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CESCR
25th session
7 May 2001
Morning



The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning opened its day-long “general consultation” on economic, social and cultural rights in the development activities of international institutions.

Leaders of several international institutions, including specialized agencies of the United Nations, spoke about the need to coordinate efforts to ensure that the rights guaranteed in the various treaty bodies were better respected.

Bertrand Ramcharan, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said there should be consideration of partnerships among the specialized agencies that would allow the core of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to be further strengthened. He recommended that the agencies each deploy a specialist to work with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure the rights that fell under the discipline of each agency were addressed.

Juan Somavia, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization, said globalization without any standards was a danger. The global economy was being faced by everyone, and each international organization was focusing on it in its own respective discipline. But there had to be a more integrated view -- a view that took into account the policy of the other international bodies. There had to be movement from a single way of thinking to more integrated things.

Jean Louis Bianco, President of the High Council for International Cooperation (France), said globalization had enabled two billion people to enjoy economic success, but the poorer members of society had not been part of that. New rules were needed to protect them. He suggested establishing an international compact among international organizations, modelled after Secretary-General Kofi Annan's proposed global compact for the international business community. This compact would ensure that human rights were considered foremost among the agencies.

Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development, asked to what extent were the international organizations bound by the international human rights covenants. It was clear that international organizations were not abstract entities, and were formed by concrete countries. Membership of these organizations were generally the same as the memberships of the covenants. The member countries set the priorities of the organizations, and therefore, could set human rights as a priority for the organizations.

Paul Hunt, Member and Rapporteur of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, referred to an omnibus resolution on economic, social and cultural rights adopted last month by the Commission on Human Rights. He said the aspects of the resolution -- encouraging coordination between the Committee and international organizations, touched upon very important elements of the Committee's work. The Committee was constantly urging States parties to integrate the Covenant across all their policy-making processes. And the Committee, especially in recent years, had been systematically reaching out to other parts of the UN family.

Alfredo Sfeir-Younis, Special Representative of the World Bank to the United Nations, said that this Committee often advocated that human rights values should cut at the centre of economic values. This was despite the fact that, in the real world, there were many instances where significant win-win situations were present, and where it was central that societies took advantage of them. Some development practitioners, including many economists, would put some dimensions of human rights values first, as they would argue that the initial assignment of rights over productive assets would determine not only the equity outcome, but the efficiency outcome of that economic process as well.

Also making statements this morning were Jean-Claude Faure of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development; Omar Noman of the United Nations Development Programme; Lee Swepston of the International Labour Office; and Patricia Feeney of Oxfam/UK.

When the Committee returns to session at 3 p.m., the “international consultation”, which is being held in cooperation between the Committee and the High Council for International Cooperation (France), will continue with a debate on the possible advances concerning economic, social and cultural rights.

Discussion

BERTRAND RAMCHARAN, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the goals of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights should also be the goals of Governments. When development plans were being shaped and drafted, the rights in the Covenant should figure within the goals. Each country should have focused plans -- it was not enough to engage in advocacy. The goals had to be implemented at the national level. There should be monitoring mechanisms -- an arrangement within labour ministries to ensure that the right to work was being implemented, for example.

Mr. Ramcharan said more had to be done to address the consistent patterns of violation of economic, social and cultural rights. In the history of the United Nations, there had been efforts to significantly tackle violations of civil and political rights,but not much had been done to address the violations of economic, social and cultural rights. Further, he said, the principality of equality and non-discrimination should be a bedrock principal. It was not just central to the Covenant, it was central to the entire international economic debate.


He said there should be consideration of partnerships among the specialized agencies that would allow the core of the Covenant to be further strengthened. He recommended that the agencies each deploy a specialist to work with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure the rights that fell under the discipline of each agency were addressed. The partnership between the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the specialized agencies was crucial.

JUAN SOMAVIA, Director-General of the International Labour Office, said the ILO had a symbiotic relationship with the Covenant. They shared visions and values, and had developed a number of activities in the past.

Mr. Somavia said globalization without any standards was a danger. The global economy was being faced by everyone, and each international organization was focusing on it in its own respective discipline. But there had to be a more integrated view -- a view that took into account the policy of the other international bodies. There had to be movement from a single way of thinking to more integrated things.

He said the ILO had been trying to implement the decent employment agenda. It recognized that the right to work could not be enjoyed if there was no work. The creation of employment was a central component of the right to work. A few years ago, the ILO adopted the Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, focusing on the most abhorrent cases of child labour. Over 170 countries signed it, and now the ILO was focusing on taking the next step -- not aiming for the reduction, but the eradication of the worst forms of child labour.

RUBENS RICUPERO, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development, said one of the most remarkable changes between 10 years ago, when he was an ambassador in the Commission of Human Rights, and today was the increasing centrality of the discussion in the Commission of economic, social and cultural rights. Results had been seen.

Mr. Ricupero asked to what extent were the international organizations bound by the human rights covenants. It was clear that international organizations were not abstract entities, and were formed by concrete countries. Membership of these organizations were generally the same as the membership of the Covenants. The member countries set the priorities of the organizations.

Did globalization undermine economic, social and cultural rights, he asked. It was important to keep in the mind what was new because of globalization and what was a continuation of past trends. Poverty and needs were problems that needed to be addressed before globalization started. It could be argued that globalization had exacerbated the situation. The approach to globalization should be measured and moderate, if there was to be an effective assessment of economic, social and cultural rights in the economy.

JEAN-LOUIS BIANCO, President of the High Council for International Cooperation (France), said that since 1966, when the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was signed, news States had come into existence, and new problems had begun. Globalization had enabled two billion humans to enjoy economic success, but the poorer members of society had not been part of that, and new rules were needed to protect them.

He suggested establishing an international compact among international organizations, much like the Secretary-General had suggested for the business community across the world. This compact would ensure that human rights were considered foremost.

PAUL HUNT, Member and Rapporteur of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, said last month the Commission on Human Rights adopted its omnibus resolution on economic, social and cultural rights. There were three main aspects -- one called upon all States parties to the Covenant to ensure it was taken into account in policy making; the second encouraged the Committee to enhance its cooperation with the specialized agencies; and the third encouraged the specialized agencies and programmes and other UN bodies to enhance their cooperation and increase coordination with the Committee.

He said these three aspects of the resolution touched upon very important elements of the Committee's work. The Committee was constantly urging States parties to integrate the Covenant across all their policy-making processes. And the Committee, especially in recent years, had been systematically reaching out to other parts of the UN family.

ALFREDO SFEIR-YOUNIS, Special Representative of the World Bank to the United Nations, said what this Committee often advocated was that human rights values should cut at the centre of economic values, that human rights superseded economic values and that decision making rule was one of the most important issues to be discussed. This was despite the fact that, in the real world, there were many instances where significant win-win situations were present, and where it was central that societies took advantage of them. Some development practitioners, including many economists, would put some dimensions of human rights values first, as they would argue that the initial assignment of rights over productive assets would determine not only the equity outcome, but the efficiency outcome of that economic process as well.

But the major question that this assertion posed, he said, was its relativity, particularly in a world that operated on "trade-offs", a world where resources were limited and the efficiency in the allocation of those resources did matter. The analysis should be extended to take account of social and cultural values as well. In this case, it was important to note that the value system that would be used in making these decisions was not always the same across countries, or even within countries, or when comparisons between local and global challenges were made. This situation could raise a number of issues regarding how agreed principles within this Committee were to be applied, and how one would deal with cultural relativism.




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