Background Release

COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS TO HOLD

THIRTIETH SESSION FROM 5 TO 23 MAY 2003

Will Consider Reports of Luxembourg, Brazil, New Zealand, Iceland and Israel

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 1 May (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will meet at the Palais des Nations in Geneva (conference room XXV) from 5 to 23 May 2003, to examine measures taken by Luxembourg, Brazil, New Zealand, Iceland and Israel to comply with the standards of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Those five countries are among the 146 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 acceding to the treaty, States agree to submit periodic reports to the Committee on how they give effect to the provisions of the Covenant.  The panel evaluates the reports and makes observations and recommendations on improving the promotion and protection of the rights enshrined in the Covenant.

At the opening of the session, the Committee will elect from among its members a Chairperson, three Vice-Chairpersons and a Rapporteur, and will adopt its agenda.  It will then discuss other substantive issues arising in the implementation of the Covenant, an exercise during which it is scheduled to hear from non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

On Tuesday, 6 May, the Committee will hold a follow up to the day of general discussion on article 3 of the Covenant concerning equality between men and women in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.  It will discuss a draft general comment on article 3 of the International Covenant. 

Committee's Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Last Reports

Submitted by Luxembourg, New Zealand, Iceland and Israel

Concerning the second periodic report of Luxembourg, which was reviewed in December 1997, the Committee noted among positive aspects the existence of a comprehensive social security scheme and the efforts undertaken by the State party to improve and update its legislation with regard to economic and social rights,

the introduction of a dependant's insurance, as well as the drafting of a law guaranteeing enjoyment of the right to health care.   Among its suggestions and recommendations, the Committee recommended that the State party take all appropriate measures to ensure equal treatment of men and women in employment, especially in the private Sector; recommended that the State party's draft law on the rights of persons with disabilities should be adopted to enhance the promotion and protection of their fundamental rights; strongly recommended that any existing distinction in the Civil Code regarding children born out of wedlock be eliminated; and recommended that the State party adopt more effective legislation to prevent and protect children and adolescents from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse.  Finally, the Committee recommended that the concerns expressed in the present concluding observations, as well as the issues raised during the discussion of the second periodic report which remained unanswered, be addressed in the State party's third periodic report.

With regards to the initial report of New Zealand, reviewed in November 1993, the Committee noted among positive aspects the enactment of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1993, as well as the renewed efforts to strictly implement the Equal Pay Act 1972 particularly as it affected women; and in relation to Maori and Pacific Islands people, the Committee noted the measures being taken by the State party to improve employment opportunities for Maori and Pacific Islands people, and to facilitate their full participation at all levels of the educational system.  Among its suggestions and recommendations, the Committee strongly recommended the reinforcement of the work of the Human Rights Commission in relation to economic, social and cultural rights; encouraged the Government of New Zealand to strengthen its efforts towards ensuring equity for Maori and Pacific Island people, especially in the access to education, training and employment; and urged the State party to carefully monitor the effects of unemployment and of the reduction in welfare services with respect to the realization of economic, social and cultural rights of the most vulnerable sectors of society and to take the necessary measures in order to diminish such negative effects.

And with regard to the second periodic report of Iceland, considered in April 1999, the Committee noted among positive aspects the State party's efforts to further the goal of the implementation of gender equality and fuller participation of women in public affairs; and welcomed the Act on the Equal Status of Women and Men, which paved the way for special equal-status programmes such as the Action Programme, 1998-2001, which attempted to eliminate traditional obstacles to equality.  Among its suggestions and recommendations, the Committee reiterated its previous recommendation that if measures were taken to incorporate civil and political rights treaty obligations in the Icelandic legal system, similar measures should be taken simultaneously in respect of economic, social and cultural rights.  The Committee suggested that the State party review and strengthen its institutional arrangements, within the government administration, which were designed to ensure that its obligations under the Covenant were taken into account, at an early stage, in the Government's formulation of national policy on issues such as social welfare, housing, health and education. And it recommended that the State party present in its next periodic report an overall government plan aimed at alleviating the difficulties of the State party's vulnerable "poverty population", as well as a progress report on its achievements in this field.

When the Committee examined the second periodic report of Israel in November 1998, it noted among positive factors the enactment in 1995 of the National Health Insurance Law which provided for primary health care and ensured equal and adequate health services for each citizen and permanent resident of Israel. The Committee noted that Israel's emphasis on its security concerns, including its policies on closures, had hampered the realization of economic, social and cultural rights within Israel and the occupied territories.  Among other things, the Committee requested the State party to provide additional information on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in the occupied territories; called upon the State party to ensure equality of treatment of all Israeli citizens in relation to all Covenant rights; and it urged the State party to respect the right to self-determination as recognized in article 1 (2) of the Covenant, which provided that "in no way may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence". Closure restricted the movement of people and goods, cutting off access to external markets and to income derived from employment and livelihood.

After the Committee reviewed the additional information it had requested in August 2001, it deplored Israel's refusal to report on the occupied territories and the State party's position that the Covenant does not apply to "areas that are not subject to its sovereign territory and jurisdiction".   It expressed deep concern about the State party's continuing gross violations of economic, social and cultural rights in the occupied territories, especially the severe measures adopted by the State party to restrict the movement of civilians between points within and outside the occupied territories, severing their access to food, water, health care, education and work. The Committee urged the State party to exercise its powers and responsibilities to put an end to the violence, the loss of human lives and the restrictions imposed on the movement of civilians between points within and outside the occupied territories.

Brazil is submitting its initial report. 

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.

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The Economic and Social Council established the Committee in 1985.  Elected by the Economic and Social Council by secret ballot from a list of persons nominated by State parties to the Covenant, its 18 members are human-rights experts serving in their personal capacity.

The Committee is composed of the following Experts: Clement Atangana (Cameroon), Rocio Barahona Riera (Costa Rica), Virginia Bonoan-Dandan (Philippines), Maria Virginia Bras Gomes (Portugal), Dumitru Ceausu (Romania), Abdessatar Grissa (Tunisia), Chokila Iyer (India), Azzouz Kerdoun (Algeria),Yuri Kolosov (the Russian Federation), Giorgio Malinverni (Switzerland), Jaime Marchán Romero (Ecuador), Sergei Martynov (Belarus), Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay (Mauritius), Kenneth Osborne Rattray (Jamaica), Eibe Riedel (Germany), Walid M. Sa'di (Jordan), Philippe Texier (France), and Alvaro Tirado Mejia (Colombia).

States Parties to Covenant

The Covenant has been ratified or acceded to by 146 States:  Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, 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, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Provisional Timetable for Consideration of Reports

Wednesday, 7 May 2003

Morning      Luxembourg, third periodic report (E/1994/104/Add.24)

Afternoon      Luxembourg (continued)

Thursday, 8 May 2003

Morning      Luxembourg (continued)

Afternoon      Brazil, initial report (E/1990/5/Add.53)

Friday, 9 May 2003

Morning     Brazil (continued)

Afternoon   Brazil (continued)

Monday, 12 May 2003

Morning     New Zealand, second periodic report (E/1990/6/Add.33)

Afternoon   New Zealand (continued)

Tuesday, 13 May 2003

Morning     New Zealand (continued)

Afternoon      Iceland, third periodic report (E/1994/104/Add.25)

Wednesday, 14 May 2003

Morning      Iceland (continued)

Afternoon      Iceland (continued)

Thursday, 15 May 2003

Morning      Israel, second periodic report (E/1990/6/Add.32)

Afternoon   Israel (continued)

Friday, 16 May 2003

Morning     Israel (continued)

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