COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCLUDES REVIEW OF REPORT OF DENMARK

MORNING
HR/ESC/99/14
4 May 1999



The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning concluded its consideration of the third periodic report of Denmark on the Government's efforts to give effect to the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Committee will issue its observations and recommendations on the report of Denmark towards the end of its three-week session which concludes on 14 May. A nine-member Danish delegation availed itself during three meetings to answer questions raised by Committee members.

The delegation said there were no groups that did not have enough money to buy food, and no one died of hunger. However, there were groups of very poor or socially excluded people who were limited in what food items they could buy. Issues related to education, health and culture were also discussed this morning.

As one of 139 State parties to the Covenant, Denmark is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee on the measures adopted with the view to implement the provisions of the treaty. The country's third periodic report was presented yesterday morning.

The Government delegation was led by Tyge Lehmann, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and included representatives of departments and sections from the Ministries of Labour, Education, Justice, Interior and from the Greenland Home Rule.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will take up the report of Ireland.


Discussion

In response to outstanding questions raised by Committee members during yesterday's meeting, the Danish delegation said that children under fifteen years were not allowed to work beyond 10 o'clock in the evening. The allusion that children were working in bars was incorrect, but they could work in shops where non-alcoholic beverages were sold.

Concerning registered partnerships, the delegation said that the motivation was not to create a different sort of family, but to allow homosexuals to enjoy the same rights as married couples. The act of adopting children was under study by the country's parliament to enable homosexual couples to adopt the other partner's children.

Women's representation in the country's legislative bodies was the highest in the world and their number was growing every election year, the delegation affirmed. Women deputies in parliament amounted to 37 per cent of the total representation. In addition, 15 per cent of the top-level public offices were occupied by women while 23 per cent of middle-level jobs were also held by them.

Responding to a question on drugs, the delegation said that the possession, sale or use of any kind of drugs was strictly prohibited under Danish law. A special police force was in charge of monitoring and supervising the implementation of the law.

The delegation said that there was no adequate explanation for the motives of suicidal acts among youth. Among 15 to 19-year olds, in 1996, there were 359 male suicides and 136 female suicides, totalling 495 suicides. The Government had been launching different campaigns to prevent suicidal behaviour among children and young people.

With regard to poverty, the delegation reaffirmed that there were no groups that could not afford to buy food because of economic reasons or could die of hunger. There were groups of very poor and socially excluded people who could only afford minimum food acquisition. Those people were mostly outside the labour market, had no family and no dwelling, and slept in the streets. In addition, a number of alcohol and substance abusers, and a number of psychiatric patients not in hospitals, were living in bad conditions as they were unable to take care of themselves.

The delegation said that Denmark had ratified International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries. The Convention had been applied to the indigenous peoples in Greenland and the Home Rule Act for Greenland had fulfilled the obligations of the Covenant.

Regarding the question of self-determination, the delegation said that since the establishment of Home Rule in 1979, the Home Rule Authority had assumed power in most aspects of life in Greenland, including the organization of the home rule system, taxation, and regulation of trade, including fisheries and hunting, among other things. The autonomy of Greenland was symbolized by the bringing into existence of an official Greenland flag. However, treaty-making powers were vested exclusively in the Danish Government. Greenland was not a member of the European Union.

On the right to education, the delegation said that a 9-year education was compulsory for children between 7 and 16 years of age. In addition, there was an optional one-year pre-school class for children under seven years of age. In general, education in primary and secondary schools was free of charge and textbooks and teaching aids and materials were free as well. In private schools, which 11 per cent of the total Danish pupils attended, about 85 per cent of the school expenditure was publicly subsidized.

Concerning the right to take part in cultural life, the delegation said that the Ministry of Culture was responsible for such activities and that around 1.5 per cent of total public expenditure was spent on cultural creativity and activities. State support for special and regional museums and creative artists had also increased. The delegation said that according to an experimental period of three years, which began in 1996, some regions got free disposal of cultural appropriations which had been managed by the State up until then. Since the experiment was prolonged until the end of 1999, a decision on the follow-up on the regional experiment awaited the final evaluation report in the same year.

An expert asked if Denmark considered itself as a multi-cultural society, to which the delegation said that there was no legislation defining the country as a multi-cultural society. However, the Government encouraged diversity in cultural activities by providing funds and other material assistance to those groups engaged in that field.