ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS COMMITTEE OPENS THIRTEENTH SESSION; WILL CONSIDER REPORTS OF COLOMBIA, NORWAY, MAURITIUS, UKRAINE, ALGERIA
Press Release
HR/ESC/4233
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS COMMITTEE OPENS THIRTEENTH SESSION; WILL CONSIDER REPORTS OF COLOMBIA, NORWAY, MAURITIUS, UKRAINE, ALGERIA
19951120 GENEVA, 20 November (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights began the work of its thirteenth session at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, this morning by adopting its agenda and programme of work. During the three-week session, the Committee will consider the reports of Colombia, Norway, Mauritius, Ukraine and Algeria. The reports describe how these States parties are meeting their obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.The Committee will also conduct a number of activities aimed at achieving wider awareness and implementation of the Covenant. On Monday, 4 December, there will be a general discussion devoted to the draft Optional Protocol to the International Covenant. Under such an instrument, a State party would recognize the competence of the Committee to receive communications from individuals alleging that their economic, social or cultural rights had been violated.
In considering the proposal to adopt the optional protocol, the Committee has before it a revised report, submitted by the Chairman of the Committee, Philip Alston, which provides an analysis of the issues that will require examination by the Committee, and subsequently by the Commission on Human Rights.
The human rights which the Covenant seeks to promote and protect are briefly summarized: the right to work in just and favourable conditions; the right to social protection, to an adequate standard of living and to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental well-being; and the right to education and the enjoyment of benefits of cultural freedom and scientific progress. The Covenant provides for the progressive full realization of those rights without discrimination of any kind.
Also this morning, the Chief of Conference Services briefed the Committee on the measures adopted to deal with the effects of personnel and resource constraints. Because of heavy workloads and budgetary reductions, the capacity to produce the necessary documents in all the official languages had been very difficult, he said.
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