Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to hold forty-eighth session from 30 April to 18 May in Geneva

BACKGROUND RELEASE

26 April 2012

Experts to Review Reports of Slovakia, Peru, New Zealand, Spain and Ethiopia

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will meet at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from 30 April to 18 May to examine measures taken by Slovakia, Peru, New Zealand, Spain and Ethiopia to comply with the standards of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Those five countries are among the 160 States parties to the treaty, which entered into force in 1976 and which recognizes, among other things, the rights to work, to form and join trade unions, to social security, to the widest possible protection and assistance for the family, to an adequate standard of living, to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, and to an education. In adhering to the treaty, States agree to submit periodic reports to the Committee on how they give effect to the provisions of the Covenant. The Committee evaluates the reports and makes observations and recommendations on improving the promotion and protection of the rights enshrined in the Covenant.

The session will be opened on Monday, 30 April with an address from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. During that meeting the Committee will adopt its agenda, organize its work and discuss both substantive issues and miscellaneous matters. In the afternoon meeting, the Committee will discuss relations with United Nations organs and other treaty bodies, and substantive issues arising from the implementation of the Covenant. It will also hear information from non-governmental organizations with respect to the reports that it will review during the session.

In addition to reviewing the five country reports, the Committee will also hold private meetings during the session in which it will discuss substantive issues arising in the implementation of the Covenant and adopt concluding observations on the country reports it reviews during the session.

Four of the five countries to be examined at this session have come before the Committee before. Slovakia presented its initial report (E/1990/5/Add.49) to the Committee in November 2002 and the Committee’s concluding observations on it can be found in document (E/C.12/1/Add.81). The Committee considered the initial report of Peru (E/1990/5/Add.29) in June 1996 and provided its concluding observations in document (E/C.12/1/Add.14). The second periodic report of New Zealand was reviewed by the Committee in May 2003 (E/1990/6/Add.33) and the Committee’s concluding observations on it are here (E/C.12/1/Add.88). The fourth periodic report of Spain (E/C.12/4/Add.11) was considered in May 2004 and concluding observations on it are contained in document (E/C.12/1/Add.99). Ethiopia will present its combined initial to third periodic report to the Committee during this session.

Previous concluding observations of the Committee can be accessed on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Website document search page. The main documents before the Committee in respect to these countries are accessible from the Committee’s web page for the current session, including the reports submitted by the States parties, lists of questions posed by the Committee in respect to those reports, previous concluding observations issued by the Committee on State reports, and supplementary information submitted by non-governmental organizations. At the end of the session, the concluding observations of the Committee on each State party will also be accessible in advanced unedited form from this site.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The General Assembly adopted and opened the Covenant for signature, ratification and accession in 1966. It entered into force on 3 January 1976.

Article 1 of the Covenant states that the right to self-determination is universal, and calls upon States to promote the realization and respect of that right. Article 3 reaffirms the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all human rights and enjoins States to make that principle a reality. Article 5 provides safeguards against the destruction or undue limitation of any human right or fundamental freedom, and against misinterpretation of any provision of the Covenant as a means of justifying infringement of a right or freedom or its restriction to a greater extent than provided in the Covenant. It also prevents States from limiting rights already enjoyed within their territories on the ground that such rights are not recognized, or recognized to a lesser extent, in the Covenant.

Articles 6 to 15 recognize the right to work; to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work; to form and join trade unions; to social security, including social insurance; to the widest possible protection and assistance for the family, mothers, children and younger persons; to an adequate standard of living; to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; to an education and to take part in cultural life.

The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is an international treaty establishing complaint and inquiry mechanisms for the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 2008, and opened for signature on 24 September 2009. To date, the Optional Protocol has 40 signatories and has been ratified by Argentina, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mongolia, Slovakia and Spain. It will enter into force three months after being ratified by 10 States parties.

States Parties to the Covenant

The Covenant has been ratified or acceded to by 160 States: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The Committee is composed of the following 18 Experts: Aslan Khuseinovich Abashidze (Russian Federation); Mohamed Ezzeldin Adel-Moneim (Egypt); Clement Atangana (Cameroon); Rocio Barahona Riera (Costa Rica); Jun Cong (China); Chandrashekhar Dasgupta (India); Zdzislaw Kedzia (Poland); Azzouz Kerdoun (Algeria); Jaime Marchan Romero (Ecuador); Sergei Martynov (Belarus); Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay (Mauritius); Renato Zerbini Ribeiro Leao (Brazil); Eibe Riedel (Germany); Waleed Sadi (Jordan); Nikolaas Jan Schrijver (Netherlands); Heisoo Shin (Republic of Korea); Philippe Texier (France); and Alvaro Tirado Mejia (Colombia).

Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay is the Committee Chairperson; Zdzislaw Kedzia, Nikolaas Jan Schrijver and Alvaro Tirado Mejia are the Vice-Chairpersons; and Waleed Sadi is the Rapporteur.

Programme of Work

Monday, 30 April

10 a.m. Opening of session, adoption of agenda, submission of reports, organization of work, substantive issues and miscellaneous matters.

3 p.m. Meetings with partners (United Nations organizations, other treaty bodies and non-governmental organizations), discussion of substantive issues.

Tuesday, 1 May

10 a.m. Second periodic report of Slovakia (E/C.12/SVK/2).

3 p.m. Slovakia continued.

Wednesday, 2 May

10 a.m. Slovakia continued.

3 p.m. Second to fourth periodic reports of Peru (E/C.12/PER/2-4).

Thursday, 3 May

10 a.m. Peru continued.

3 p.m. Peru continued.

Friday, 4 May

10 a.m. Third periodic report of New Zealand (E/C.12/NZL/3).

3 p.m. New Zealand continued.

Monday, 7 May

10 a.m. New Zealand continued.

3 p.m. Fifth periodic report of Spain (E/C.12/ESP/5).

Tuesday, 8 May

10 a.m. Spain continued.

3 p.m. Spain continued.

Wednesday, 9 May

10 a.m. Initial to third periodic reports of Ethiopia (E/C.12/ETH/1-3).

3 p.m. Ethiopia continued.

Thursday, 10 May

10 a.m. Ethiopia continued.

3 p.m. Closed meeting.

Friday, 18 May

10 a.m. Closed meeting.

3 p.m. Public closing of session.

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