Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights holds fifty-sixth session from 21 September to 9 October

BACKGROUND RELEASE

17 September 2015

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will meet at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 21 September to 9 October 2015, to examine measures taken by Burundi, Greece, Italy, Guyana, Iraq, Morocco and Sudan to comply with the standards of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

At the opening of the session, on Monday, 21 September, the Committee will hear an address from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights or his representative.  The Committee will then adopt its agenda and discuss organizational matters and its methods of work and will hold a meeting with non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions, and hear information with respect to the country reports that will be reviewed during the session.  In the afternoon, the Committee will begin with the review of the report of Burundi. 

The country reports and other session documents before the Committee are accessible on the Committee’s webpage.  At the end of the session, the concluding observations of the Committee on each State party will also be accessible on this website.

Burundi is presenting its initial report E/C.12/BDI/1. 

Greece is presenting its second periodic report E/C.12/GRC/2.  The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations on the initial report of Greece, which was reviewed in June 2004, can be found in E/C.12/1/Add.97.

Italy is presenting its fifth periodic report E/C.12/ITA/5.  The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations on the fourth report of Italy, which was reviewed in December 2004, can be found in E/C.12/1/Add.103.

Guyana is presenting its combined second to fourth periodic report E/C.12/GUY/2-4.  The initial report of Guyana was reviewed in 1997.  Summary records on the meetings on Guyana can be found in E/C.12/1997/SR.5 and E/C.12/1997/SR.6.

Iraq is presenting its fourth periodic report E/C.12/IRQ/4.  The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations on the third report of Iraq, which was reviewed in December 1997, can be found in E/C.12/1/Add.17.

Morocco is presenting its fourth periodic report E/C.12/MAR/4.  The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations on the third report of Morocco, which was reviewed in September 2006, can be found in E/C.12/MAR/CO/3.

Sudan is presenting its second periodic report E/C.12/SDN/2.  The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations on the initial report of Sudan, which was reviewed in August 2000, can be found in E/C.12/1/Add.48.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by the General Assembly in 1966.  It entered into force on 3 January 1976. 

The right to self-determination is universal, affirms Article 1 of the Covenant, also calling upon States to respect and to promote the realization of this right.  Article 3 reaffirms the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all human rights and asks States to make that principle a reality.  Articles 4 and 5 provide 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. They also prevent States from limiting rights already enjoyed within their territories on the grounds 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.  It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 2008, and opened for signature on 24 September 2009.  The Optional Protocol entered into force on 5 May 2013 and has 45 signatories and 21 Parties, having been ratified by Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Gabon, Italy, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Montenegro, Niger, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain and Uruguay.

States Parties to the Covenant

The Covenant has been ratified or acceded to by 164 States: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, 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, Haiti, 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, South Africa, State of Palestine, 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); Maria-Virginia Bras Gomes (Portugal); Shiqiu Chen (China); Chandrashekhar Dasgupta (India); Olivier de Schutter (Belgium); Zdzislaw Kedzia (Poland); Azzouz Kerdoun (Algeria); Mikel Mancisidor de la Fuente (Spain); Sergei Martynov (Belarus); Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay (Mauritius); Lydia Carmelita Ravenberg (Suriname); Renato Zerbini Ribeiro Leao (Brazil); Waleed Sadi (Jordan); Nikolaas Jan Schrijver (Netherlands); Heisoo Shin (Republic of Korea); and Rodrigo Uprimny (Colombia).

Mr. Sadi is the Chairperson; the Vice-Chairpersons are Mr. Abashidze, Mr. Mancisidor de la Fuente and Mr. Ribeiro Leao.  Mr. Pillay is Rapporteur of the Committee.
 
Provisional Programme of Work – Public Sessions
 
Monday, 21 September

10 a.m. Opening of session, adoption of the agenda, submission of
Reports, organization of work, meeting with partners (public and private)

3 p.m. Report of Burundi E/C.12/BDI/1

Tuesday, 22 September

10 a.m. Report of Burundi (continued)
3 p.m.   Report of Burundi (continued)

Wednesday, 23 September – United Nations Holiday

Thursday, 24 September

10 a.m. Report of Greece E/C.12/GRC/2

3 p.m. Report of Greece (continued)

Friday, 25 September

10 a.m. Report of Italy E/C.12/ITA/5
3 p.m. Report of Italy (continued)

Monday, 28 September

10 a.m. Meeting with partners (public and private)

3 p.m. Report of Guyana E/C.12/GUY/2-4

Tuesday, 29 September

10 a.m. Report of Guyana (continued)

3 p.m. Report of Iraq E/C.12/IRQ/4

Wednesday, 30 September

10 a.m. Report of Iraq (continued)

3 p.m. Report of Morocco E/C.12/MAR/4
 
Thursday, 1 October

10 a.m. Report of Morocco (continued)
3 p.m. Report of Sudan E/C.12/SDN/2

Friday, 2 October

10 a.m. Report of Sudan (continued)

Friday, 9 October June

3 p.m. Public closing of the session

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