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COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONSIDERS REPORT OF BENIN
06 May 2008
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Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights
6 May 2008
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has considered the second periodic report of Benin on how that country implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Honore Akpomey, Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Justice and Human Rights and head of the delegation of Benin, said that no efforts had been spared by Benin to comply with its international commitments concerning human rights. He drew attention to the strategic document to fight and reduce poverty, as well as a number of policies, laws and decrees that were adopted in various areas concerning human rights. However, as genuine as this progress was, the fact should not be ignored that further action was needed.
Azzouz Kerdoum, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Benin, noted that Benin was a multilingual country with a lot of dialects, which constituted a handicap, and illiteracy was a problem. The Government should give absolute priority to literacy programmes. Benin was a great traditional African country and its leaders and chiefs played an important role and link between the Government and the population. There were great disparities between men and women and a lot of violence against women, despite the efforts of the Government. Laws addressing polygamy, repression and improvements in sexual and reproductive health needed to be implemented widely. Physical health was dependent on water, which was crucially lacking in Benin.
Among other issues raised by the Experts were how the judicial system was adapted to deal with the challenging situation in human rights, including customs and customary law; the lack of answers by the delegation to a list of questions by the Committee; the increasing poverty and discrimination between men and women; the customs of female genital mutilation and polygamy and the result of measures taken against them; the lack of drinking water and increased malnutrition and hunger; the Government’s failure to ratify several ILO Conventions; concerns regarding the high unemployment rate and the effect of measures taken by the government to reduce this rate; and the lack of enforcement of adopted laws and policies.
The delegation of Benin included representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights, the Permanent Mission of Benin to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Service of the Promotion of Human Rights, the Service of Protection and Defense of Human Rights and the Direction of Human Rights.
The concluding observations and recommendations of the Committee on the report of Benin will be issued towards the end of the session, which concludes on Friday, 16 May.
After concluding its review of the report of Benin, the Committee started its review of the second periodic report of Bolivia ( E.12/BOL.2).
Report of Benin
The second periodic report of Benin (E/C.12/BEN.2) covers measures taken and the progress made by the State of Benin to guarantee the enjoyment of the rights recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from 2000 to 2004. During the time of reporting, the Government has undergone important changes due to the introduction of decentralization, with the first municipal elections in the new form of territorial administration being held in December 2002 and January 2003. Territorial units now have the freedom to establish priorities, carry out their own work, manage their areas of competency and choose appropriate resources for the effective and efficient administration of local affairs.
Benin has enacted several laws and decrees in order to ensure the protection of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights. In addition, it has ratified or intends to ratify a number of ILO Conventions, though it has not signed any of the ILO Conventions concerning social security. Furthermore, it has adopted various policies and measures to address a number of existing problems, such as the current unemployment crisis, which is seen in particular among recent graduates and unskilled workers and is said to be caused by domestic and external factors affecting the Beninese economy, which in turn lead to an increase of people turning to the informal sector. Other problematic areas include the tackling of child trafficking and worsened poverty despite a relatively stable poverty index, a problem that was said to be created by GDP growth lagging behind population growth. The report, however, stresses that in this regard statistics are not available. With the vision of prosperity and good governance enabling the State to deal with problems caused by an unfavorable external environment and to better contain the crises that arise within families and religions, the Government drafted a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for the period 2002-2004 and the Second Government Programme of Action for 2001-2006 to create a harmonious, peaceful and prosperous social-economic environment in Benin.
The report also draws attention to a steep rise in the costs of food based on a number of different factors, acute housing problems, in particular in the urban areas, indicating a clear lack of effective housing policies, the far from stable physical and mental health of the Beninese people, with a decreasing percentage of government expenditure going into the health sector, and increasing problems due to endemic malaria, malnutrition, hygiene problems, insufficient access to drinking water and risks related to HIV/AIDS. With regards to Article 9 of the Covenant, the report draws particular attention to the new Mutual Social Security Association for the Informal Sector. Benin is also progressively introducing free primary education.
Presentation of the Report
HONORE AKPOMEY, Magistrate and Director of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, underscored and reaffirmed the commitment of Benin to the Committee and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The report covered the period of 2002 to 2004. Benin attached a lot of importance to this presentation and its commitment to address human rights issues in the country. Human rights were protected in the Constitution of Benin. No efforts had been spared to comply with international commitments concerning human rights. Benin had adopted a strategic document to fight and reduce poverty, as well as a number of policies, laws and decrees that were adopted in various areas concerning human rights. The current building of democracy by the people of Benin was a very important development, including legislative, regulatory and administrative measures which were meant to be adopted in order to decentralize the administration as well as five laws on decentralization and several decrees to implement them. Communes had received more responsibility and freedoms, including the running of local elections. In 2004, the financial contribution from the State to the municipalities had increased significantly.
Regarding equality between men and women, a law was enacted in 2002 with the backing of the United Nations Development Fund, and a National Commission was set up. On the right to work, steps had been undertaken to ratify the ILO Employment Policy Convention. More people were contracted in the reporting period for the primary education sector and the health sector. Measures were already in place and new measures had been implemented to address unemployment. The National Employment Service had been created, including the Observatory as a new department. The new department had the same rights as the former Observatory itself. It helped policy making and organized the exchange and discussion of ideas between stakeholders. It also prepared the status of employment and other statistical information. Reduction of unemployment, information regarding the job market and promotion of the job market and development of synergies were among the main issues to be addressed.
There were seven trade union federations in Benin, each of them representing a group of unions, affiliated to international confederations. Specific decrees had been enacted to guarantee the effective enjoyment of trade union rights. The right to education was protected by law. Education was the core of development in Benin. This explained the resources made available for this sector. A genuine political and social commitment was meant to be fostered by various activities, including “education for all” workshops and meetings. The Government had set up bodies indispensable for the management of education in Benin. The educational system was headed by three Ministries, through which the Government was gradually ensuring that education was provided free of cost. Positive developments included that girls from villages were taken to schools for free primary education. However, higher education was not free of cost. Scholarships and financial support were set out by law. A second university had been created in 2001/02. Progress had been made at all levels in terms of enrolment, including increasing registration for girls. However genuine this progress was, the fact should not be ignored that further action was needed on top of the strengthened legislative framework and other measures that had been taken to enhance the image of Benin concerning its human rights record. The delegation was looking forward to a constructive dialogue with the Committee.
Questions Raised by the Committee Members
AZZOUZ KERDOUM, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Report of Benin, warmly welcomed the delegation and hoped for a fruitful productive dialogue. He considered a few points of importance: Benin was a multilingual country with a lot of dialects, which constituted a handicap, and illiteracy was a problem. The Government should give absolute priority to literacy programmes. Benin was a great traditional African country and its leaders and chiefs played an important role and link between the Government and the population. There were great disparities between men and women and a lot of violence against women, despite the efforts of the Government. Laws addressing polygamy, repression and improvements in sexual and reproductive health needed to be implemented widely. Physical health was dependent on water, which was crucially lacking in Benin. He congratulated the delegation for the concept that had been developed in order to ensure that the Beninese citizens could enjoy the rights set out in the Covenant. Benin sought to address five basic human needs – education, access to primary health services and care, food security, the development of wealth-creating skills, and an end to isolation. Great efforts had been made, including significant instruments being adopted. He noted with regret that Benin lagged behind in several areas, and that questions of the Committee had not been answered.
Other Experts asked questions regarding the general framework in which the Covenant was implemented; whether the judicial sector was meant to be updated and modernized in order to provide statistics and examples of judicial decisions that had been adopted concerning or based on economic, social and cultural rights as set out in the Covenant; the lengths of judicial procedures and adoption of plans; results of a workshop on the enhancement of the skills of judges concerning human rights; concerns regarding the independence of the judiciary, such as an alleged ignorance of the Ministry of Justice regarding the independence of judges and the right of the prosecutors to take a judge off a specific case; discrimination between men and women, which affected the economic situation and the fight against traditions increasing the discriminatory situation; had Benin ratified the UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities and if there was national legislation in place; the adoption of a policy regarding the integration of refugees including figures and home-countries of refugees in Benin; how the family code was implemented and if there were penalties for non-compliance; recognition of the crime of domestic violence; shortcomings regarding trafficking in human beings; and the scale of the HIV/AIDS problem in Benin with 300,000 cases and efforts being made in particular in awareness raising that had only reached 30,000 people.
Committee members also asked about the status of the Benin Commission on Human Rights set up as a non-governmental organization, its budget, future plans of the Government regarding this body and the failure of Benin to comply with its obligation to prepare annual reports; the legal framework that protected human rights in actual practice if the Commission was not an independent body; when the poverty reduction strategy paper was drafted and how human rights were included; how many people were living in poverty, as well as the provision of comparative data for these numbers; the seeming contradictions in the report regarding the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; Government action to address the almost uncontrollable population growth; measures for pregnant women in the workforce; foreign debt and the effects of reforms required by the Club of Paris on Benin’s economy; to which extent international assistance helped Benin to comply to the Covenant; the status of the Covenant; the coordination of efforts and independence between the existing bodies on human rights in Benin; effectiveness of measures regarding customs and customary laws such as concerning polygamy and female genital mutilation; the high number of children who were unregistered at birth; the informal sector and its decreasing protection by the Mutual Social Security Association; the ratification and non-ratification of several ILO Conventions; and legal provisions to protect primary education.
One Expert stressed the unsatisfactory replies to specific questions by the Committee giving the example regarding poverty where the delegation had not replied to the questions at all; in particular, progress and effects of measures had not been set out in the report such as numbers of affordable and comfortable housing; the provision of disaggregated data in the next report was expressively required. Other questions included the request for information regarding the rights of and provisions to facilitate non-French-speaking people to file cases at court; the results and outcomes of a two-year old cultural programme; forced child labour and ill-treatment of children, the right to food and increased levels of hunger and malnutrition; reciprocity concerns regarding the Covenant and the Constitution; what actual measures had been taken regarding prison conditions such as overcrowding and health concerns; actual results or improvement regarding the lack of drinking water; the situation regarding unemployment and the increase of vocational training centers; the lack of social security benefits for the informal sector; and the disparity in standards of living between different ethnic groups.
Response by the Delegation
The delegation of Benin stressed that there had been many changes since the finalization of the report which covered the period of 2002 to 2004. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was directly applicable over national law. Magistrates were not named directly by the Ministry of Justice, which only made proposals to the Superior Council of Magistrates which then could decide as it wished. The announcement by the Ministry only followed an approval by the Council. Decisions handed down by the Constitutional Court were higher than any other court and could not be appealed, thus there was a way for judges to claim their rights at the Constitutional Court, which could overturn the decision of the Superior Council of Magistrates. There was no final solution regarding prison conditions though some new prisons were built. The Government had tried to increase the food rations in prisons from the current one hot meal a day to two hot meals a day, however, progress was difficult.
The Benin Commission of Human Rights was set up in 1990. The report did point out that during the period of reference it was functioning as an NGO due to operational problems and a lack of cohesion within the institution. However, the situation changed substantially recently, with the Government’s decision to earmark 200,000,000 CFA to the Commission. As such, the Commission would no longer function as an NGO. The other two human rights bodies were full government committees with different responsibilities from the Commission, such as the promotion of human rights and providing recommendations to the Government, drafting reports, and framing and coordinating State policies in the area of human rights. Thus, there was no overlap and no problems were encountered in the functioning of the various human rights bodies. Regarding concerns about the implementation of the Covenant, Benin had not been able to publish provisions and measures taken since the ratification of the Covenant, however, ever since September 2006, all the instruments that had been ratified and adopted were published in the official gazette. International instruments had superiority to national law, thus, the Covenant was implemented. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had not been ratified; however, measures and instruments had been established. Women, children and disabled people were privileged in the Constitution, which enabled the Government to draw up related policies to help them. The delegation also drew attention to a forum on disabled people. Persons with disabilities were covered by the Ministry of the Family and were well treated as reflected in the Constitution which required favorable treatment. As such, persons with disabilities were favorably treated and had access to funding.
The Constitution stipulated free education and the Government had enacted measures to implement this, for example regarding girls in rural areas. Plans were envisaged by the Government regarding the provision of free higher education. A programme to build additional classrooms to address the problem of overcrowding started in 2007/08. Lunchtime meals were meant to be provided at schools. There was no conflict between the family code and customary law, as the code prevailed. Customary laws were no longer applicable in Benin. Thus, in cases of polygamy, the marriage could be considered null and void. The situation concerning lack of registration of births was caused by the negligence of illiterate parents. However, there was a system implemented for birth certificates being issued immediately for parents declaring the birth of a child. The practice of female genital mutilation was an income generating activity for some persons, which had been covered by awareness raising campaigns and compensation schemes by the Government, such as little stores and other work. To the extent possible NGOs and other bodies did their best to disseminate information on human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights. However, despite all efforts, certain traditions did continue, on both sides of the border; children were taken to Nigeria for female genital mutilation, however, when they returned, they faced legal consequences under Benin’s law. The delegation was committed to address the problem of child trafficking. There had been follow up by the Ministry of the Family and the Interior to help children who were sold to foreign countries and then resold back to Benin and left to their own devices. Illiteracy and women giving birth outside hospitals were seen as the main causes for children trafficking. A programme giving children as of the age of 15 their birth certificates was being implemented. Increasingly women were declaring their children.
Further Questions by the Experts
Further questions by the Experts included that there were laws in certain cases, such as to deal with female genital mutilation, but that the Government did not intervene in cases of non-compliance and did not enforce the law. Not enough was done to protect all the victims. Most Experts said that the delegation had not satisfactorily clarified a lot of the questions, and that more information was needed. Further questions concerned equal treatment and the rights of children born out of wedlock, plans to combat maternal and child mortality and their causes, measures taken regarding the lack of declaration of accidents at work by employers, a system established to control and address the rising food prices, and public independent monitoring of prison conditions. One Expert suggested that the Committee should negotiate with the Governments of Nigeria and Togo on how to address female genital mutilation.
The Chairman thanked the delegation for its report and suggested that the delegation prepare detailed answers to the questions of the Committee members, as the Committee was not satisfied with the dialogue so far.
Further Answers by the Delegation
The delegation of Benin said that there were synergies between other countries and Benin to jointly suppress female genital mutilation. There were legal provisions punishing violence against children, and plans for adoption of specific laws regarding domestic violence against women. When paternity was legally established, children born out of wedlock had the same rights as children born within wedlock. Thanks to the State’s initiatives, the rate of maternal and child mortality had decreased. The age for marriage was set at 18 by the Family Code. There were some exceptions allowing marriages under 18, including with specific requirements such as the attendance of a notary. There was a policy regarding the recognition of human rights, which included training for different population groups. Thanks to UNICEF’s support, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was translated in several dialects.
Refugees came from Nigeria, Togo, Congo and other neighboring countries, amounting to 20,000 refugees per year, a number which had dropped recently to 5,000, the delegation said. There were several measures, including a committee, to combat HIV/AIDS. They were aiming to reduce the prevalence rate. The informal economy was a real concern for the Government, leading to the organization of several fora and meetings for most vulnerable groups such as the young. Poverty had dropped slightly, according to the poverty index. Poverty was more present in rural areas, in particular malnutrition of children. Child malnutrition had been stabilized in recent years, and the Government encouraged credits to rural inhabitants. There were regular inspections on prison food and the intention existed to further improve food quality and quantity. On social housing, the delegation pointed out that the report was talking about administrative housing in problematic regions. However there was a policy in Benin aiming to provide housing for all its people. There was a bill on urban land currently going through parliament.
Further Questions by Experts and Answers by the Delegation
A Committee Expert asked what progress had been made and what results had been seen regarding the privatization policy in Benin, in particular privatization with regards to water and other services. Another Expert asked if there was a perpetuation of poverty and how had privatization affected poverty. What were the results of the campaign against polygamy; were there benchmarks or indicators for those issues? Was there assistance from the State providing for access for all to public schooling? How were prices of staple food controlled and the quality of food ensured? Was international and bilateral development aid connected to the obligation to conduct structural adjustment policies? Who were the big donors for Benin? Was the national habitat policy regarding housing for the least well off implemented and with what results?
In response, the delegation said that Benin was a least developed country. There were very low taxes to be recovered, so Benin was in need of multilateral and bilateral aid. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were the main multilateral donors and Benin was in the process of receiving aid from those organizations. The process was very long and painful, and the IMF had made mistakes in the past, for example in obliging Benin to stop giving technical guidance to mostly illiterate farmers. The IMF recently revised this obligation and reinstated technical assistance to farmers. Japan, Germany, the United States and China gave bilateral aid. The international community provided budgetary assistance to Benin, such as a recent write off of debts. Benin was experiencing major problems with regard to privatization, such as the lack of will of the State to bring about structural reforms. The reforms were slow, as workers had to be won over to understand the advantages of privatization. However, in certain sectors the process was going fairly well. Drinking water was a priority for the State, mainly in rural but also in urban areas. The State had to repair and spread water treatment centers. In urban areas people had been connected to the system, while in villages wells had been dug and the situation had improved.
Campaigns had been run concerning polygamy and female genital mutilation, but there were no results for these campaigns yet. However, there was a survey in the country assessing the results of the campaigns. There was some degree of resistance though from the public.
Benin was trying to harmonize food prices in the country through local competition as well as monitoring and check of food prices and quality. The State provided free schooling in public schools; there were discussions with private schools regarding State subsidies given to them. Regarding housing, the policy mentioned in the report was not properly applied because of a lack of resources. The State was not in a position to give the poorest the housing they needed. The delegation pointed out that there were obstacles regarding the intended full implementation of the Covenant, such as the need of statistics, which were not up to date in Benin.
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For use of the information media; not an official record
and Cultural Rights
6 May 2008
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has considered the second periodic report of Benin on how that country implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Honore Akpomey, Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Justice and Human Rights and head of the delegation of Benin, said that no efforts had been spared by Benin to comply with its international commitments concerning human rights. He drew attention to the strategic document to fight and reduce poverty, as well as a number of policies, laws and decrees that were adopted in various areas concerning human rights. However, as genuine as this progress was, the fact should not be ignored that further action was needed.
Azzouz Kerdoum, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Benin, noted that Benin was a multilingual country with a lot of dialects, which constituted a handicap, and illiteracy was a problem. The Government should give absolute priority to literacy programmes. Benin was a great traditional African country and its leaders and chiefs played an important role and link between the Government and the population. There were great disparities between men and women and a lot of violence against women, despite the efforts of the Government. Laws addressing polygamy, repression and improvements in sexual and reproductive health needed to be implemented widely. Physical health was dependent on water, which was crucially lacking in Benin.
Among other issues raised by the Experts were how the judicial system was adapted to deal with the challenging situation in human rights, including customs and customary law; the lack of answers by the delegation to a list of questions by the Committee; the increasing poverty and discrimination between men and women; the customs of female genital mutilation and polygamy and the result of measures taken against them; the lack of drinking water and increased malnutrition and hunger; the Government’s failure to ratify several ILO Conventions; concerns regarding the high unemployment rate and the effect of measures taken by the government to reduce this rate; and the lack of enforcement of adopted laws and policies.
The delegation of Benin included representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights, the Permanent Mission of Benin to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Service of the Promotion of Human Rights, the Service of Protection and Defense of Human Rights and the Direction of Human Rights.
The concluding observations and recommendations of the Committee on the report of Benin will be issued towards the end of the session, which concludes on Friday, 16 May.
After concluding its review of the report of Benin, the Committee started its review of the second periodic report of Bolivia ( E.12/BOL.2).
Report of Benin
The second periodic report of Benin (E/C.12/BEN.2) covers measures taken and the progress made by the State of Benin to guarantee the enjoyment of the rights recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from 2000 to 2004. During the time of reporting, the Government has undergone important changes due to the introduction of decentralization, with the first municipal elections in the new form of territorial administration being held in December 2002 and January 2003. Territorial units now have the freedom to establish priorities, carry out their own work, manage their areas of competency and choose appropriate resources for the effective and efficient administration of local affairs.
Benin has enacted several laws and decrees in order to ensure the protection of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights. In addition, it has ratified or intends to ratify a number of ILO Conventions, though it has not signed any of the ILO Conventions concerning social security. Furthermore, it has adopted various policies and measures to address a number of existing problems, such as the current unemployment crisis, which is seen in particular among recent graduates and unskilled workers and is said to be caused by domestic and external factors affecting the Beninese economy, which in turn lead to an increase of people turning to the informal sector. Other problematic areas include the tackling of child trafficking and worsened poverty despite a relatively stable poverty index, a problem that was said to be created by GDP growth lagging behind population growth. The report, however, stresses that in this regard statistics are not available. With the vision of prosperity and good governance enabling the State to deal with problems caused by an unfavorable external environment and to better contain the crises that arise within families and religions, the Government drafted a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for the period 2002-2004 and the Second Government Programme of Action for 2001-2006 to create a harmonious, peaceful and prosperous social-economic environment in Benin.
The report also draws attention to a steep rise in the costs of food based on a number of different factors, acute housing problems, in particular in the urban areas, indicating a clear lack of effective housing policies, the far from stable physical and mental health of the Beninese people, with a decreasing percentage of government expenditure going into the health sector, and increasing problems due to endemic malaria, malnutrition, hygiene problems, insufficient access to drinking water and risks related to HIV/AIDS. With regards to Article 9 of the Covenant, the report draws particular attention to the new Mutual Social Security Association for the Informal Sector. Benin is also progressively introducing free primary education.
Presentation of the Report
HONORE AKPOMEY, Magistrate and Director of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, underscored and reaffirmed the commitment of Benin to the Committee and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The report covered the period of 2002 to 2004. Benin attached a lot of importance to this presentation and its commitment to address human rights issues in the country. Human rights were protected in the Constitution of Benin. No efforts had been spared to comply with international commitments concerning human rights. Benin had adopted a strategic document to fight and reduce poverty, as well as a number of policies, laws and decrees that were adopted in various areas concerning human rights. The current building of democracy by the people of Benin was a very important development, including legislative, regulatory and administrative measures which were meant to be adopted in order to decentralize the administration as well as five laws on decentralization and several decrees to implement them. Communes had received more responsibility and freedoms, including the running of local elections. In 2004, the financial contribution from the State to the municipalities had increased significantly.
Regarding equality between men and women, a law was enacted in 2002 with the backing of the United Nations Development Fund, and a National Commission was set up. On the right to work, steps had been undertaken to ratify the ILO Employment Policy Convention. More people were contracted in the reporting period for the primary education sector and the health sector. Measures were already in place and new measures had been implemented to address unemployment. The National Employment Service had been created, including the Observatory as a new department. The new department had the same rights as the former Observatory itself. It helped policy making and organized the exchange and discussion of ideas between stakeholders. It also prepared the status of employment and other statistical information. Reduction of unemployment, information regarding the job market and promotion of the job market and development of synergies were among the main issues to be addressed.
There were seven trade union federations in Benin, each of them representing a group of unions, affiliated to international confederations. Specific decrees had been enacted to guarantee the effective enjoyment of trade union rights. The right to education was protected by law. Education was the core of development in Benin. This explained the resources made available for this sector. A genuine political and social commitment was meant to be fostered by various activities, including “education for all” workshops and meetings. The Government had set up bodies indispensable for the management of education in Benin. The educational system was headed by three Ministries, through which the Government was gradually ensuring that education was provided free of cost. Positive developments included that girls from villages were taken to schools for free primary education. However, higher education was not free of cost. Scholarships and financial support were set out by law. A second university had been created in 2001/02. Progress had been made at all levels in terms of enrolment, including increasing registration for girls. However genuine this progress was, the fact should not be ignored that further action was needed on top of the strengthened legislative framework and other measures that had been taken to enhance the image of Benin concerning its human rights record. The delegation was looking forward to a constructive dialogue with the Committee.
Questions Raised by the Committee Members
AZZOUZ KERDOUM, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Report of Benin, warmly welcomed the delegation and hoped for a fruitful productive dialogue. He considered a few points of importance: Benin was a multilingual country with a lot of dialects, which constituted a handicap, and illiteracy was a problem. The Government should give absolute priority to literacy programmes. Benin was a great traditional African country and its leaders and chiefs played an important role and link between the Government and the population. There were great disparities between men and women and a lot of violence against women, despite the efforts of the Government. Laws addressing polygamy, repression and improvements in sexual and reproductive health needed to be implemented widely. Physical health was dependent on water, which was crucially lacking in Benin. He congratulated the delegation for the concept that had been developed in order to ensure that the Beninese citizens could enjoy the rights set out in the Covenant. Benin sought to address five basic human needs – education, access to primary health services and care, food security, the development of wealth-creating skills, and an end to isolation. Great efforts had been made, including significant instruments being adopted. He noted with regret that Benin lagged behind in several areas, and that questions of the Committee had not been answered.
Other Experts asked questions regarding the general framework in which the Covenant was implemented; whether the judicial sector was meant to be updated and modernized in order to provide statistics and examples of judicial decisions that had been adopted concerning or based on economic, social and cultural rights as set out in the Covenant; the lengths of judicial procedures and adoption of plans; results of a workshop on the enhancement of the skills of judges concerning human rights; concerns regarding the independence of the judiciary, such as an alleged ignorance of the Ministry of Justice regarding the independence of judges and the right of the prosecutors to take a judge off a specific case; discrimination between men and women, which affected the economic situation and the fight against traditions increasing the discriminatory situation; had Benin ratified the UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities and if there was national legislation in place; the adoption of a policy regarding the integration of refugees including figures and home-countries of refugees in Benin; how the family code was implemented and if there were penalties for non-compliance; recognition of the crime of domestic violence; shortcomings regarding trafficking in human beings; and the scale of the HIV/AIDS problem in Benin with 300,000 cases and efforts being made in particular in awareness raising that had only reached 30,000 people.
Committee members also asked about the status of the Benin Commission on Human Rights set up as a non-governmental organization, its budget, future plans of the Government regarding this body and the failure of Benin to comply with its obligation to prepare annual reports; the legal framework that protected human rights in actual practice if the Commission was not an independent body; when the poverty reduction strategy paper was drafted and how human rights were included; how many people were living in poverty, as well as the provision of comparative data for these numbers; the seeming contradictions in the report regarding the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; Government action to address the almost uncontrollable population growth; measures for pregnant women in the workforce; foreign debt and the effects of reforms required by the Club of Paris on Benin’s economy; to which extent international assistance helped Benin to comply to the Covenant; the status of the Covenant; the coordination of efforts and independence between the existing bodies on human rights in Benin; effectiveness of measures regarding customs and customary laws such as concerning polygamy and female genital mutilation; the high number of children who were unregistered at birth; the informal sector and its decreasing protection by the Mutual Social Security Association; the ratification and non-ratification of several ILO Conventions; and legal provisions to protect primary education.
One Expert stressed the unsatisfactory replies to specific questions by the Committee giving the example regarding poverty where the delegation had not replied to the questions at all; in particular, progress and effects of measures had not been set out in the report such as numbers of affordable and comfortable housing; the provision of disaggregated data in the next report was expressively required. Other questions included the request for information regarding the rights of and provisions to facilitate non-French-speaking people to file cases at court; the results and outcomes of a two-year old cultural programme; forced child labour and ill-treatment of children, the right to food and increased levels of hunger and malnutrition; reciprocity concerns regarding the Covenant and the Constitution; what actual measures had been taken regarding prison conditions such as overcrowding and health concerns; actual results or improvement regarding the lack of drinking water; the situation regarding unemployment and the increase of vocational training centers; the lack of social security benefits for the informal sector; and the disparity in standards of living between different ethnic groups.
Response by the Delegation
The delegation of Benin stressed that there had been many changes since the finalization of the report which covered the period of 2002 to 2004. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was directly applicable over national law. Magistrates were not named directly by the Ministry of Justice, which only made proposals to the Superior Council of Magistrates which then could decide as it wished. The announcement by the Ministry only followed an approval by the Council. Decisions handed down by the Constitutional Court were higher than any other court and could not be appealed, thus there was a way for judges to claim their rights at the Constitutional Court, which could overturn the decision of the Superior Council of Magistrates. There was no final solution regarding prison conditions though some new prisons were built. The Government had tried to increase the food rations in prisons from the current one hot meal a day to two hot meals a day, however, progress was difficult.
The Benin Commission of Human Rights was set up in 1990. The report did point out that during the period of reference it was functioning as an NGO due to operational problems and a lack of cohesion within the institution. However, the situation changed substantially recently, with the Government’s decision to earmark 200,000,000 CFA to the Commission. As such, the Commission would no longer function as an NGO. The other two human rights bodies were full government committees with different responsibilities from the Commission, such as the promotion of human rights and providing recommendations to the Government, drafting reports, and framing and coordinating State policies in the area of human rights. Thus, there was no overlap and no problems were encountered in the functioning of the various human rights bodies. Regarding concerns about the implementation of the Covenant, Benin had not been able to publish provisions and measures taken since the ratification of the Covenant, however, ever since September 2006, all the instruments that had been ratified and adopted were published in the official gazette. International instruments had superiority to national law, thus, the Covenant was implemented. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had not been ratified; however, measures and instruments had been established. Women, children and disabled people were privileged in the Constitution, which enabled the Government to draw up related policies to help them. The delegation also drew attention to a forum on disabled people. Persons with disabilities were covered by the Ministry of the Family and were well treated as reflected in the Constitution which required favorable treatment. As such, persons with disabilities were favorably treated and had access to funding.
The Constitution stipulated free education and the Government had enacted measures to implement this, for example regarding girls in rural areas. Plans were envisaged by the Government regarding the provision of free higher education. A programme to build additional classrooms to address the problem of overcrowding started in 2007/08. Lunchtime meals were meant to be provided at schools. There was no conflict between the family code and customary law, as the code prevailed. Customary laws were no longer applicable in Benin. Thus, in cases of polygamy, the marriage could be considered null and void. The situation concerning lack of registration of births was caused by the negligence of illiterate parents. However, there was a system implemented for birth certificates being issued immediately for parents declaring the birth of a child. The practice of female genital mutilation was an income generating activity for some persons, which had been covered by awareness raising campaigns and compensation schemes by the Government, such as little stores and other work. To the extent possible NGOs and other bodies did their best to disseminate information on human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights. However, despite all efforts, certain traditions did continue, on both sides of the border; children were taken to Nigeria for female genital mutilation, however, when they returned, they faced legal consequences under Benin’s law. The delegation was committed to address the problem of child trafficking. There had been follow up by the Ministry of the Family and the Interior to help children who were sold to foreign countries and then resold back to Benin and left to their own devices. Illiteracy and women giving birth outside hospitals were seen as the main causes for children trafficking. A programme giving children as of the age of 15 their birth certificates was being implemented. Increasingly women were declaring their children.
Further Questions by the Experts
Further questions by the Experts included that there were laws in certain cases, such as to deal with female genital mutilation, but that the Government did not intervene in cases of non-compliance and did not enforce the law. Not enough was done to protect all the victims. Most Experts said that the delegation had not satisfactorily clarified a lot of the questions, and that more information was needed. Further questions concerned equal treatment and the rights of children born out of wedlock, plans to combat maternal and child mortality and their causes, measures taken regarding the lack of declaration of accidents at work by employers, a system established to control and address the rising food prices, and public independent monitoring of prison conditions. One Expert suggested that the Committee should negotiate with the Governments of Nigeria and Togo on how to address female genital mutilation.
The Chairman thanked the delegation for its report and suggested that the delegation prepare detailed answers to the questions of the Committee members, as the Committee was not satisfied with the dialogue so far.
Further Answers by the Delegation
The delegation of Benin said that there were synergies between other countries and Benin to jointly suppress female genital mutilation. There were legal provisions punishing violence against children, and plans for adoption of specific laws regarding domestic violence against women. When paternity was legally established, children born out of wedlock had the same rights as children born within wedlock. Thanks to the State’s initiatives, the rate of maternal and child mortality had decreased. The age for marriage was set at 18 by the Family Code. There were some exceptions allowing marriages under 18, including with specific requirements such as the attendance of a notary. There was a policy regarding the recognition of human rights, which included training for different population groups. Thanks to UNICEF’s support, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was translated in several dialects.
Refugees came from Nigeria, Togo, Congo and other neighboring countries, amounting to 20,000 refugees per year, a number which had dropped recently to 5,000, the delegation said. There were several measures, including a committee, to combat HIV/AIDS. They were aiming to reduce the prevalence rate. The informal economy was a real concern for the Government, leading to the organization of several fora and meetings for most vulnerable groups such as the young. Poverty had dropped slightly, according to the poverty index. Poverty was more present in rural areas, in particular malnutrition of children. Child malnutrition had been stabilized in recent years, and the Government encouraged credits to rural inhabitants. There were regular inspections on prison food and the intention existed to further improve food quality and quantity. On social housing, the delegation pointed out that the report was talking about administrative housing in problematic regions. However there was a policy in Benin aiming to provide housing for all its people. There was a bill on urban land currently going through parliament.
Further Questions by Experts and Answers by the Delegation
A Committee Expert asked what progress had been made and what results had been seen regarding the privatization policy in Benin, in particular privatization with regards to water and other services. Another Expert asked if there was a perpetuation of poverty and how had privatization affected poverty. What were the results of the campaign against polygamy; were there benchmarks or indicators for those issues? Was there assistance from the State providing for access for all to public schooling? How were prices of staple food controlled and the quality of food ensured? Was international and bilateral development aid connected to the obligation to conduct structural adjustment policies? Who were the big donors for Benin? Was the national habitat policy regarding housing for the least well off implemented and with what results?
In response, the delegation said that Benin was a least developed country. There were very low taxes to be recovered, so Benin was in need of multilateral and bilateral aid. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were the main multilateral donors and Benin was in the process of receiving aid from those organizations. The process was very long and painful, and the IMF had made mistakes in the past, for example in obliging Benin to stop giving technical guidance to mostly illiterate farmers. The IMF recently revised this obligation and reinstated technical assistance to farmers. Japan, Germany, the United States and China gave bilateral aid. The international community provided budgetary assistance to Benin, such as a recent write off of debts. Benin was experiencing major problems with regard to privatization, such as the lack of will of the State to bring about structural reforms. The reforms were slow, as workers had to be won over to understand the advantages of privatization. However, in certain sectors the process was going fairly well. Drinking water was a priority for the State, mainly in rural but also in urban areas. The State had to repair and spread water treatment centers. In urban areas people had been connected to the system, while in villages wells had been dug and the situation had improved.
Campaigns had been run concerning polygamy and female genital mutilation, but there were no results for these campaigns yet. However, there was a survey in the country assessing the results of the campaigns. There was some degree of resistance though from the public.
Benin was trying to harmonize food prices in the country through local competition as well as monitoring and check of food prices and quality. The State provided free schooling in public schools; there were discussions with private schools regarding State subsidies given to them. Regarding housing, the policy mentioned in the report was not properly applied because of a lack of resources. The State was not in a position to give the poorest the housing they needed. The delegation pointed out that there were obstacles regarding the intended full implementation of the Covenant, such as the need of statistics, which were not up to date in Benin.
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