Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights considers the report of Spain

GENEVA (22 March 2018) - The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concluded this afternoon the review of the sixth periodic reports of Spain on its implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Cristóbal González-Aller Jurado, Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations Office at Geneva, presenting the report, informed the Committee that Spain had adopted in 2012 an economic policy strategy to overcome the crisis, and expressed confidence that job creation with a robust and functional social protection system was the best way to fight inequality and poverty.  Spain was implementing its policies and strategies against racism and racial discrimination, and for Roma social inclusion, and had adopted in 2017 the national plan on businesses and human rights.  Over the last four years, Spain had created 500,000 jobs a year, bringing it closer to the set target of 20 million employed people by 2019.  Gender-based salary gap had narrowed significantly and was below the European average, the minimum wage had increased by eight percent, and Spain was in the process of adopting a new strategy to fight poverty and social exclusion 2018-2020.  Following the economic crisis, exceptional measures had been adopted to protect persons facing serious difficulties in accessing housing, and the new State Plan 2018-2021 made housing available to homeless people or those with little means.  Life expectancy increased by four years over the last 15 years, and targeted programmes backed by international research such as "Proeducar" helped to reduce school dropout rates from 30.8 per cent in 1998 to 18.3 per cent at present.

In the dialogue that followed, Committee Experts commended Spain for providing its citizens with great social rights over the last couple of decades and for having one of the highest life expectancy in the world, and recognized the challenges to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights posed by the 2007 economic crisis.  Experts showed considerable interest in austerity measures Spain had adopted to deal with the economic and financial crises, asking to what extent the Covenant and the Committee’s letter of May 2012 were being considered by Spain, particularly in terms of the proportionality, temporary nature, and the lifting of austerity measures.  Experts remarked on the increased number of asylum seekers and deteriorating conditions in reception centres particularly in Ceuta and Melilla, and inquired about Spain’s long-term view on the issue of migration which was likely to become more prominent in the future.  The Royal Decree on health represented a step back in access to healthcare for irregular migrants, who could only access emergency health care, ante-natal care, and health services for children.  Taking note with concern of regional disparities, they asked how Spain guaranteed the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights throughout the territory, and the specific measures taken to reduce high poverty and social exclusion in disadvantaged autonomous communities such as the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Andalucía.

Maria Virginia Bras Gomes, Committee Chairperson, concluded by remarking on the quality of the dialogue, which was very constructive and rich in information.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Jurado, thanked the Committee for the cordial and respectful manner in which they addressed their questions which went straight to the heart of what Spain was today and showed the level of understanding of its society and economy.

Rodrigo Uprimny, Committee Expert and the Rapporteur for Spain, concluded by agreeing on the quality, sincerity and directness of the dialogue, and reiterated the common goal of having the recommendations which would help Spain to progress in the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights.

The delegation of Spain consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, Ministry of Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, and representatives of the Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The Committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Spain towards the end of its session, which concludes on 29 March 2018.  All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage.  The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings is available at UN Web TV.

The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. today, 22 March, to review the fourth periodic report of New Zealand (E/C.12/NZL/4).

Report 

The Committee has before it the sixth periodic report of Spain (E/C.12/ESP/6).

Presentation of the Report

CRISTÓBAL GONZÁLEZ-ALLER JURADO, Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations Office at Geneva, presenting the report, began by saying that in 2012 Spain had adopted an economic policy strategy to overcome the country’s crisis.  This policy meant the gradual recovery of macroeconomic stability and growth, which would curb the fall of employment, thus promoting recovery.  He expressed confidence that job creation with a robust and functional social protection system was the best way to fight inequality and poverty; the coverage of unemployment benefits was another important source of social protection that had extended during the crisis for the benefit of the long-term unemployed.  All those measures had taken into account the recommendations of the Committee, so the Spanish people could enjoy a high level of economic, social and cultural rights.

Spain continued to implement the Comprehensive Strategy against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related Intolerance, adopted in 2011.  In addition, the National Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma (2012-2020) included specific objectives of well-coordinated efforts to provide services such as education, employment, health and housing.  This policy in favour of Roma was now State policy.  Continuing, the Ambassador said that the protection of human rights in general was significantly present in the private sector and had led to the adoption of the National Plan on Business and Human Rights in July 2017.

Concerning the job market, Spain had created 500,000 jobs a year over the last four years, bringing it closer to the set target of 20 million people employed by the end of 2019; near the end of 2017, the labour force had reached 19 million people.  Mr. Jurado pointed out that the gender-based salary gap had narrowed significantly and was now below the European average.  On the other hand, the inter-professional minimum wage had increased by eight percent and last December, the Government and its social partners had reached an agreement to increase this salary in accordance with Committee recommendations.  He also cited new policy developments such as the Plan to Fight Informal Employment and Social Security Fraud, and the Law Governing the Labour and Safety Inspection System.  The Ambassador also spoke about the ongoing preparation of a National Strategy for the Prevention and Fight of Poverty and Social Exclusion for 2018-2020 and the Health Promotion Strategy and Prevention of the National Health System.  

The right to housing was enshrined in article 47 of the Spanish Constitution and, following the economic crisis, exceptional measures had been adopted for the protection of persons facing serious difficulties in accessing housing, while the new State Plan (2018-2021) made housing available to homeless people or those with little means.  Such individuals could also qualify for housing assistance to cover up to 100 per cent of the rent.  Legislative measures had been put in place to ease the burden on home mortgages, with the Comprehensive National Homelessness Strategy (2015-2020) providing a clear diagnosis of that situation.

Relating to general health, the Ambassador said that in the last 15 years, life expectancy in Spain had increased by about four years.  Concerning education, a Strategic Plan for School Coexistence had been developed to implement successful pedagogic practices in schools backed by international research.  Programs such as "Proeducar" had helped to reduce school dropout rates from 30.8 per cent in 1998 to 18.3 per cent at present; this was one of the most positive developments in the European Union.  All educational reforms in Spain highlighted the role and place of the teacher as a key component in improving the quality of education.  For that reason, a new teacher training programme had been put in place in 2017.  In conclusion, Mr. Jurado stressed the crucial importance of the consideration of the periodic report, since the dialogue with the Committee and its recommendations would help guide national policies and provide needed improvements.

Questions by the Country Rapporteur(s) 

RODRIGO UPRIMNY, Committee Expert and the Rapporteur for Spain, commended Spain for providing its citizens with great social rights over the last couple of decades and for having one of the highest life expectancy in the world, and then recognized the challenges to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights posed by the 2007 economic crisis.

The Rapporteur focused on four main topics: austerity measures as a result of the crisis, the clause on maximum resources available, the legal structure for addressing the economic, social, cultural rights in the Spanish State and finally, non-discrimination.  

Reminding of the Committee’s letter from May 2012 on the areas of dignified work, public debt and austerity, Mr. Upriminy asked to what degree the austerity measures bore in mind the criteria set forward by the Committee.  The Committee had insisted on certain requirements for austerity measures, namely that they be temporary, proportional and subject to lifting once the economic recovery happened.  So, what was the timeline for lifting the measures?

Development aid fell from 2012 to 2016, understandable for a State in an economic crisis, however, with the recovery, there was discussion of increasing Official Development Assistance – what percentage of its gross domestic product was currently allocated as development aid?  What was the impact of specific policies in favour of Roma and other minorities?

Noting the important increase in the number of asylum seekers – and a decrease in the number of positive responses by the State - the Rapporteur expressed concern about deterioration of conditions in reception centres particularly in the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in Morocco.  Could the delegation inform about the asylum system, services provided to arrivals and the criteria to grant an asylum?

It was estimated that about € 140 billion were needed to held Spain re-start its economy, lift austerity measures and guarantee the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.  What was being done to mobilize those resources including through alternative sources of revenue?  

With regard to legal framework, according to Article 53 of the Constitution, most economic, social and cultural rights were not fundamental rights protected under organic law, which made the use of these rights precarious; for example, there was no legal right to health or housing.  How had the jurisprudence and judicial action evolved over the last few years in matters of economic, social and cultural rights?

Speaking about discrimination and inequalities, the general anti-discrimination Law 62 of 2003 included some European directives, however, those were difficult to locate and the law did not clearly specify sanctions, nor it guaranteed legal certainty to citizens.  An organic law should be instituted that covered all areas of discrimination.

On the subject of regional disparity and public spending on economic, social and cultural rights, the Expert noted that there were discrepancies when it came to certain areas of Spain, making them more prone to falling into poverty.  How did Spain guarantee the overall enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights while bearing in mind regional autonomies?

Responses by the Delegation

With regard to the repercussions of the austerity measures, the delegation said that those had budgetary purpose, noting that the Constitution established a principle that there would not be more spending than income, a good-governance measure that allowed Spain not to impoverish itself in the future.

Income tax exemptions, said a delegate, functioned as part of a social policy and were used to help large families or families with disabled persons, for example.  To improve and obtain resources to guarantee the economic, social and cultural rights of the Spanish people, the Government had to ensure the taxes reached the public treasury and it did so by fighting fraud.

Royal Decree 16/2012 was a legislative initiative to increase the efficiency of healthcare spending in Spain.  Under this Law, coverage was widened to cover 100 per cent of Spaniards as well as foreigners with legal residency in Spain.  The Decree also included a distributive co-payment which was a sliding scale type payment for pharmaceutical services.  Spain was one of the European countries that provided the most health coverage for all irregular migrants under the age of 18, irrespective of their citizenship.  This coverage was also applied to pregnant women, victims of trafficking, urgent treatment as well as all public health matters like disease prevention, infectious illness and mental diseases.  However, if irregular migrants did not have proper documentation, their medical bills had to be sent to their country of origin.  Overall, the economic crisis did affect health care spending, but since 2015, the system had been in recovery and in 2016, there was a trend to grow healthcare spending.

Inequality was best fought through employment, which provided both salary and dignity, insisted the delegation.  In addition, there was a law that addressed discrimination in a crosscutting manner and several sectorial laws that openly prohibited discrimination and unequal treatment.  The organic law on Effective Equality prohibited discrimination in the work place as well as in promotion and remuneration.  It also set forth a definition of both direct and indirect discrimination.  In the legal structure, there was an implementation clause for the above, Article 17 of the Labour Statute, which fully banned all decisions, regulations and clauses that would establish direct or indirect discrimination.  Furthermore, Article 55 of the Labour Statute overturned any decision based on a discriminatory act. Appropriate and proportional economic sanctions and fines were also applied to discriminatory actions.

The delegate continued to say that the situation of groups vulnerable to discrimination in the matter of working rights, including those discriminated against on the basis of sex, migrant status, disability, etc., had been addressed in terms of job access, wages or any other areas in which workplace equality might be challenged.  There was also a plan to fight against fraud within the labour inspectorate.

On the issue of development aid and cooperation, it was said that Spain had a desire to increase its development aid and again become a true donor country.  Spain was very aware that its development aid was most gravely impacted by the budgetary reductions caused by the world economic crisis, but there was a trend towards increased allocations which would hopefully continue.

With regards to unemployment and the fight to prevent discrimination in the work sector, it was stated that there was not a law dedicated solely to the matter and thus did not in any way prevent people from reporting those crimes.  There was a dedicated victim assistance and advocacy network with 87 offices that had addressed 2,257 cases between 2013 and 2017.  The State was aware that there was much more that needed to be done in this area, particularly essential was raising awareness within the population.

Roma represented 1.6 per cent of the total population of Spain, said the delegation, noting that there were specific policies in favour of this group which aimed to protect them from discrimination, including the national strategy for the inclusion of Roma 2012-2020.  As a result of such measures, Roma population saw improvements in housing and especially in the lower number of homeless Roma, and they were also included in the housing mapping statistics.  Enrolment in secondary education was increased and efforts were being made to improve the literacy rates of the adult population.  Furthermore, there was an increase of access to social services for the Roma.

The delegation stressed that there were other population groups which the economic and financial crisis had made most vulnerable, notably persons with disabilities.  Many actions had been taken to reduce their vulnerabilities, including through the employment quotas in both the public and private sectors – the funding for that programme had increased by 6.2 per cent between 2015 and 2017.

On the topic of temporary centres for migrants, it was stated that their function was to provide shelter and basic health services for that population.  However, many centres were overcrowded or at full capacity due to the pressure on the borders which made the provision of services challenging.  Those temporary centres received both migrants and asylum seekers and there was a plan to expand them, but that would depend on budgetary improvements.

Next, a delegate commented that austerity had been reversed in education since 2014 and that Spain had allocated more than € 1.4 billion euros to this sector.  Spain was working to achieve inclusive education with equity and was investing in autonomous communities to reduce disparity.  A plan and programme were in place to keep students in schools.

On the legal recognition of economic, social and cultural rights, they were not only referred to in the Covenant but also fully addressed by the Spanish Constitution and organic law.

Follow-up Questions and Answers

The first issue raised by the Committee Experts in the follow-up questions was whether the Covenant had figured highly in the minds of the policy makers or people in Spain when austerity measures had been adopted.  Noting that the challenges of migration were long-term and would probably increase in the coming years, the Experts asked whether Spain had a long-term vision and solution to the issue.

The Covenant was justiciable under the Spanish law but it was not clear which body of law prevailed in case of a conflict.  Could the delegation explain the Royal Decree on health especially considering that it represented a step back in access to healthcare for irregular migrants, who could only access emergency health care, care for pregnant women, and the care for children under the age of 18.  Would the reductions in this domain be reviewed?
 
The delegation responded by emphasizing that every Government that faced an economic crisis had to take measures that took into account the political, executive and legislative capacity that had to be passed by their Parliament.  The Spanish Government always had in mind the impact those measures had on the entire population, whether those be nationals or migrants.

Concerning migration, Spain understood that it was something that was not only going to stay but could potentially increase.  Measures were being adopted and the situation needed to be continually studied, but the vision of Spain was to be able to face the challenge the migration presented, not just in a budgetary manner, but in a humane one, as well.

With regard to the contradictions between the Covenant and Spanish law, there were no such discrepancies.  As for the right to housing, there was a transformative revolution of the understanding of that right.

On the matter of the reduction of access to health for irregular migrants, the delegation said that although Spain did not intend currently to modify the Royal Decree Law 2012-2017 in line with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the health care coverage for migrants was one of the best in Europe.

Questions by Committee Experts

Pursuing the dialogue, the Committee Experts praised Spain for the insightful analysis of the impact of the 2012 Labour Reform and recognized the enormous challenges related to unemployment that the country continued to face.  The State party report underlined that wage moderations might have contributed to improved employment in the private sector, they noted and asked about the nature of those measures, whether they were perceived as typical austerity measures, and if so, were they temporary or permanent.  What specific measures had of were being adopted to address unemployment of vulnerable groups such as Roma, women and people with disabilities?

The Experts pointed out that local and regional employment services played a crucial role in addressing long-term employment and the delegation was asked to comment on the lack of financing available to those structures.  As far as employment stability was concerned, Experts noted that Spain had one of the highest percentages of temporary employment in the European Union.

Expert recognized the progress in reducing gender-based wage gap and remarked that women continued to be concentrated in the low paid jobs and sectors.  Gender gap in wages and promotions was contradictory as there was a higher percentage of women present in tertiary education.  In relation to the issues mentioned, the delegation was asked to what extent these initiatives had changed the global picture of the inequality experienced by women.

Speaking about trade unions, the delegation was asked whether State institutions included their representatives in decision-making processes, and was also asked to inform on the violations of the International Labour Organization Conventions, notably the right to strike – although it was a Constitutionally-guaranteed right, there had been numerous cases in 2015 in which jail sentences of more than 120 years in total had been imposed on strikers.

The sustainability of the pension system was high on the political agenda; the issue was of special concern to trade unions however, social dialogue on the issue was on the decrease, putting in question a possibility of finding quality solutions to pension sustainability.

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation began answering the questions by stating that in 2012, the unemployment rate was 20 per cent and was especially high among the youth – almost half of the active people under the age of 30 had been unemployed.  Those figures indeed showed that there was a crisis, but they also revealed an inability of companies to adapt to those new economic conditions.  In most cases, the youth had been working under temporary contracts and the crisis had made this discrepancy evident.  A series of measures had been adopted to address the situation and to support those groups most affected by the crisis.  At the same time, it must be recognized that it had been the part time work that had kept the Spanish labour alive during crisis times.  

Today, the percentage drop of unemployment was around ten per cent and there was a low rate of temporary contracts due to the market segmenting along with an on-going growth of permanent contracts.  Also, the State was taking measures to fight against the abusive recourse to temporary contracts, which in practice meant setting limits to the number of temporary contracts available.

On the matter of wage gap and women’s opportunities in the labour market, the delegation emphasized that there had never been as many women working in Spain; part-time work was still an issue when it came to women employment even if significant progress in that area was being made.  Gender wage gap stood at around 14 per cent; professional segregation was completely banned by organic laws.  

There were numerous causes to gender wage gap, among them, the incorrect evaluation of posts, lack of transparency or not including or having sufficient information.  In addition, it was said that the issue was being continually tackled, both horizontally and vertically.  Professional segregation still existed but measures were being taken to improve the promotions and hiring of women, including training contracts and internships provided for citizens under the age of 35.

Questions by Committee Experts

In the next cluster of questions, the first issue raised was the increase of poverty to 23.3 percent in 2016 and the wide disparities between autonomous communities.  What measures was Spain taking to reverse the negative trends and reduction the high poverty and social exclusion in disadvantaged autonomous communities such as the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Andalucía?  

What explained the very low number of social housing units, Experts continued and asked for the statistical data on the reduction in the number of homeless and the capacity of the reception and emergency centres.  What measures was the Government taking to regulate private housing market, Experts asked, and taking note of the evident major increase in evictions, inquired about the legal mechanism in place to ensure the receipt of findings resulting from the Optional Protocol in those cases.

What evidence did Spain have to prove that the Royal Legislative Decree was the means to expand health coverage available to citizens and legal residents since the statistics showed regressions in the certain areas?  Was the Royal Legislative Decree indeed a response to the economic crisis?   The Experts took note of the court ruling which had found that the Royal Legislative Decree was in accordance with the Covenant and asked whether the court had taken into account the Committee’s general comment on the matter.

What was the intention of Spain concerning the update to the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights with the Committee’s recommendation concerning the regulation of business activities, which had been adopted after the Spain’s Plan had been in place?

Responses by the Delegation

Responding to questions raised about the active employment policies, the delegation said that the Government’s strategy defined in 2012 had taken into account the population groups that needed most attention: people under the age of 30, the promotion of employment of those over 45, and matching the education with the needs of the labour market.  The strategy had been reviewed and assessed every year, with budgetary allocations to all autonomous communities, as well.  

When it came to population between 16 and 30 who were both out of work and out of the education system – about one million people - a programme had been put in place to offer training opportunities and so increase their chances of employment, or to support their return to school.  was conducted to provide trainings for those people to find employment or go back to education.  By 2017, more than 87,000 persons with disabilities had been employed.

The right to strike was indeed a constitutionally recognized right and was void of sanctions.  The law prohibited internal and external actions in relation to the exercise of this right.   From the legal point of view, in regard to 80 cases of strikers being prosecuted, according to the court statistics approximately 22 cases had been launched on the right to strike and union organization.  The discrepancy came from the fact that some of them were carried out as group cases, not individual.  In addition, there were changes in the judicial policy on the matter.  At present judges could decide to order a fine, not a jail sentence, depending on the circumstances of the case, that is, the previously mentioned difference between the right to strike and coercion.

On the matter of social security, Spain recognized the problem of the sustainability of the pensions.  As of 1994, the pension system had been mandated with the agreement of all political groups and it was amended every five years.  The agreement on the future of the pension system involved trade unions and business representatives; both those stakeholders had been involved in the preparation of programmes related to social security.

The delegation noted that the economic crisis had not had a particularly severe impact on pensioners in Spain, who were well above the European average.  Only 2.5 per cent of the pensioners lived below poverty line and this too was low compared to other European countries.  The Social security system clearly provided enough funds to cover the entire population, said the delegation.   On the matter of access to pension, the reform would involve a long transformation period of the pension system and would not come in force before 2025.

Active retirement was another issue that Spain addressed carefully.  The labour regulations for independent workers had been changed to allow their retirement at the age of 65 and also allow them to continue to work.  All pensioners who continued to work were entitled to half of the pension until their full retirement.

The delegation said that there was a minimum income for integration that covered Celta and Malila and all other autonomous communities.  The fight against poverty was ongoing, with programmes of promotion of social inclusion, among other.  The delegation explained the discrepancy in poverty indexes in Celta, the Canary Islands and northern regions by the use of different methodologies, noting that the percentages were based on the national and not local level; once that was taken into account, the differences were not that vast.  The programmes addressing poverty in those areas included co-financing of social services: the higher the index, the larger funds were allocated.  For example, Celta and Malila region were given more than € 2 million in 2018.

Spain had, in addition, re-organized its general policies to make them more inclusive and more efficient in the fight against poverty.  Employment was the key measure and was accompanied by social protection measures as well as the support to access housing.  In addition, there were specific measures addressed to Roma population, homeless people and people with disabilities, as well as for all other vulnerable groups.

There were eight financing programmes available to autonomous communities which wanted to increase availability and access to public housing, including the rentals.  The level of home ownership in Spain was around 80 percent and that was why the percentage of funds dedicated to housing for social rent seemed low.  Between 2013 and 2016 over € 400 million had been allocated to rental housing projects for the population in the gravest need.  There was also a programme for the victims of evictions that provided a 100 percent funding for rents not exceeding € 400 per month.

There were four categories of homeless people, a delegate said and added that the strategy focused on people who lived in the streets and those who lived in temporary houses; the strategy served as a guide to autonomous communities since the action was taken at the local level.  The strategy included assessments, subsidies for social organizations working with the homeless, as well as the adoption of common methodology to identify and address the root causes of homelessness.

With regards to evictions from private housing, the delegation noted that not all evictions were forced ones; the Spanish term for eviction also related to a change of lock and repairs after burglary and the exact number of forced evictions had been significantly lower than the 60,000 procedures cited by the Committee.  Further, some evictions were by agreement thus not forced, while others were justified and had to be conducted by the authorities.  The delegation stressed that all tenants enjoyed legal protection and that no procedure was carried out without a possibility of a complaint.

With regards to the Royal Decree and the lifting of austerity measures in the area of health, the delegation raised the issue of health tourism whereby many Europeans and people from all over the world moved to Spain to obtain Spanish health cards; after having their health expenses fully covered by Spain, they would move back to their countries.  The delegation stressed that the 16/2012 Royal Decree fully respected all international treaties signed by Spain and was compatible with International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
                                       
Questions by Committee Experts

In the final series of questions, the Experts asked about the implementation of the organic act 3/2007 and its impact on gender equality, traditional stereotypes related to the position of women in society, violence against women, the lack of positive image of women from minorities and women with disabilities, and the withdraw of subsidies.  How could those measures be reconciled with the need to advance in the implementation of the gender equality measures?

While the proportion of early school leavers had fell below 20 per cent in almost all areas of the country, it still remained rather high compared to the European average.  There was a discrepancy in the distribution of funds for education between different areas of Spain, particularly the autonomous communities, as well as vulnerable groups, such as Roma children, immigrant children and children with disabilities.

On the matter of segregation of Roma and migrant students within and between schools, more than eleven percent of the Spanish population today were foreigners with legal residence, Experts noted and remarked that such a reality required different organization of the educational system.  Two most urgent issues were residential segregation and the segregation within school, Experts said and asked the delegation to provide an assessment of the implementation of the law on the improvement of education equality, adopted on 9 December 2013.
 
Lastly, the delegation was asked to provide information on the steps taken by the State party to ensure the development and dissemination of science and culture, and to indicate measures taken to ensure affordable access to the benefits of scientific progress and its applications, including access to the Internet, for everyone, in particular disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups.
           
Responses by the Delegation

Responding to question concerning the organic law on the effective equality, a delegate said that all businesses, irrespective of the number of employees, must comply with the law and apply measures to avoid any type of inequality.  The aim of the law was to reduce all possible causes of unequal treatment between men and women; a set of guiding measures had been provided as well.  Equality plans were to be drafted through collective bargaining, and there was an option for companies to adopt such plans voluntarily.

The strategic plan for equal opportunities had been drafted for a period of 2018 to 2021.  Given the territorial organisation of Spain, its implementation was to be shared between the autonomous groups and the federal authorities.  The draft was currently being reviewed by social stakeholders, including two largest trade unions and representatives of rural and Roma women, as well as by the Department of Labour and Education.  The goals of the plan were numerous, among other eradication of gender based and any other violence against women, political and economic empowerment of women, equal opportunities for men and women in education, promotions in media, foreign policies, equality in health, sport, culture, agricultural and fishing sectors, among other.

Spain was taking steps to fight gender stereotypes in education by improving the textbooks to exclude any notions of gender stereotypes.  One of the most important measures was the creation of CVs which were anonymous in terms of nationality and gender, which would positively affect the position of women, as well as people with disability.  Women in rural areas participated in a programme aimed to promote women’s rights in agricultural and fishing sectors.

In terms of school leavers, the delegation noted that, thanks to the efforts of teachers and students alike, Spain considered the goal of 15 per cent school leavers by 2020 set by the European Union, reachable.  Proeducar programme should also be mentioned as one of the crucial instruments in remedying the early school leaving.

Turning to the education of Roma, the delegation stressed that the general education policy applied to all and said that the number of Roma children attending the same school was a result the number of Roma living in those areas and not a result of any provision within the educational laws.  Even though there were improvements, there was still a significant school dropout rate in case of Roma children with the largest issue related to secondary schools, particularly when it came to girls, which happened due to various reasons, for example due to the choice of families.  Furthermore, there was an Institute for Roma culture and master courses at the university dedicated to studying the history and culture of Roma population.

On the work on science technologies and innovation, the delegation remarked that there were two parts of the programme, projects aimed at the increase in interest for science in terms of education and culture, and those that promoted scientific professions.  In addition, there were science streets in various cities, as well as summer camps for children to enable then to have direct contacts with science and technology and raise their interest in science in general.  A programme of public aid to science funded some 200 projects annually.

The cultural statistics data gathering system was public and available online.  In 2015, Spain had invested € 102 per capita in culture. The Platea programme had prepared a catalogue of various works to bring cultural programmes closer to areas that were not sufficiently addressed previously.  In addition, there were congresses on Roma culture, libraries for Roma people, and a documentation centre with publications on the matter, as well as an annual cinema programme, all with the aim of promoting the culture of Roma.

Concluding Remarks 

MARIA VIRGINIA BRAS GOMES, Committee Chairperson, said in her concluding remarks that it was a very constructive dialogue with insightful information provided in answers.

CRISTÓBAL GONZÁLEZ-ALLER JURADO, Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations Office at Geneva, in his closing observations, thanked the Committee for the relevance of their questions that went straight to the heart of what Spain was today and showed the level of understanding of its society and economy.  Spain would continue to take the work of the Committee very seriously and with the Experts’ help, Spain would continue progressing.  The Ambassador thanked the Committee also for the cordial and respectful manner in which they addressed their questions.

RODRIGO UPRIMNY, Committee Expert and the Rapporteur for Spain, concluded by agreeing on the quality, sincerity and directness of the dialogue, and reiterated the common goal of having the recommendations which would help Spain to progress in the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights.

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