COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL ANDCULTURAL RIGHTS HEARS STATEMENTS BY UN AGENCIES AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

CESCR
27th session
12 November 2001
Afternoon




The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon heard statements from two United Nations agencies and more than a dozen non-governmental organizations (NGOs) under its agenda item on substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

A number of NGOs took the floor to speak about violations of economic, social and cultural rights in the countries whose periodic reports are scheduled to be considered by the Committee this session. Two United Nations agencies also made statements on issues in their respective fields. General statements were made by NGOs dealing with the promotion of housing and land rights.

Several speakers focused on the problems facing the populations in Sweden, Colombia, Algeria and France in attaining their economic, social and cultural rights because of government policies and lack of resources by government agencies. Many of them underlined that economic, social and cultural rights were part of fundamental rights which should be protected and promoted by States parties to the International Covenant.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 13 November, it will take up the fourth periodic report of Sweden.


Statements by UN Agencies

The representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Rights (UNESCO) said UNESCO was giving the highest priority to the right to education for all. UNESCO had placed the realization of that right at the core of its activities. Meeting the challenge of universalizing access to education for the millions of children who were deprived of it and achieving the basic right to education for all as a fundamental human right was one of the biggest challenges.

The representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said UNFPA's major priority was the promotion of human rights. Strengthening the legal and institutional framework for recognizing reproductive and sexual health rights as human rights, for securing accountability towards human rights and for meeting the individual's basic necessities all constituted critical actions in addressing gender justice and gender equality. Progress had been made in the past decade in bringing attention to the critical importance of bridging the gap and reducing inequalities between women and men. The right to health and to reproductive rights were areas where inequalities infringed on development.


Statements by Non-Governmental Organizations

A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) spoke in connection with country reports to be examined by the Committee during the current session.

With respect to Sweden

The representative of the Swedish NGO Foundation for Human Rights said there was ambivalence as well as inconsistencies in Sweden's treatment of economic, social and cultural rights that were difficult to grasp and that seemed to differ from one situation to another. That behaviour created a double standard and was not consistent with the purpose of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. She urged the Committee to address those and other issues in its consideration of the report of Sweden, and to work together with NGOs in order to make economic, social and cultural rights a reality for all people in Sweden.


With respect to Colombia

Representatives of Grupo de Apoyo Pedagogico, Colombia said Colombian women were fighting against different social storms in their country to save lives. In its concluding observations on the third periodic report of Colombia, the Committee had recommended that conditions of community women be improved by way of training and salary increments. However, the situation of the community women had not changed; they received salaries below the minimum wage; and the unorderly training had not improved their lives. There were obstacles to access to basic necessities by community mothers and the children they were taking care of. They were not recognized as public workers. The decision by the Constitutional Court to limit the retirement age of community mothers was also brought up by another representative of the same NGO.

The representative of Red nacional de Mujeres, Colombia drew attention to the non-respect of the right to citizenship in Colombia. She said the right of equality for Colombian women was being violated. In the past, the NGO had urged the Colombian Government to respect the equality of women and to adopt programmes to improve their situation. Women constituted 25 per cent of public servants; little attention was given to discrimination against women; and the measures undertaken by the Government to end discrimination against women were insufficient. The wage difference between men and women in the labour market was large. The Government should take measures to reduce discrimination against women in the country.

The representative of the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), Switzerland said the prevailing situation in Colombia was of great concern. The right to collective bargaining and the right to strike were being violated by the Government of Colombia. The persecution of workers had limited the enjoyment of trade union rights in the country. The killing of trade union leaders and members had deplorably increased in 2000, bringing the number of murders to several thousand since 1991.

The representative of the International Federation for Free Trade Unions said that the Federation was deeply concerned about the situation of trade unionists in Colombia where they had always been seriously persecuted. In 2000, more trade unionists were killed in Colombia than in any other region of the world. Last October, eight trade unionists were assassinated in Colombia, bringing the figure of murdered trade unionists so far this year to 118.

The representative of the International Food First Network FIAN-International said the organization had made available a report that was compiled by a fact-finding mission to the rural areas of Colombia with regard to farmers. At least 2 million people had been internally displaced and resettlement agreements with the Government had not been fulfilled. Very few persons held most of the arable land, thus excluding the majority of peasants. Food security of many rural area farmers was being affected by the use of insecticides.

The representative of the Comision Colombiana de Juristas said in recent years the number of persons affected by poverty had seriously increased. The rural population in Colombia, which comprised 60 per cent of the whole population -- 8 million -- lived below the poverty line. Several million children did not go to school; and 45 per cent of children left school in the first three years of their education. Internal displacement was constantly taking place as a result of violence; and the Government had not developed a policy to deal with forced evictions.

The representative of the Colombian Platform for Human Rights said that many Colombian citizens were deprived of exercising their economic, social and cultural rights. Most Colombians also lived below the poverty level. In the last decade, more than 1,500 trade unionists had been assassinated in Colombia. The practice of forced evictions in the country was also denounced.

The representative of the National Colombian Movement for Health and Social Security condemned the deterioration of the sanitary situation in Colombia where less than half the population had access to sanitary services. He also condemned the closing down of a number of public hospitals which had decreased the population's access to health services. In the past decade there had been at least 25,000 murders in Colombia every year. He concluded by noting that one could not talk about the situation in Colombia without mentioning the problems of displaced persons in the country as well as environmental degradation.

The representative of the Corporacion Medellin said that primary education was still not free in Colombia although the country had ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 33 years ago.

The representative of the Asociation de Trabajo Interdisciplinario recalled that although the Colombian Constitution recognized the right to adequate housing, the situation of housing for Colombians had not improved and a large per cent of the population lived in precarious housing conditions.

The representative of the Colombian Platform for Human Rights drew the attention of the Committee to the deterioration of social indicators in Colombia in the last five years. He urged the Committee to send a mission to Colombia to examine the impact of the Colombian Plan on the exercise of economic, social and cultural rights in the country.


With respect to Algeria

The representative of the World Congress Amazigh said several million Kabylians were excluded from enjoying their economic, social and cultural rights due to the repressive policies of Algeria. They were denied their rights legally and at a constitutional level. The law on Arabization had prohibited the use of Amazigh language by Kabylians. The language was considered as a foreign language. Since the official religion was Islam, all other religions were forbidden in the country. The response of the Government to calls for the respect of the Amazigh language had been repression. The Algerian Government should recognize the principle of self-determination of Kabylia.

Another representative of the same organization said that the issue of Kabylia should be put to a referendum to be decided by the people themselves. The imposition of Arabic and Islam was a serious infringement of the relevant international conventions to which Algeria was a party.

The representative of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions said the mounting discontent among the Kabylians stemmed from repression, social injustice and their aspiration for a national identity.

The representative of the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylia said the Kabylians had been suffering since the national independence of Algeria. Algeria was defining itself as an Arab nation while disregarding the existence of people like the Kabylians who constituted a third of the Algerian population.

The representative of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights said that during the last 10 years of war in Algeria, 250,000 persons had been killed while 70,000 had been forcefully disappeared. There was also the issue of the daily practise of torture in the country. He recalled that the Algerian people had not stopped their demand for elections to be held in the presence of independent observers. He also affirmed that the Algerian justice system was not independent.


With respect to France

The representative of the World Congress Amazigh said Amazigh Berbers in France had not been able to develop their cultural identities as French citizens. There were an estimated 1.5 million Berbers living in France, most of whom had obtained the French nationality. Students were forced to study the Arabic language rather then their Berber one. The right of Berbers to speak their language was not encouraged and developed.

The representative of 'Pour Que Vivent nos Langues' -- For our language to live -- said that the French Republic was an example of a State with a diversity of languages which did not recognize its regional languages officially. Cultural and linguistic identities of regions should not be lost. The concept of a single and indivisible Republic had been perpetuated in order not to recognize other languages in the country.


General Statements

The representative of the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net) said that economic, social and cultural rights were essential for a life of dignity and freedom; however, those rights had only recently gained increased understanding and importance within the human rights framework and in the work of intergovernmental and other organizations. He pointed out that certain rights were in grave danger because of the international campaign against terrorism.

The representative of the Habitat International Coalition presented a report of the Coalition's March 2000 fact-finding mission to Kenya on the right to adequate housing. He said that eviction in Kenya continued without due regard to international norms. The Government had failed to protect and promote land and housing rights. Kenya had acceded to the Covenant 25 years ago but the situation of the population remained the same. In addition, refugees were losing their dignity because of the worsening situation in the country. The Committee should ask the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing to undertake a mission to Kenya, he concluded.

The representative of the Argentinean Centre of Legal and Social Studies said there was a setback in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights in Argentina. The Argentinean policy of distributing revenue favoured the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. The representative denounced the decision by the Argentinean Government to decrease the salaries of employees in the public sector.

The representative of the Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions drew the attention of the Committee to a project that the organization had initiated to demonstrate the increased acceptance of the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights by many of the States parties to the International Covenant.




* *** *