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

CESCR
25th session
25 April 2001
Morning





Venezuelans Feel Protected and Enjoy
Constitutional Rights, Delegation Says



The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning concluded its consideration of a second periodic report of Venezuela on how that country was implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The delegation of Venezuela told the 18-member Committee that economic, social and cultural rights were broadly guaranteed to the Venezuelan population; by virtue of the country's Constitution, all Venezuelans felt protected and their rights enshrined in the Covenant were respected. During the last two years, there had been significant economic growth, and the rate of inflation had been brought down.

The delegation also said that in the educational sector, the Government had extended educational programmes affecting all citizens. The new Government had also improved health services and had made them accessible to all.

The Committee will issue its conclusions and recommendations on the report of Venezuela towards the end of its three-week session which will end on 11 May.

Venezuela is among the 144 States parties to the Covenant and as such it must submit to the Committee periodic reports on its efforts to implement the provisions of the treaty. A nine-member Venezuelan delegation was on hand during three meetings to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee members.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will take up the initial report of Honduras (E/1990/5/Add.40).


Discussion

In response to questions raised yesterday afternoon, the Venezuelan delegation said that the figure of 40,000 cases of sexually abused children indicated by one of the Experts did not correspond to the reality and the work done to protect them. Venezuela had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in August 1999 and its provisions had been incorporated into domestic legislation. In addition, the municipal council, which was composed of public servants and civil societies, had been closely working to implement the rights of children. Children were protected from any form of violence, including sexual abuse.

The Yanomami indigenous people had been victims of a series of incidents in the past, the delegation said. The Yanomami people had their own cultural identity and no one should intervene with it. The Government had taken measures to repair past wrongs committed against the Yanomami people.

There was a shortage of housing in the country and the Government had taken steps to improve this problem, the delegation said. The Government had provided loans to workers to build their own houses. A programme of urban development had also been implemented to reduce the shortage of housing. The Government had obtained loans from the World Bank to invest in housing construction.

During the floods last year, the Government had been busy in transferring the victims to safe areas, the delegation said. The Government had provided shelter and other social services to persons evacuated from the flooded areas.

Teenage pregnancy was a social problem and the Government had taken measures to protect youth from such incidents, the delegation said. Clandestine abortions were not carried out because of the absence of a tradition of abortion. The Catholic tradition of the population did not permit the practice of such acts. Clandestine abortions, if found out by the authorities, could lead to penal sanctions. Through schools, sexual education was taught together with the teaching of prevention of violence. In Venezuela, there was intensive social care for teenage pregnancy, the delegation said. A child born of a teenage mother would receive adequate health care and education as it grew up.

The Government of Venezuela had made a great effort to reduce maternal maternity which was 20 per thousand in 2000, the delegation said. Similarly, the rate of infant mortality had been reduced to the minimum.

Oil spills could damage the environment, the delegation said. Civil cases had been brought against those responsible for spilling oil either on land or in the sea. The cargo ship which had spilled oil in Venezuelan territorial waters had been brought to justice and had paid for the damage inflicted. A legal provision on environmental crimes had also been established by the Government of Venezuela.

Experts raised a number of new questions. An Expert said that at least 20 per cent of the Venezuelan population lived below the poverty line and asked what additional measures had been taken by the Government. Another Expert said that according to the report, Venezuela’s indigenous population was one of the groups with the worst living conditions, together with the frontier population and the population of the marginalized areas of the major cities. Had the Government taken supplementary steps to ameliorate the living conditions of these people? With regard to HIV/AIDS, the report had also indicated a reduction in mortality rates relating to AIDS; it also mentioned that the Government was distributing drugs free of charge. Did the Government receive international assistance in obtaining these drugs?

What steps had been taken by the Government to clean the oil spills other than punishing those who damaged the environment, an Expert asked. The delegation was also asked if the Government had taken concrete anti-tobacco and anti-alcohol programmes to reduce incidents related to such phenomenon. Many Experts alluded to the situation of health in Venezuela with reference to patients' obligation to buy their own medication and materials in advance to their hospitalization.

In response to the questions raised by the Committee members, the delegation said that Venezuela had been through an economic crisis in the past and at present it was in a transition period. With the help of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Venezuela was able to establish a poverty line in order to determine an index on poverty.

Poverty was a prime concern to the Government of Venezuela which believed this issue to be related to the international economic situation, the delegation said. The previous legal system had shortcomings with regard to poverty. However, the current situation was in line with the legal system which would deal with the eradication of poverty. The Government had classified poverty as atrocious, critical and extreme. The Government had applied to the international community for assistance in the different sectors of the country's development.

The measures taken by the national housing council had reduced the demand for housing, the delegation said. At present, the situation was under control and housing availability had been increased.

In 1999, the budget was reformed with an increase in health allocations, the delegation said. In the year 2000, the President had stated that health care would be free of charge. At present, situations had been created in which health care could be received free of charge. In addition, the Government had decentralized health services and had transferred responsibility of hospital management from the federal to the regional states.

When the patient hospital service was established in Venezuela, 80 per cent of the population lived in rural areas while 20 per cent lived in urban areas, the delegation said. At present, it was the opposite. With the health care reforms introduced in 5,000 centres, an integral care system had been introduced, modifying the concept of fragmented health service of the past which concentrated on mothers and children.

As part of its commitment to the environment, the Government of Venezuela completely avoided the use of leaded petrol in the country, the delegation said. In addition, the Government believed that the environment was not only a national issue but it considered it to be of international concern; thus the Government had taken measures against the degrading situation of the environment.


During the last few years, educational and health allocations had been cut down, resulting in the degradation of social services to the population, the delegation said. With the new regime in place, the liberal system of the past had been put to an end with the introduction of increased social security schemes.

Responding to allegations of extra-judicial killings in Bolivar region, which was alluded to by one of the Experts, the delegation said it was not true. The forced eviction in the Bolivar area for the purpose of gold mining was also exaggerated.

The Government had launched a programme for adult education as a priority task, the delegation said. Every effort had been deployed to reduce the rate of illiteracy in the country. The rate of illiteracy and of persons without any education in Venezuela was 8.9 per cent of the total population aged 15 or older. In addition, about one million students had been introduced in the regular school system. Students were not obliged to produce identity documents or birth registration or certificates of enrolment; they were not compelled to wear uniforms as in the past; and no fee was paid for enrolment. However, 34 per cent of the school-age children were still outside the school system. The highest budget allocation went to education.

In order to reduce health hazards attributed to tobacco and alcohol, the Government had taken measures, including campaigns in schools, the delegation said. In addition, a campaign against violence in schools and in the streets had been carried out by the Ministry of Education.

Concerning the protection and promotion of indigenous cultural heritage, the Government had progressively began to set up among the indigenous population a bilingual education system in which their culture was reflected, the delegation said. A flexible teaching method had been adopted to facilitate indigenous children attending school.

Follow-up questions were raised by Committee members: What progress had been accomplished since the bilingual education system was initiated in 1996? What proportion of the indigenous population participated in the educational system? What was the future plan on the right to education?

In response, the delegation said that the Government had decided to give priority to education; and there was no question that cuts in education could be shifted to other non-education areas as it was done under the past governments. Out of the total educational budget, 30 per cent went to university while 70 per cent was allocated to other educational services. The possibility of investing in education had also been opened. For that reason, private schools had been flourishing in the country.

The decision to drop enrolment fees had been met with opposition by some head masters who were dismissed consequently, the delegation said. It had been the policy of the Government to provide education without any fee involved in it.

Asked if the Government was providing quality education and if it was also implementing the Dakar Framework on Education for All, the delegation said that the Government had used every possibility to provide quality education for all. An educational supervisory system had been established to audit the teaching methods in all schools.


With regard to bilingual and multi-cultural education, the delegation said that the task of heading the council for bilingual education had been given to a person of indigenous origin. In addition, textbooks had been revised to fit bilingual education.

In conclusion, the delegation said that economic, social and cultural rights were broadly guaranteed to the Venezuelan population. By virtue of the provisions of the Constitution, all Venezuelans felt protected; and their right enshrined in the Covenant were respected. During the last two years, the economic growth had significantly increased and the rate of inflation had been brought down. In the educational sector, the Government had extended educational programmes affecting all citizens. Also during its brief period in power, the Government had improved the health services and had made them accessible to all. The recommendations of the Committee would also help the Government improve the quality of Venezuelan lives.



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