COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF INITIAL REPORT OF BENIN

CESCR
28th session
3 May 2002
Afternoon



Delegation Says the Government is Stepping Up
the Democratization Process



The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon concluded its consideration of an initial report from Benin, with a Government delegation stressing that Benin was in the process of democratization and the Government was doing all it could to step up its efforts to advance the process.
In response to questions raised by the Committee Experts, the delegation of Benin, led by the Minister of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights, said that the Government had constantly been endeavouring to stop the phenomenon of trafficking children.
The delegation said that each time the Government designed new measures to fight trafficking, the traffickers changed their tactics and attempted to escape prosecution. Recently, a new law had been enacted to restrict the movement of children in border areas without parental authorization; and Benin had concluded bilateral and multilateral agreements with neighbouring countries with the view to expatriating children trafficked from Benin. Thus, many children had been returned home through diplomatic channels.
An Expert asked if the price of water and electricity consumption would go up after privatization, and if the price would be affordable to the poor people. In response, the delegation said that in order to avoid an immediate increase in prices, the Government had inserted a special clause in the privatization process which prohibited price increases during a given period of time. When the country's brewery was privatized, for example, it was underlined that during the coming five years the price of beer would remain constant, the delegation added.
Benin was in the process of democratization and the Government was doing all it could to step up its efforts to advance towards a democratic State, the delegation said. The Committee could send a mission to see for itself the real situation of the country -- a "Veni, Vedi, Vici" mission.
The Committee will release its concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Benin at the end of its three-week session on 17 May.
As one of the 145 States parties to the International Covenant, Benin must submit periodic reports to the Committee summarizing its activities designed to give effect to the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Monday, 6 May, it will take up the fourth periodic report of the United Kingdom.

Response of Benin
In response to a series of questions raised by Committee Experts this morning, the members of the delegation said that the country had implemented a national action plan on education since 1991 and it was renewed in 1997.
Many of the country's enterprises had been privatized and others would follow, the delegation said. Following a programme of structuring of at least 20 enterprises, some workers had been affected and had lost their jobs, while in other enterprises workers were not affected at all. Some vital services, such as electricity, water, telecommunications and the post were not yet privatized. However, the authority of water service would be transferred to the local community.
In the public sector, wages were indexed while in the private section they were negotiated, the delegation said. In the private sector, it was up to the workers and the employers to decide, through collective bargaining, the minimum or the average wage, which had been increased in recent years.
The Government had plans to provide education to children between 14 and 15 years who were working in small-scale industries and business, the delegation said. Those children were not able to attend regular schools because of the time constraints of their work. The educational plan would create a convenient time schedule that could enable working adolescents to attend school.
On the housing policy, the delegation said that the State contributed in the construction of houses for under-privileged persons who could not afford to build houses or apartments for themselves.
The Government had been established 219 centres to host children with difficulties, particularly those affected by trafficking, the delegation said. The Government had constantly been endeavouring to stop the phenomenon of trafficking in children. Each time the Government designed new measures to fight trafficking, the traffickers changed their tactics and attempted to escape prosecution. Recently, a new law had been enacted to restrict the movement of children in the border areas without parental authorization. Any person accompanying children should produce parental or custodian authorization. In addition, Benin had concluded bilateral and multilateral agreements with neighbouring countries with the view to expatriating children trafficked from Benin. Thus, many children had been returned home through diplomatic channels.
An Expert asked if the price of water and electricity consumption would go up after privatization, and if the price would be affordable to the poor people. In response, the delegation said that friendly countries, including France, were telling the Government to privatize State enterprises. If the Government did not privatize, it was told that it would not receive money from donor counties and financial institutions. For that reason, the Government had to follow the advice of those friendly countries. However, the rise in prices was inevitable once privatization would take place. In order to avoid immediate increases in prices, the Government had inserted a special clause in the process of privatization, which prohibited price increases during a given period of time. When the country's brewery was privatized, for example, it was underlined that during the coming five years the price of beer would remain constant.
Quoting an United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report, an Expert said that in primary schools, only 60 per cent of school-age boys and 50 per cent of girls were enrolled; and among the girls only 50 per cent remained in schools after enrolment. Many girls were obliged to work in agricultural fields instead of attending schools. UNESCO's report had also indicated that girls were denied the right to education.
Children working in small enterprises were compelled to work in order to pay their parents' debts or to support them, another Expert said. Those who worked or were admitted in enterprises in the form of apprenticeship would be exhausted when they reached their late twenties. Children should be placed in schools and not in profit-making enterprises.
Answering the questions, the delegation said that Benin had nothing to hide from the world, and that was why a number of non-governmental organizations were operating in the country with the full consent of the Government. With regard to the issue of resource wasting, it was true that Benin had lost many of its experienced managers by allowing them to work elsewhere than in their own country. It would be advisable that they return home and participate in the country's development.
School girls in Benin had been exempted from school fees for the last few years, the delegation said, adding that according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the enrolment of girls had increased from 33 per cent in 1991 to 61 per cent in 1999. However, the Government was deploying additional efforts to encourage parents to send their girls to schools.
In conclusion, the delegation said that Benin was in the process of democratization and the Government was doing all it could to step up its efforts to advance towards a democratic State. The Committee could send a mission to see for itself the real situation of the country -- a "Veni, Vedi, Vici" mission.



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