COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS DISCUSSES DRAFT GENERAL COMMENT ON EQUAL RIGHT OF WOMEN AND MEN

CESCR
30th session
6 May 2003




Hears from Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food,
Considers Secretary-General's Proposed Reforms




The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights today discussed a draft General Comment on "the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights" and the UN Sectary-General's proposed reforms for the work of the human rights treaty bodies. The Committee also heard from the Special Rapporteur on the right to food.
Jean Ziegler, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the right to food, provided the Committee with information on the situation in Brazil whose report is scheduled to be considered on 8 May. He said that with the election of a new President, a new political environment had been introduced in the country, with the Government undertaking serious measures to fight hunger. He said that 45 million Brazilians were permanently hungry.
Concerning Article 3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee discussed a draft General Comment on the equal right of women and men to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights. The article stipulates that "the States parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights set forth in the present Covenant".
The Committee has so far issued 15 General Comment on various issues related to the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights, the most recent being on the right to water, which was adopted during its previous session in November. The Committee issues its General Comments with the view to assisting States parties in fulfilling their reporting obligations.
Also today, the Committee exchanged views on the report of the Secretary-General entitled "Strengthening of the United Nations: an agenda for further change". Several Experts were of the view that the streamlining of reports and allowing States parties to present a single report to all treaty body committees would not be practical, and the Committee should advise the High Commissioner for Human Rights about its view that the status quo should be maintained.
The Committee was also briefed by a representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the progress made in the elaboration of guidelines to the right to food; the representative of Food First International Action Network (FIAN); and a representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 7 May, it is scheduled to take up the third periodic report of Luxembourg (E/1994/104/Add.24).

Draft General Comment on Equal Right Between Women and Men
Over the course of the discussion on the draft text on "the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights", some Experts said that the text should first deal with the definition of gender equality to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. The meaning of equality should be demonstrated in the text. The equality of women and men should be clearly highlighted taking into account the changing mind-set of some societies.
The position of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on the draft General Comment on the "the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights" was also discussed. It was said that CEDAW was hesitant to associate itself with the draft.
An Expert noted the stringent use of quota favoured groups rather than individuals. Through the application of a quota system, a group of women could benefit over a group of men. In addition, positive discriminatory measures or affirmative actions favouring women could bring about equality between men and women. The issue of equal representation of women and men in all fields, including public affairs, could also be addressed. However, the principle of equality between women and men could not necessarily create real equality if the biological issue was taken into consideration.
Another Expert said that the draft General Comment should give prominence to articles 6 and 7 of the International Covenant to ensure that women were not discriminated against at their workplace. [Article 6 deals with the right to work while article 7 deals with the right to just and favourable conditions of work.] It was essential that women should be guaranteed equal treatment concerning employment in the public and private sectors.
Inequality between men and women still existed in many countries not only at the economic, social and cultural rights but also at the level of civil and political rights, another Expert said. On a daily basis, discrimination against women continued in many societies. In some countries, women were still considered as minors even at the age of 60. The Committee should recommend to States parties to establish mechanisms to monitor discrimination against women.
An Expert said that the General Comment should be strengthened with the addition of a specific paragraph on the reasons that had motivated the drafting of the text. The educational aspect on equality should be given due attention because of the cultural prejudices still prevailing in some societies. Women themselves should be allowed to struggle for equality, as in the case of combating female genital mutilation in Africa where women themselves were at the forefront in the fight against its practice. The text should stress the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights in order to eliminate discrimination against women.
Reacting to some of the comments made by the Committee Experts, a representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that UNESCO continued to give priority to the projective of universal access to education. From its point of view, equality between men and women focused on the equality of opportunities for both. The creation of equal opportunity was a key objective to UNESCO's actions.
In conclusion, Committee Chairperson Virginia Bonoan-Dandan said that the text would be redrafted before the end of next July and would be discussed during the next session.

Report of the Secretary-General
The report of the Secretary-General entitled "Strengthening of the United Nations: an agenda for further change" suggests the streamlining of reports and consolidation of reports submitted to treaty bodies. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has requested the Committee to give its views on the notion of single report to all treaty bodies.
Introducing the debate, Committee Chairperson Virginia Bonoan-Dandan said that the report of the Secretary-General advocated for more effective treaty bodies and how they could efficiently work. The views expressed by the members of the Committee would be put together and would be communicated to the High Commissioner for Human Rights to be included in his report to the Secretary-General.
An Expert said that committees created to monitor the implementation of their respective treaties needed to see the evolution and the progressive implementation of the provisions of the treaties. If a single report was submitted, it might be difficult to distinguish which part of the report referred to which treaty. The single report system would pose a major difficulty during the consideration of subjects related to each committee.
Another Expert said the idea of a single report would lead to less protection and promotion. The participation of non-governmental organizations would also be weakened. If the decision on a single report was not yet taken, it should be opposed. Each Committee that monitored the implementation of the treaties had developed its own methods of work and the decision to deal with a single report might be inconvenient. The Expert said that he was in favour of the submission of separate reports and would oppose the single report option.
An Expert said that he too was not in favour of a single report, which would automatically lessen the issues to be discussed by members of the Committee. In the single report, each article might find very few lines and the activities of the State party on that issue might be minimized. The single report option would be easier for Governments.
The merging of the six reports on the six treaties should correspond to the merging of the treaty bodies, another Expert said. In the event of a single report regime, concise information could be reflected in it. However, the condensing of the reports might reduce the quantity of information provided on each treaty to which the State party was a party. The Committee should express either the view that the committees should also be merged to fit the single report situation or suggest that the status quo be maintained.
Other Experts also said that the Committee should support the status quo and insist on the submission of different reports to the different treaty bodies. Some Experts said that some treaty bodies had problems of overlapping, but the notion of a single report was not the solution.

Discussion on Right to Food
JEAN ZIEGLER, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the right to food, said that report of Brazil which the Committee was scheduled to examine on Friday 8 May had been superseded by the current political events in the country. An entirely new political environment had been introduced in Brazil with the election of a new President. The President had asserted that his priority was to implement the economic, social and cultural rights of the people and to improve the situation. There was a big difference in approaches to the economic and social situation between the previous and present governments. According to the statistics of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), there were 45 million citizens in Brazil who were permanently hungry. Considering that situation, the new President had elaborated a programme to deal with hunger during the coming four years. A strategy of "Zero-Hunger" had been designed by the new Government for that purpose.
Mr. Ziegler said that 41 measures had been put in place by the new Government to fight hunger and to incorporate programmes to secure food. A powerful ministry had been created to be a vanguard in the fight against hunger in Brazil. The Government and the people of Brazil had joined the movement that was mobilizing efforts against poverty and hunger. During the recent Porto Allegro conference, both the people and the Government had actively participated.
The Special Rapporteur said that the right to food was a human rights issue, and the question of debt servicing should be reconsidered. Although the debt was a contractual obligation, the amount of one segment of the debt servicing exceeded the federal expenditure on health and education in Brazil.
Reacting to some of the questions raised by Committee members, Mr. Ziegler said that he would continue to visit countries to assess the food situation, including the occupied Palestinian territories if the Israeli authorities would not be an obstacle to his mission.
If the new Brazilian Government was to put an end to hunger, it should not pay out the $ 230 billion debt, Mr. Ziegler said. Last year, 52 per cent of the country's Gross National Product (GNP) had been spent for the servicing of the debt. In the Latin American region, the army and neo-liberal regimes had consumed much of the nations resources.
CARLOS LOPEZ, of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the elaboration of guidelines on the right of food was under preparation by the Office. The working group on the elaboration of the guidelines was collaborating with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Office. The draft guidelines had been enriched by a series of views expressed by a number of individuals and organizations. The guidelines would be a policy instrument that could serve States parties in their efforts to deal with diverse issues pertaining to food.
MICHAEL WINDFUHR, of the Food First International Action Network (FIAN), said that the Committee's General Comment on the right to food had been well publicized during the meeting of Governments and non-governmental organizations in which 180 countries and 5,000 persons had participated. The issue of justiciability of the violation of the right to food was opposed by some of the Western countries during the recent session of the Commission on Human Rights.
Mr. Windfuhr said that the Committee's General Comment no.15 on the right to water had been widely accepted. The knowledge accumulated by the Committee should be reflected in all fora.



* *** *