COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS HEARS STATEMENT BY HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

CESCR
26th session
14 August 2001
Morning





Starts Consideration of Report Submitted by Senegal



The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning heard a statement by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson who expressed her deep appreciation for the excellent work carried out by the Committee in promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights. She said the Committee really improved the consideration of these rights by the States parties.

Mrs. Robinson recalled the general comment on poverty and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which was adopted by the Committee at its previous session. The general comment addressed the relationship between the phenomenon of poverty and the violation of human rights, and in particular economic, social and cultural rights. She said that this general comment provided an important link between the Covenant as a source of international human rights norms and standards and the activities of the High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding human rights mainstreaming in poverty reduction strategies.

Also this morning, the Committee started its consideration of a second periodic report submitted by Senegal in the absence of a delegation. The State party sent a letter explaining that it was not able to send a delegation because of internal reasons. The Government of Senegal asked the Committee to examine the report in a future session, but the Experts decided to proceed with their examination of the report. A representative of the Permanent Mission of Senegal to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Diejane Sambe Thioune, was present to hear the comments of the Committee.

Many Experts regretted the absence of a delegation, which impeded the work of the Committee. The Experts said this did not allow them to hold a constructive dialogue that would have helped them completely understand the problems faced by Senegal. They also noted that the State party had not provided satisfactory information in the report concerning the problems faced and measures envisaged to improve the enjoyment of the rights covered under the Covenant. Concern was expressed about female genital mutilation, poverty and child labour.

Senegal is among the 145 States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and as such it must present periodic reports summarizing the efforts made with the view to implementing the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will meet in private to discuss its final recommendations on the report of Senegal.

Statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights

In her statement, Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed her deep appreciation for the excellent work done by the Committee in promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights. She said the Committee really improved the consideration of these rights by the States parties.

Mrs. Robinson said that she was grateful for the Committee's input into the preparatory process for the World Conference and she welcomed once again its contributions, which included two General Comments relating to the right to education B including primary education- and concrete recommendations for the outcome document.

Mrs. Robinson appreciated that yesterday's discussion in the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights on the Social Forum showed the close cooperation between this Committee and the Subcommission to promote, protect and enhance the understanding of economic, social and cultural rights.

The High Commissioner said that in accordance with a Commission on Human Rights resolution, an Independent Expert had been appointed to study the issue of the draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, with a view to submitting a report to next year's Commission session. This decision constituted an important step forward on an issue of crucial relevance to this Committee, which had been debated by the Commission since 1997.

The High Commissioner recalled the important general comment on poverty and the Covenant adopted by the Committee at its previous session, which addressed the relationship between the phenomenon of poverty and the violation of human rights, and in particular economic, social and cultural rights. She said this general comment provided an important link between the Covenant as a source of international human rights norms and standards and the activities of the High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding human rights mainstreaming in poverty reduction strategies. The High Commissioner also talked about the international consultation on "economic, social and cultural rights in development activities of international institutions", which had been organized by the Committee in cooperation with the High Council of International Cooperation. She said this meeting gave rise to an interesting discussion on a wide range of topics B from international trade to mainstreaming human rights activities in development activities B and had yielded a considerable number of interesting working and background papers. In this regard, a suggestion made by the Rapporteur of this Committee during that international consultation has resulted in an initiative that the High Commission on Human Rights was presently undertaking, namely to develop guidelines on integrating human rights into national poverty reduction strategies, and in particular into the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, a new policy instrument introduced by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Mrs. Robinson welcomed the general review of the methods of work that the Committee had done during its previous session, and in particular the decision to increase the efficiency of the session by changing the number of meetings devoted to the consideration of periodic reports.

The High Commissioner said that the Global Plan of Action for Treaty Bodies, which aimed at ensuring the high quality of servicing of the treaty bodies by the Secretariat, would soon enter its second year. The High Commissioner would soon be sitting down with major donors who had responded to the Annual Appeal to take stock of the achievements and successes registered during the first year and to map the future activities.

Responding to a comment by a Committee member, Mrs. Robinson said that she acknowledged that States underestimated their legal obligations when they ratified the Covenant. In her opinion, time had come to work on this area, so that States parties recognized their international legal obligations and the consequences of this denial in the country. She assured the Committee that the aim of her Office was to provide the Committee with the best possible support and assistance, and that she continuously strived for improvement. Mrs. Robinson also said that Secretary-General Kofi Annan was aware of the remarkable work achieved by this Committee and gave it all his support.


Report of Senegal

The report of Senegal (document E/1990/6/Add.25) enumerates the various measures undertaken by the State in order to comply with the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It says that Senegal, a former French colony, gained sovereignty on 4 April 1960. At the very outset it acquired political institutions marked by the separation of powers. The taking up of the highest office by President Abdou Diouf in 1980 heralded major innovations, including the institution of complete political pluralism, enabling more than 20 political parties to be established.

In addition, the electoral legislation was amended in 1992 and important changes were made, including the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18 years, which has considerably increased the size of the Senegalese electorate. The term of office of the President was set at seven years. The report also draws attention to the creation in 1997 of an independent structure responsible for the supervision and monitoring of elections, namely the National Elections Observatory (ONE).

In 1992, the public authorities decided to abolish the Supreme Court and replace it with three high judicial bodies: The Constitutional Council, which deals with electoral disputes; The Council of State, which is the judge of any exceeding of power by the executive authorities and of the lawfulness of administrative acts; and the Court of Cassation that decides on appeal at the cassation stage on judgments rendered in last resort by the lower courts. These three high judicial bodies also have the principal task of guaranteeing basic human rights as defined by the Constitution and international legal instruments. Furthermore, the public authorities abolished in 1992 the Court of National Security, as it was contrary to the ideals of human rights. Note should also be taken of the establishment, as of 1991, of an Ombudsman of the Republic.

The report says that the Senegalese Human Rights Committee, created in 1997, is an independent institution for consultation, observation, evaluation, dialogue, cooperation and the formulation of proposals with regard to respect for human rights. The Inter-ministerial Committee on Human Rights is the main interlocutor for human rights organizations within the administration. It in particular encourages the teaching of human rights and international humanitarian law in schools, universities and training colleges for law-enforcement personnel.

The report says that with regards to access to social services, the last ten years have been marked by serious difficulties connected with the shortage of public financial resources that have not enabled the State to meet society's heavy demand for education, health-care services and housing as well as all public utility needs (water, electricity, sanitation, etc.). Some 30 per cent of households are thus living below the poverty line if this is defined in respect of expenditure necessary to obtain 2 400 calories/day per person. Measures to combat poverty are being finalized between the World Bank and Senegal. Action should be taken among the most vulnerable segments of the society, in both rural and urban areas; 75 per cent of rural households and 58 per cent of urban households are poor.

Concerning education, the report says that the results recorded are very weak, with a decline in the enrolment rate for elementary school children between 1988 and 1994. It was only after 1994 that enrolment rates began to improve. With regard to health, the population's conditions of life, as measured by the indices of mortality, have improved over the past ten years. However, the improvement observed in the field of health has benefited urban areas more. Rural areas still showed high rates of infant and child mortality. Very great disparities are noted between urban and rural indicators.


Discussion

ARIRANGA GOVINDASAMY PILLAY, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur on the report of Senegal, said that most of the Committee's previous recommendations had not been implemented by Senegal. He said that Senegal had asked the Committee to take into account the problems impeding the implementation of the Covenant faced by the country, such as structural adjustment programmes, external debt servicing and violence that occurred in the Casamance region. Me. Pillay regretted that Senegalese women still faced female genital mutilation, domestic violence as well as marriage under the age of 15. Senegalese cultural practices hindered women's enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights. He said that child slavery and the lack of health and sanitation facilities also remained a subject of concern. Military expenditures were very high in opposition to health and education expenditures. Nevertheless, Mr. Pillay welcomed the HIV campaign, which was quite successful.

Many Experts regretted the absence of a delegation which impeded the work of the Committee and did not allow it to exchange a constructive dialogue that would have helped the complete understanding of the problems faced by the country. They also noted that the State party had not provided satisfactory information in the report concerning the problems faced and measures envisaged to improve the enjoyment of the rights covered under the Covenant. Indeed, non-governmental organizations had provided the major part of information at the disposal of the Committee. The Experts said Senegal needed to collect more statistics and data on the situation of economic, social and cultural rights in the country and the next report should be more complete.

Most Experts expressed deep concern at the extent of the practice of female genital mutilation. A non-governmental delegation reported that between 60 and 80 per cent of the female population was excised. The Experts said such customs were inadmissible and violated the various rights covered under the Covenant. The Committee was also particularly concerned that significantly lower literacy rates for women as well as certain cultural practices seriously compromised their opportunities for employment and advancement.

A Committee member said it was undeniable that poverty was on the increase in Senegal. Taking a 15-year period (1980-1994), the per capita growth index gave a negative result. The most recent available studies showed a worrying social situation, a very low level of schooling, a high percentage of illiteracy, poor access to drinking water in the urban and rural areas, a mediocre life expectancy, a high incidence of hygiene and water related diseases and bad access to health services.

An Expert regretted that child labour was a traditional phenomenon in rural areas and was common in urban zones. According to the International Labour Office, 10 per cent of the whole child population was carrying out some paid task. As the survey by the Office of Forecast and Statistics on child labour showed, 82 per cent of girl children worked in agriculture or domestic tasks. Child labour occurred for the most part in the rural environment, for the child's future insertion into working life. In the urban area, in the context of absolute poverty, the lack of schooling perspectives and employment opportunities for the parents explained the child labour. Child labour, in particular among the working class urban economy, appeared to be the only way of offering the children an apprenticeship for life, providing a supplementary income for a large part of the population.

A Committee member wondered why French was the official language when only 20 per cent of the population spoke it and six other national languages were spoken and recognized by the Constitution. Another Expert said that Senegal should limit the powers of authorities to restrict the right to strike by imposing compulsory arbitration.

The representative of the Permanent Mission of Senegal, Diejane Sambe Thioune, apologized for the absence of a delegation and assured the Committee Experts that Senegal firmly wanted to collaborate with the Committee and was aware of the importance of the Committee's work. The representative said Senegal was facing many difficulties. He repeated that the violence that occurred in the Casamance region, the structural adjustment policies and the large number of refugees from Liberia flowing to Senegal impeded the implementation of the Covenant. The representative assured the Experts that the Senegalese Government had the will to continue its collaboration and partnership with the Committee and asked for its understanding.



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