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

CESCR
!26th session
15 August 2001
Afternoon







The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon concluded its examination of the third periodic report of Syria on its efforts to give effect to the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Several Committee members queried the delegation about the right to housing, the right to an adequate standard of living and the protection of the family.

Over the course of the discussion, the Syrian delegation said that because of Syria's high population growth rate, the Government had to deal with various increasing needs. Moreover, since 1940, the country had suffered because of its relationship with Israel and had had to deal with the loss of Syrian houses, schools and facilities, which was a burden on the economy. Nevertheless, the country had managed to ensure that more than 250,000 new pupils entered schools every year and that Syria's family health programmes were very successful.

Regarding the right to education, Kishore Singh of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that the report presented by Syria to the World Education Forum, which was held in Dakar last April, was complete and very interesting. Literacy and vocational training programmes were examples of collaboration in developing the right to education.

The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Syria towards the end of its three-week session on 31 August.

As one of the 145 States parties to the Covenant, Syria must present to the Committee periodic summaries of its implementation of the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, 16 August, it will take up the second periodic report of Panama (E/1990/6/Add.24).

Discussion

Responding to comments by Committee members, the delegation said that the Committee's sources were erroneous. It assured the Experts that the unemployment rate in Syria did not reach 40 per cent; neither did the poverty rate reach 60 per cent. Further, the delegation said that the data given by a particular non-governmental organization (NGO) was false and that the Committee should only refer to official sources. The delegation regretted that the NGO report had not been sent to the delegation and had only been made available to the Committee members. The delegation wished to receive all the documents in due time to be able to respond to the Committee's questions.

The Committee Chairperson explained that as the Committee had received very little data from the Syrian Government and as the replies to the written questions were weak, the Committee had had to refer to other sources.

The delegation regretted that the wages in the country were generally low but said that because of Syria's high population growth rate, the Government had had to deal with various increasing needs. Moreover, since 1940, the country had suffered because of its relationship with Israel and had had to deal with the loss of Syrian houses, schools and facilities, which was a burden on the economy. Nevertheless, the country had managed to ensure that more than 250,000 new pupils started school every year and that its family health programmes were very successful.

Asked about the rights of Palestinian refugees, the delegation said they enjoyed the same rights as Syrian citizens. They held the same scholarships and could work in the civil service. The only exception was that Palestinians could not take up the duty of Ambassadors.

Regarding the right to housing, the delegation said that evictions could only occur after a judicial decision; such evictions were rare. The delegation added that there were no homeless persons in Syria, as the country had adopted plans to improve the performance of the housing sector for the benefit of the limited-income social category. Housing cooperatives endeavoured to facilitate home ownership for persons with limited incomes and ensured the availability of salubrious, reasonably priced and appropriate housing. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, with the help of private charitable associations, had established numerous social welfare institutions for persons living in precarious conditions.

The delegation said that the Syrian Constitution considered disabled persons as members of a social category who required attention and various forms of care conducive to their integration into the socio-economic development process. Syrian legislation protected disabled persons, who were able to go to court if one of their rights had been violated. Special attention to the handicapped was given and such persons could follow education up to the higher level. The delegation gave examples of handicapped persons who had become barristers and lawyers.

The delegation said that all Syrian legislation highlighted the role of the family; the considerable legal framework was based on the Shari'a law. Domestic violence did occur, as in other countries in the world, but the cases were so rare that no reliable statistics existed. The delegation added that violence against spouses was a crime according to the Penal Code and battered women had the legal right to seek redress in court. Victims were offered medical assistance free of charge in specialized centres and such incidents were reported to the justice department so that the perpetrators were tried. Further, the delegation said that no law against spousal rape had been enacted, as such rapes never happened. Nevertheless, sexual education and hygiene measures had been adopted to prevent rape and sexual illnesses.

The delegation said that Syria was suffering from a demographic explosion and the growth rate exceeded the country 's economic resources. Therefore, educational programmes in favour of contraception had been created.

Regarding adoption, the delegation said that official adoptions did not exist but a family could take care of a child, although the surname given to the child at birth had to be retained.

Asked about measures adopted in order to protect the environment, the delegation said that unleaded petrol was used but was not widely available. The delegation regretted that most vehicles in Syria were quite old and could not use this petrol. Nevertheless, various legislation had been adopted to strengthen the protection of the environment and to promote the use of substitutes which were more environmentally friendly.

Regarding the rights of the nomad population, the delegation said that specific programmes had been adopted in order to establish health-care centres, mobile schools and mobile libraries for the children of the nomadic herders. The requisite measures were taken to prepare a special syllabus, which met the aspirations of these nomadic children in a manner consistent with their environment. Responding to an Expert, the delegation assured that no children had been expelled from schools because of their ethnic origins. The national education plan treated members of minorities in the same way as Syrian students.

The delegation said proportions of the national and local budgets allocated to education had increased considerably, which was inevitably reflected in the budgetary appropriations for primary education. Primary education benefited from large appropriations, equivalent to 54.2 per cent of the education budget, mainly because Syrian society was characterized by its high birth rate, as a result of which the age group 6-11 years constituted a large segment of the population. This implied a need for the construction of schools, the supply of educational equipment and other requisites and the provisions of more teachers. Moreover, because of the lack of financial resources, instruction was only given in Arabic or in international languages such as French and English. No schools taught in minority languages, but it was not prohibited.

KISHORE SINGH, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said that the report presented by Syria to the World Education Forum, which was held in Dakar last April, was complete and very interesting. Literacy and vocational training programmes were examples of collaboration in developing the right to education. Mr. Singh asked the delegation whether Syria would participate at the forthcoming human rights conference to be held in September on "Learning to live together", as this conference would be related to Syria's current efforts in the field of education. He also asked, as other Experts, if Syria intended to ratify UNESCO's covenant against discrimination in education of 1960.

The delegation responded by saying that Syria would send an important delegation to attend this conference, because the country was aware of the considerable importance of teaching. Concerning UNESCO's Covenant of 1960, no ratification was planned as Syria already entirely respected the right to education.

Referring to the right to adequate standards of living, the delegation acknowledged that, as in neighbouring countries, Syria suffered from an acute problem concerning water resources. Programmes had been adopted encouraging people to reduce water waste and to use more efficiently the existing water resources. The delegation assured the Experts that the next periodic report would contain more information concerning the water resources.

The delegation said that figures provided by sources concerning the large number of persons living under the poverty line, particularly children, were not correct. Indeed, programmes providing health-care to children existed and the delegation emphasized that the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had twice congratulated Syria for its initiatives and programmes.

With regard to hygiene in prisons, the delegation said that clinics, hospitals and dispensaries existed in prisons and any prisoner was provided with health-care free of charge. A prisoner could visit a specialist if needed and could also be operated on free of charge. Diseases in prison were not different from those that the rest of the population suffered from and the rate of illness was not particularly higher. The delegation said that periodic medical visits were made to prisons; health-care in the Syrian prisons was very good and even better than in a lot of other countries. Up to today, no prisoner had complained about being exposed to diseases, illnesses or HIV/AIDS. The delegation said cases of prisoners suffering from tuberculosis did exist but those persons were immediately isolated and given treatment. Only one case of a foreigner imprisoned in Syria was known and the prisoner had been transferred to a special hospital.

The delegation concluded by saying that Syria intended to continue its collaboration with the Committee. The country had nothing to hide because it had a total belief in equality among all citizens and in economic, social and cultural rights. Five thousand years of history and culture had deeply rooted human rights in the country.



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