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05 May 2000
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CESCR
22nd Session
5 May 2000
Afternoon
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon completed its consideration of the Republic of the Congo's implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
A Government delegation from the Republic of the Congo told Committee members that economic and political instability, including two civil wars since 1993, had made it difficult to ensure the protection of rights guaranteed in the treaty. Even before war had erupted, said Julian Menga, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Congo to the United Nations Office at Geneva, economic hardships had forced the Government to cut the education budget. Later, the civil wars caused a great deal of destruction to the infrastructure of the country. Children, he said, had lost interest in school, and parents at times would have their children work instead of going to school. Teenagers, he said, preferred to work in the market or at plantations instead of getting an education.
The comments from the Permanent Representative and the rest of the delegation came as the Committee reviewed, in absence of a report, the situation of the rights in the Republic of the Congo. Since ratifying the International Covenant in 1984, the Republic of the Congo had not filed a report as required by the treaty.
The delegation also said that although polygamy was a cultural phenomenon that went back several centuries, proposals had been made to prohibit the practice. It also addressed issues ranging from discrimination against women to the treatment of the pygmy minority, among others.
International organizations also spoke to the Committee about the situation in the country. A representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) explained that it had granted a three-year loan to the country in 1996 to support a programme aimed at accelerating growth, but that the programme had been overtaken by the civil war in 1997. Since then, the representative said, the IMF had approved a $ 10 million loan as part of a three-month emergency programme to restore basic living conditions.
A representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said that while the Republic of the Congo was not classified as a Least Developed Country, it was a Low Income Food Deficit Country, and was among the countries facing exceptional food emergencies during the current year. There was widespread chronic food insecurity, which led to undernourishment. The proportion of undernourished had increased from 29 per cent from 1979-1981 to 34 per cent from 1995-1997. During the same time period, developing countries as a whole saw their undernourished population decline from 29 per cent to 18 per cent.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Monday, 8 May, it will hold a day-long general discussion on the right to health -- article 12 of the Covenant.
Discussion
JULIAN MENGA, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Congo to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said there was a draft legislation that was being prepared on the problem of political parties. The preliminary draft said no party could be established unless it included representatives of half of the regions of the country. That would ensure that it would be a national party, and showed the true feelings for reconciliation in the country.
Asked about polygamy, the delegation said it was a cultural phenomenon that went back several centuries. The Congolese Government, like other States, had noted that an inequality existed. Studies had been done by experts, and proposals had been made with the idea of prohibiting polygamy. There was now a State structure which involved NGOs and civil society. So even if the laws had not been harmonized in that sense, efforts were being made.
Addressing discrimination against women, the delegation said the problem with inheritance when a husband died was that women did not know their rights. Women were entitled to 30 per cent of their late husband's estate, but often they were not aware of that, and the family of the husband would rush in and take everything. One of the reasons, as stated earlier, was the fact that women were under-represented in public.
Concerning domestic violence, the delegation said it did exist, just like everywhere else. To bring a husband up on charges in court, a wife can allege battery. But it was all a question of customs, and whether they wanted to bring charges themselves.
Abortion was illegal in all senses, the delegation said, except for therapeutic abortion, which was when the woman was raped.
Children born out of wedlock had the same rights as legitimate children, the delegation said.
There were difficulties in implementing the Covenant, the delegation said. They were mainly economic and political. Concerning the economy, before the wars, there had been a cut in the education budget. Then, there were civil wars that had caused a great deal of destruction to the infrastructure. Children had lost interest in school, and parents would sometimes use their children for economic purposes. Teenagers would prefer to go sell in the market than go to school, or the ones who lived in the village would prefer to work on plantations rather than go to school.
The delegation said pygmies were Congolese nationals as well. The Constitution considered them full citizens, they had access to education and enjoyed the right to work. They were a national minority. There was a problem between the life the pygmies had opted for -- living in rural regions -- and the demands of modern life. Studies had been done to try to solve the problem. The Government did not want to solve the problem in an authoritarian fashion. It did not want to destroy the pygmy culture. It was not tantamount to slavery at all. There was a problem with reconciling their lifestyle with a modern lifestyle.
The delegation said the Government had adopted the convention on minimum norms on social security matters. Since 1996, there had been a decree which guaranteed these rights. But contributions had recently fallen while expenditures had increased. The gap was about $96 million, so pensioners only got their pensions about one month out of three. There were a number of proposals to try to redress this financial imbalance.
Asked about economic recovery, the delegation said there was a certain political environment that was being shaped, and it was improving with peace. This was essential to have long-lasting economic activities. There had been problems in implementing reforms because of the civil wars. There was also an investment code at the national level. Enormous progress was being made in restructuring the banking system. It was essential to cut out the unhealthy banking practices. There had also been structural reforms in the area of public financing.
About the fight against poverty, the delegation said there was a programme for economic and social development. It was a three-year programme which aimed to further consolidate the reform efforts, and to promote recovery, growth and sustainable development. It hoped to strengthen permanent job growth.
Questioned about the management of oil income, the delegation said Congo had enormous natural resources -- oil, timber and many others. The problem was management and making wise choices. The most recent period was marked by mismanagement. There was income that was used to buy weapons. One of the wishes of the new Government was to change these practices. A contract had been completed with an American oil company -- Oxy - where the price of oil was sold at $3 a barrel when the market price was $18 a barrel. These were economic crimes.
Answering a question about the protection of forests, the delegation said a law had been adopted to try to protect ecosystems. This was an example of the will of the Government to try to protect natural areas. There was a decree that when oil companies were dismantling, the area should be returned to its normal state. There was a policy of replanting and reforestation to stop the felling of forests. Efforts were being made to decrease erosion.
Talking about employment for those who were displaced, the delegation said the Government had received much support from international organizations like UNHCR. People who had worked in the public sector were returned to their original job at the same salary. In the private sector, if the company was not destroyed, those people too were given their old jobs back.
A representative of the International Monetary Fund said in June 1996, the IMF had approved a three-year loan. The loan was extended to support the Republic of the Congo's medium-term programme to accelerate output and growth, attain sustainable fiscal and external positions by the end of the decade, and achieve external public debt sustainability over the medium term. In the event, the programme had been overtaken by the outbreak of civil war. Upon assuming power in November 1997, the new Government had implemented a three-month emergency programme, with support from the United Nations, the European Union, France, and NGOs to restore basic living conditions in terms of security, health, food and shelter, and to begin rebuilding the country's institutional, administrative and statistical capacity. As part of this effort, in mid-1998, the Fund had approved a loan for the country equivalent to about $10 million under the IMF's emergency post-conflict assistance. A Fund staff team visited Brazzaville in early April. The team worked with the authorities to prepare a preliminary macroeconomic framework for 2000, which built on the favourable price developments in the oil sector, but which must incorporate reconstruction outlays. It was possible to envisage a return to economic growth, subdued consumer price increases, improved general government finances and settlement of arrears. Nevertheless, a substantial financial gap would appear.
A representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization said the Republic of the Congo was not classified as a Least Development Country, but was a Low Income Food Deficit Country, and was among the countries facing exceptional food emergencies during the current year. The country was almost entirely dependent on imports for its cereal needs. There was widespread chronic food insecurity there, leading to undernourishment. The proportion of undernourished had increased from 29 per cent from 1979-1981 to 34 per cent from 1995-1997. For developing countries as a whole, the proportion had declined from 29 per cent to 18 per cent in the same period. Severe malnutrition was affecting the displaced population and nutrition centers had been opened to help malnourished people. A railway was link expected to open in April 2000 between Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire and was expected to improve the food supply situation.
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22nd Session
5 May 2000
Afternoon
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon completed its consideration of the Republic of the Congo's implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
A Government delegation from the Republic of the Congo told Committee members that economic and political instability, including two civil wars since 1993, had made it difficult to ensure the protection of rights guaranteed in the treaty. Even before war had erupted, said Julian Menga, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Congo to the United Nations Office at Geneva, economic hardships had forced the Government to cut the education budget. Later, the civil wars caused a great deal of destruction to the infrastructure of the country. Children, he said, had lost interest in school, and parents at times would have their children work instead of going to school. Teenagers, he said, preferred to work in the market or at plantations instead of getting an education.
The comments from the Permanent Representative and the rest of the delegation came as the Committee reviewed, in absence of a report, the situation of the rights in the Republic of the Congo. Since ratifying the International Covenant in 1984, the Republic of the Congo had not filed a report as required by the treaty.
The delegation also said that although polygamy was a cultural phenomenon that went back several centuries, proposals had been made to prohibit the practice. It also addressed issues ranging from discrimination against women to the treatment of the pygmy minority, among others.
International organizations also spoke to the Committee about the situation in the country. A representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) explained that it had granted a three-year loan to the country in 1996 to support a programme aimed at accelerating growth, but that the programme had been overtaken by the civil war in 1997. Since then, the representative said, the IMF had approved a $ 10 million loan as part of a three-month emergency programme to restore basic living conditions.
A representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said that while the Republic of the Congo was not classified as a Least Developed Country, it was a Low Income Food Deficit Country, and was among the countries facing exceptional food emergencies during the current year. There was widespread chronic food insecurity, which led to undernourishment. The proportion of undernourished had increased from 29 per cent from 1979-1981 to 34 per cent from 1995-1997. During the same time period, developing countries as a whole saw their undernourished population decline from 29 per cent to 18 per cent.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Monday, 8 May, it will hold a day-long general discussion on the right to health -- article 12 of the Covenant.
Discussion
JULIAN MENGA, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Congo to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said there was a draft legislation that was being prepared on the problem of political parties. The preliminary draft said no party could be established unless it included representatives of half of the regions of the country. That would ensure that it would be a national party, and showed the true feelings for reconciliation in the country.
Asked about polygamy, the delegation said it was a cultural phenomenon that went back several centuries. The Congolese Government, like other States, had noted that an inequality existed. Studies had been done by experts, and proposals had been made with the idea of prohibiting polygamy. There was now a State structure which involved NGOs and civil society. So even if the laws had not been harmonized in that sense, efforts were being made.
Addressing discrimination against women, the delegation said the problem with inheritance when a husband died was that women did not know their rights. Women were entitled to 30 per cent of their late husband's estate, but often they were not aware of that, and the family of the husband would rush in and take everything. One of the reasons, as stated earlier, was the fact that women were under-represented in public.
Concerning domestic violence, the delegation said it did exist, just like everywhere else. To bring a husband up on charges in court, a wife can allege battery. But it was all a question of customs, and whether they wanted to bring charges themselves.
Abortion was illegal in all senses, the delegation said, except for therapeutic abortion, which was when the woman was raped.
Children born out of wedlock had the same rights as legitimate children, the delegation said.
There were difficulties in implementing the Covenant, the delegation said. They were mainly economic and political. Concerning the economy, before the wars, there had been a cut in the education budget. Then, there were civil wars that had caused a great deal of destruction to the infrastructure. Children had lost interest in school, and parents would sometimes use their children for economic purposes. Teenagers would prefer to go sell in the market than go to school, or the ones who lived in the village would prefer to work on plantations rather than go to school.
The delegation said pygmies were Congolese nationals as well. The Constitution considered them full citizens, they had access to education and enjoyed the right to work. They were a national minority. There was a problem between the life the pygmies had opted for -- living in rural regions -- and the demands of modern life. Studies had been done to try to solve the problem. The Government did not want to solve the problem in an authoritarian fashion. It did not want to destroy the pygmy culture. It was not tantamount to slavery at all. There was a problem with reconciling their lifestyle with a modern lifestyle.
The delegation said the Government had adopted the convention on minimum norms on social security matters. Since 1996, there had been a decree which guaranteed these rights. But contributions had recently fallen while expenditures had increased. The gap was about $96 million, so pensioners only got their pensions about one month out of three. There were a number of proposals to try to redress this financial imbalance.
Asked about economic recovery, the delegation said there was a certain political environment that was being shaped, and it was improving with peace. This was essential to have long-lasting economic activities. There had been problems in implementing reforms because of the civil wars. There was also an investment code at the national level. Enormous progress was being made in restructuring the banking system. It was essential to cut out the unhealthy banking practices. There had also been structural reforms in the area of public financing.
About the fight against poverty, the delegation said there was a programme for economic and social development. It was a three-year programme which aimed to further consolidate the reform efforts, and to promote recovery, growth and sustainable development. It hoped to strengthen permanent job growth.
Questioned about the management of oil income, the delegation said Congo had enormous natural resources -- oil, timber and many others. The problem was management and making wise choices. The most recent period was marked by mismanagement. There was income that was used to buy weapons. One of the wishes of the new Government was to change these practices. A contract had been completed with an American oil company -- Oxy - where the price of oil was sold at $3 a barrel when the market price was $18 a barrel. These were economic crimes.
Answering a question about the protection of forests, the delegation said a law had been adopted to try to protect ecosystems. This was an example of the will of the Government to try to protect natural areas. There was a decree that when oil companies were dismantling, the area should be returned to its normal state. There was a policy of replanting and reforestation to stop the felling of forests. Efforts were being made to decrease erosion.
Talking about employment for those who were displaced, the delegation said the Government had received much support from international organizations like UNHCR. People who had worked in the public sector were returned to their original job at the same salary. In the private sector, if the company was not destroyed, those people too were given their old jobs back.
A representative of the International Monetary Fund said in June 1996, the IMF had approved a three-year loan. The loan was extended to support the Republic of the Congo's medium-term programme to accelerate output and growth, attain sustainable fiscal and external positions by the end of the decade, and achieve external public debt sustainability over the medium term. In the event, the programme had been overtaken by the outbreak of civil war. Upon assuming power in November 1997, the new Government had implemented a three-month emergency programme, with support from the United Nations, the European Union, France, and NGOs to restore basic living conditions in terms of security, health, food and shelter, and to begin rebuilding the country's institutional, administrative and statistical capacity. As part of this effort, in mid-1998, the Fund had approved a loan for the country equivalent to about $10 million under the IMF's emergency post-conflict assistance. A Fund staff team visited Brazzaville in early April. The team worked with the authorities to prepare a preliminary macroeconomic framework for 2000, which built on the favourable price developments in the oil sector, but which must incorporate reconstruction outlays. It was possible to envisage a return to economic growth, subdued consumer price increases, improved general government finances and settlement of arrears. Nevertheless, a substantial financial gap would appear.
A representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization said the Republic of the Congo was not classified as a Least Development Country, but was a Low Income Food Deficit Country, and was among the countries facing exceptional food emergencies during the current year. The country was almost entirely dependent on imports for its cereal needs. There was widespread chronic food insecurity there, leading to undernourishment. The proportion of undernourished had increased from 29 per cent from 1979-1981 to 34 per cent from 1995-1997. For developing countries as a whole, the proportion had declined from 29 per cent to 18 per cent in the same period. Severe malnutrition was affecting the displaced population and nutrition centers had been opened to help malnourished people. A railway was link expected to open in April 2000 between Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire and was expected to improve the food supply situation.
* *** *