COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONTINUES REVIEW OF INITIAL REPORT OF SWITZERLAND

AFTERNOON
HR/ESC/98/32
20 November 1998




Swiss Delegation Queried on Reported Rates of
Sexual Abuse of Children, Violence Against Women


Swiss officials presenting an initial report to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were questioned this afternoon about statistics in the document estimating there were 40,000 to 50,000 cases of sexual abuse of children a year and about a University of Fribourg study indicating that 110,000 women were subjected to violence every year.

Those and other questions under the general topics of family life, living standards, and health were to be answered Monday morning, 23 November, so that the Government delegation would have time to gather information.

Earlier in the meeting the delegation described a system in which federal courts set standards in such fields as employment, health, and human-rights policy that over time were codified in legislation, or -- depending referenda, one of which was expected next year -- in revisions to the Constitution.

Responding to concerns expressed by Committee members this morning, Government authorities also said there was no priority given in Swiss law to civil and political rights as compared to economic, social and cultural rights, and that if there was an apparent slow rate of progress in the field it was because Swiss legislation proceeded in a slow, detailed manner. Other topics covered were regulation of employment conditions, rights of asylum-seekers and foreign workers, and efforts to achieve equal treatment for men and women in the workplace.

The chief of the delegation, responding to a question raised at the morning meeting, added that it was understood that there was a problem on occasion with maltreatment of domestic workers in diplomatic missions, that the matter had raised concerns in the Government, and officials were trying to decide what to do -- the situation was difficult because of standards of diplomatic immunity. A decision of the Federal Tribunal recently had established a number of offenses that were not covered by immunity, he said.

The 10-member Swiss delegation was led by Jean-Jacques Elmiger, Ambassador of the Federal Office of Economic Development and Employment of the Federal Department of the Economy, and Elisabeth Imesch, Chief of Section of the Federal Office of Social Insurance of the Federal Department of the Interior. The team included officials from Government units on women's rights; public health; international public law; justice; and cantonal public education.

Speaking at the meeting were Committee members Philippe Texier; Walid M. Sa’di; Abdessatar Grissa; Mahmoud Samir Ahmed; Maria de los Angeles Jimenez Butragueno; Eibe Reidel; Virginia Bonoan-Dandan; Nutan Thapalia; Ade Adekuoye; and Javier Wimer Zambrano.

The Committee will complete its review of the report of Switzerland when it reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Monday, 23 November.

Discussion

Swiss officials spent much of the meeting responding to questions raised at the morning session.

MARTIN WYSS, Technical Consultant of the Federal Office of Justice, Switzerland, said, among other things, that in two weeks' time Parliament would be summarizing work on the draft reform to the Constitution; that at present a referendum on the entire package was expected in 1999; that the intent of the draft was to codify principles developed by the Federal Court which now were not found in writing; an example were standards developed on minimum conditions of life, which strengthened the human-rights regime of the country; and that to date there had been hesitation to include a right to work, but it was understood that other positive aspects of the draft compensated for lack of that explicit right.

Mr. Wyss added that in Swiss law there was no real distinction between economic and social and civil and political rights; that all were considered equally important as far as he knew; that an apparent slow pace of progress in the area of economic, social and cultural rights law and legislation was not rooted in a lack of will but probably in the detailed, careful procedure by which the Swiss Government traditionally proceeded and to interaction between the federal and cantonal levels of Government; that the Federal Court tended to lead the way and establish standards in human rights, and that such standards were later codified in legislation; occasionally the Federal Court declared aspects of cantonal law to be in conflict with federal standards or the standards of international human-rights covenants, and such decisions had immediate effect; and that any apparent difference in stress on economic or social rights as opposed to civil and political rights might reflect implementation by the courts, which might take a hesitant approach to such matters.

ELISABETH IMESCH, Chief of Section of the Federal Office of Social Insurance of the Federal Department of the Interior, Switzerland, said, among other things, that during the first three months, those requesting asylum were not allowed to seek or hold gainful employment, although if there was a need assistance could be provided by the canton, to be reimbursed by the federal Government, with the applicant to reimburse the amount later; that health costs were covered temporarily by the Government, if necessary; that once the first three months were over, the asylum seeker had his insurance status decided more permanently depending on his situation; and that the aging of the population was posing problems for the social-security system, and a commission had been formed to find possible avenues for financing the system over the short, medium, and long term.

NATHALIE KOCHERHANS, Technical Consultant, Federal Office of Economic Development and Labour, Switzerland, said, among other things, that cantons hosting asylum-seekers normally extended the prohibition to work to six months, especially if there was an initial negative decision on an asylum-seeker's application, and also depending on the unemployment situation of indigenous workers in the region; that after six months, work was allowed under six-month permits; that once status as a refugee had been recognized, an asylum-seeker had the same access to the labour market as a Swiss and could work anywhere in the country, although it was necessary for the first five years to renew an annual work permit; that if aliens had permits of establishment they could bring their families to Switzerland, and that if they underwent periods of economic difficulty could even receive social assistance; and that a B permit, however, did not always allow family reunion, depending on financial vulnerability -- situations were taken case by case.

Ms. Kocherhans said that there was nothing in the way of protecting women in the employment field more than men under so-called "precarious" labour contracts, but that women enjoyed all normal protections incumbent on employers; that "gainful employment" could, as the Committee asked, amount to one hour per week, in some cases, for example if a cleaning woman worked for one hour a week for a client over a period of time; that such an employee, once a long-term basis of employment was established, was entitled to the same protections as full-time employees; that there was no established minimum wage in Switzerland, but that the rate of pay varied; that forms of employment contracts which provided limited security or time of employment gave concern to authorities, and Parliament had asked for a report on such "parallel" forms of employment, and their social, economic, and psychological effects with the idea of dealing with any significant negative consequences; and that hours spent waiting, or "on call" should be treated as hours of working, according to the Federal Tribunal, which was seeking to make this form of employment less appealing to employers.


Ms. Kocherhans added that criteria for employment of foreigners had been changed from geographical to individual, and were based on skills possessed and individual capacities and abilities; that Switzerland had been negotiating with the European Union to define bilateral agreements involving free movement of persons, among other things, in part to avoid what had been referred to as "social dumping" or "wage dumping"; that laws governing labour conventions might be changed to take such matters into account, including establishment of model contracts to be used from canton to canton to ensure certain basic standards for workers and employment safety; that there was no minimum wage, however, in the end, wages were decided by parties signing contracts; that there were several national conventions concerning rates of pay, along with cantonal conventions on minimum wages, based on costs of living, and that there was some variation from region to region; that some 5 million Swiss francs per year were spent on prevention of occupational accidents; that visits and inspections were made of various enterprises, along with safety campaigns, including one now under way on the dangers of asbestos; and that most federal employees soon would have the right to strike.

JEAN-JACQUES ELMIGER, Ambassador of the Federal Office of Economic Development and Employment of the Federal Department of the Economy, Switzerland, said, among other things, that there were 30 judges of the Federal Court and their selection in part was based on language considerations; that the country was a nation of consensus, and that somehow, subtly, the search for political consensus in selection of judges was part of that approach; and that the NGO report had indeed mentioned several "disadvantaged groups", and those remarks would be taken into consideration.

Mr. Elmiger said budgeting for implementation of the Covenant was not direct and distinct but rather divided by sector and diverse; that according to the sectors covered by the Covenant there were budget allocations related to policy, both at the cantonal and federal levels; that the various permits offered to aliens and their differing privileges and authorizations were described in detail in the report; that children were required to stay in school through age 15; that based on ILO Convention 158 the minimum age for employment was being standardized at 15; that a vocational training system attempted to match future employees with needs for specific skills in the workplace; that the federal law on unemployment insurance provided support for women who had spent some time at home raising children and now wanted to re-enter the labour market, offering, among other things, training programmes to give them skills sought by employers; that it was understood that there was a problem on occasion with maltreatment of domestic workers in diplomatic missions, that the matter had raised concerns in the Government, and officials were trying to decide what to do -- the situation was difficult because of standards of diplomatic immunity; and that the Federal Tribunal had ruled that the law governing employment conditions applied to domestic workers in diplomatic missions and that some violations of the laws could not be subject to diplomatic immunity.

PATRICIA SCHULZ, Director of the Federal Office of Equality Between Women and Men, of the Federal Department of the Interior, Switzerland, said, among other
things, that overseas development assistance amounted to .03 per cent of the federal budget, and it was hoped to raise that to .04 per cent; that emphasis was placed on such matters as helping economic and social development, combatting poverty, protecting the environment, and promoting social cohesion in developing countries; that law provided equality between men and women in terms of acquiring Swiss nationality; that the law requiring equal pay did not provide for public review, but that contracting parties were called upon to respect the standard and workers to insist upon it; and that the intent was to resist such discrimination but it was difficult for the Government to determine how effective the law was.

Committee members posed further questions towards the end of the meeting on the general topics of family life, living standards, and health. They asked, among other things, about an apparent high rate of divorce in the country and about an apparent high rate of marriage to foreigners; if joint custody of children after divorce was possible; how the number of cases of sexual abuse of minors could possibly be 40,000 to 50,000 a year, as reported, if the Government had studied the matter further, had determined who the abusers were, and what factors led to such abuse, whether Swiss or foreign children were involved; if many children of single-parent families did not have adequate support; if there were statistics on violence against women, since the matter was not mentioned in the report; if it was true that according to study carried out by the University of Fribourg 110,000 women every year were physically abused; if forced evictions were a problem in Switzerland; if there was an increasing gap between rich and poor in Swiss society; if there were homeless people in Switzerland; what the poverty level was; what the mental-health situation was in the country; and if the reason for the Government's change in policy towards a more liberal anti-drug approach, including controlled distribution of methadone and heroine, could be explained.