenant.

On the report of Paraguay, the Committee noted with satisfaction the adoption by the State party of a new Penal Code and a new Code of Penal Procedure, as well as laws on childhood and adolescence and the fight against domestic violence. The Committee was concerned by the persistence of significant gaps with regards to the effective enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights within Paraguayan society, and by the fact that, despite the economic growth of the last years, the number of people living in extreme poverty had increased in Paraguay. The Committee exhorted the State party to take all possible measures to fight the increasing phenomenon of poverty, and to improve its social development strategies.

The next session of the Committee will take place from 28 April to 16 May 2008, when it is scheduled to consider the reports of Sweden, Benin, France, India and Kenya.


Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Country Reports

Costa Rica

In its concluding observations on the second to fourth periodic reports of Costa Rica, (E/C.12/CRI/CO/4), the Committee noted with satisfaction the State party’s ratification of relevant international treaties and the adoption of a National Policy for Gender Equality and Equity, among other legal and institutional measures to promote gender equality and combat discrimination against women, in particular in the workplace. The Committee welcomed the recent entry into force of the Act Criminalising Violence Against Women, as well as the implementation of the Comprehensive Care Programme for Domestic Violence and the institutional measures adopted by the State party to offer social, legal and psychological redress to victims of this practice, including safety shelters. The Committee noted with satisfaction the State party’s efforts to promote further the cultural development for the indigenous population, including the creation of the Department of Indigenous Education in the Ministry of Education, which had contributed to the revival of indigenous languages, as well as the reflection of indigenous culture in school curricula and the adoption of programmes to promote bilingual education in the indigenous language and Spanish.
The Committee noted that the State party had not provided enough case-law which demonstrated that the provisions of the Covenant are consistently applied in practice, in spite of the fact that, according to article 7 of the Constitution of Costa Rica, international human rights treaties take precedence over domestic legislation, including constitutional provisions, and can be directly invoked in the courts. The Committee noted with concern that racial discrimination was not criminalised as a specific offence and was only punished by a fine. The Committee regretted that indigenous communities and Afro-descendants suffered from higher levels of poverty and unemployment than the national average. Additionally, indigenous communities suffered from high illiteracy rates, limited access to water, housing, health and education. The Committee was concerned about the persisting wage gap between men and women and the high unemployment rate among women. The Committee was concerned about the continuing insufficient coverage in the social pension system, particularly for the marginalised and disadvantaged individuals and groups, including domestic, agricultural and migrant workers, despite the progress made in the coverage of the national health system.
Among its conclusions and recommendations, the Committee recommended that the State party ensure that the provisions of the Covenant are directly applicable in the domestic legal order. The Committee urged the State party to ensure that racial discrimination be criminalised as a specific offence and punished according to the seriousness of the crime, that acts of racial discrimination be identified and its perpetrators duly prosecuted, that training be provided to public officials to enhance their awareness in matters of racial discrimination and that campaigns to combat racial discrimination be undertaken to sensitise the public on this issue. The Committee urged the State party to take all appropriate measures in order to ensure that the levels of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment of indigenous communities and Afro-descendants be reduced and that the indigenous communities have proper access to water, housing, health and education. The Committee recommended that the State party strengthen its efforts to promote effectively greater participation of women in the labour market and to ensure equal working conditions, including equal pay for work of equal value. The Committee called upon the State party to ensure that social security assistance was provided to all workers, in particular to persons belonging to disadvantaged and marginalised groups.
Ukraine

In its concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Ukraine (E/C.12/UKR/CO/5), the Committee noted with appreciation the legislative measures adopted by the State party to promote equal opportunities and eliminate discrimination against women and disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups. The Committee welcomed the adoption by the State party of legislation on climate protection giving effect to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Committee also noted with appreciation the recent ratification by the State party of the Revised European Social Charter, and welcomed the substantial increase of domestic funding allocated to the fight against HIV/AIDS, as well as the emphasis on HIV/AIDS prevention in the National AIDS Programme (2004-2008) of the State party. The Committee noted the favourable position of the State party concerning the elaboration of an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Committee was concerned about the Ombudsman’s reported lack of independence and lack of adequate resources, as well as its ineffectiveness in defending economic, social and cultural rights. The Committee noted with concern reports about police abuse and denial of effective protection against acts of discrimination and violence committed against ethnic and religious minorities, especially Roma, Crimean Tatars, Asian and African asylum seekers, as well as Muslims or Jews, the reluctance of the police to investigate properly such incidents, and the tendency to prosecute and sentence perpetrators of such acts under lenient criminal law provisions on “hooliganism”. The Committee also noted with concern that only few Roma can find regular employment in the State party, that the majority of employed Roma work as unskilled labourers, and that discrimination against Roma job applicants and businesses was reportedly widespread. The Committee was concerned about reports on employers obstructing the creation of independent trade unions, pressure to resign trade union membership, intimidation of trade union leaders, and the close ties between the authorities of the State party and the Federation of Trade Unions which inherited the property from the former official Soviet trade unions.

Among its conclusions and recommendations, the Committee recommended that the State party ensure the independence and adequate funding of the Office of the Ukrainian Ombudsman, in accordance with the Paris Principles. The Committee recommended that the State party consider adopting comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation and amending its Criminal Code to include provisions on racially-motivated crimes, train judges, public prosecutors and the police on the strict application of such provisions. The Committee also recommended that the State party take effective measures to combat discrimination against Roma in the field of employment and increase its efforts to reduce Roma unemployment through specifically targeted measures. The Committee recommended that the State party take urgent measures to ensure the freedom to form and join trade unions of one’s choice, prevent and punish harassment of members and leaders of independent trade unions, and to guarantee plurality and equality of trade unions in law and in practice. The Committee urged the State party to proceed with the adoption of a criminal law provision specifically criminalizing domestic violence.

San Marino

In its concluding observations on the initial to fourth periodic reports of San Marino (E/C.12/SMR/CO/4), the Committee noted with satisfaction the adoption of law number 84 in June 2004 which gave the right to both parents to transmit their nationality to their children. The Committee also welcomed the adhesion of the State party to the Hague Convention of 1993 on the protection of children and cooperation in the field of international adoption. The Committee took note with satisfaction that the right to adequate housing was a reality in San Marino, and welcomed that access to safe drinking water was guaranteed for the whole population of San Marino.

The Committee noted that, although the Covenant was part of internal law, no judgement mentioned or confirmed the direct applicability of its articles. The Committee was concerned by the lack of a global judicial framework for protection against discrimination in all its forms, and was also concerned for the lack of any penal sanction aiming to fight racism and discrimination. The Committee was concerned by certain elements of law number 42, which excluded non-nationals only in possession of a living permit from certain social benefits such as unemployment benefit in certain circumstances. The Committee was also concerned by the level of the social pension, which did not allow pensioners to enjoy a decent standard of living. The Committee was concerned by the use in judicial language of terms such as “legitimate children” and “natural children”, and by the definition of the family as contained in the report of the State party, which excluded single parent families and compromised their access to the different forms of support provided by the State party.

Among its suggestions and recommendations, the Committee encouraged the State party to ensure that national courts gave effect to the articles of the Covenant. The State party was encouraged to continue its efforts with the aim of creating a national independent human rights institution, in conformity with the Paris Principles. The Committee encouraged the State party to consider putting in place a global judicial framework against discrimination in all its forms, and to adopt penal sanctions aiming to fight against racism and discrimination. The Committee recommended that the State party study the possibility of revising its social security system in order to ensure that non-nationals were not excluded from certain forms of social security. It also recommended that the State party avoid using in judicial language concepts such as “legitimate children” and “natural children”, and asked it to consider using such terms as “children born in the context of wedlock” and “out of wedlock”. The Committee also encouraged the State party to take appropriate measures to combat HIV/AIDS.

Belgium

In concluding observations on the third periodic report of Belgium (E/C.12/BEL/CO/3), the Committee welcomed the efforts recently undertaken by the State party to combat discrimination, including the adoption of new laws on 10 May 2007 establishing a comprehensive framework to prevent and punish all forms of discrimination. The Committee noted with satisfaction the high quality, comprehensiveness and almost universal coverage of the social security and health care systems existing in the State party. The Committee also noted with satisfaction the low tuition fees applied in the university education system of the State party. The Committee welcomed the ratification by the State party of the Revised European Social Charter and the Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter Providing for a System of Collective Complaints.

The Committee reiterated its concerns relating to the lack of appropriate and effective mechanisms to ensure compliance, at the federal, regional and community levels, with the State party’s obligations under the Covenant. The Committee noted that despite the existence of several bodies with a mandate to promote and protect human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, no independent national human rights institution established in accordance with the Paris Principles existed in the State party. The Committee noted that despite the measures adopted by the State party to enhance its legal and institutional mechanisms aimed at combating racial discrimination, de facto discrimination against foreigners and persons belonging to ethnic and national minorities, in particular migrant workers and members of their families, members of the Muslim community and Roma was still widespread among some sectors of the population, especially in the fields of employment, housing and access to public places such as restaurants and bars. The Committee noted with concern the significant obstructions to the exercise of the right to strike, arising from the practice of employers to start legal proceedings in order to obtain a ban on certain strike-related activities, as well as from the possibility that workers may be dismissed as a result of their participation in a strike.

The Committee urged the Federal Government of the State party to establish appropriate and effective mechanisms at the federal, regional and community levels to ensure the implementation of the Covenant. The Committee recommended that the State party consider the establishment of an independent national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles, and also recommended that the State party continue strengthening its legal and institutional mechanisms aimed at combating discrimination. The Committee urged the State party to ensure the correct implementation by employers of its legislation on the right to strike, so as to guarantee its consistency in law and practice with the provisions of Article 8 of the Covenant. The Committee recommended that the State party adopt specific legislation criminalising acts of domestic violence. The Committee urged the State party to adopt all appropriate measures to ensure that persons belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, such as asylum seekers and undocumented migrant workers and members of their families, have access to adequate health care facilities, goods and services, on an equal basis with legal residents of the State party.

Paraguay

In concluding observations on the second and third periodic reports of Paraguay (E/C.12/PRY/CO/3), the Committee noted with satisfaction the adoption by the State party of a new Penal Code and a new Code of Penal Procedure, as well as laws on childhood and adolescence, the fight against domestic violence, and other laws repressing the commerce and broadcasting of pornographic material featuring minors. The Committee also noted with satisfaction the ratification by the State party of the Inter-American Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities. It noted with satisfaction the action of the Public Defender with regards to economic, social and cultural rights, in particular with regards to the rights to education, work and health. Other motives of satisfaction for the Committee included the introduction of programmes creating alternate penal conditions for minor delinquents; the creation of a Secretariat for women’s conditions; as well as the efforts made by the State party to control the deforestation of its territory.

The Committee was concerned by the persistence of significant gaps with regards to the effective enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights within Paraguayan society. The Committee was particularly concerned by the fact that, despite the economic growth of the last years, the number of people living in extreme poverty had increased in Paraguay. The Committee also deplored the slowness of agrarian reform in the country. The Committee noted with concern the discrimination under which women in Paraguay suffered, in particular rural women, who were subject to multiple forms of discrimination.

The Committee exhorted the State party to take all possible measures to fight the increasing phenomenon of poverty, and to improve its social development strategies, such as by reinforcing coordination between the different social institutions, and by implementing evaluations allowing to measure the impact of programmes. With regards to agrarian reform, the State party should intensify its efforts with regards to a restitution of traditional lands to the indigenous peoples. The Committee also recommended that the State party adopt efficient measures to fight against the discrimination suffered by girls and female adolescents in the education system, to encourage the access to employment markets by women, and to improve their working conditions. The Committee urged the State party to adopt a law on the principle of equality between the two sexes, and recommended that the authorities ensure that the activities of the Secretariat for women’s situation bore fruit in the form of a concrete improvement in women’s lives.

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The Committee is composed of the following Experts: Mohamed Ezzeldin Abdel-Moneim (Egypt), Clement Atangana (Cameroon), Rocio Barahona Riera (Costa Rica), Virginia Bonoan-Dandan (Philippines), Maria Virginia Bras Gomes (Portugal), Azzouz Kerdoun (Algeria), Yuri Kolosov (Russian Federation), Jaime Marchan Romero (Ecuador), Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay (Mauritius), Eibe Riedel (Germany), Andrzej Rzeplinski (Poland), Walid M. Sa'di (Jordan), Philippe Texier (France), Alvaro Tirado Mejia (Colombia), Barbara Elaine Wilson (Switzerland), and Daode Zhan (China).

The Chairperson of the Committee is Mr. Texier. Vice-Chairpersons are Mr. Barahona Riera, Mr. Pillay and Mr. Sa’di. The Rapporteur is Mr. Rzeplinski.

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