COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONSIDERS REPORT OF NICARAGUA
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has considered the combined second to fourth periodic report of Nicaragua on how that country implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Carlos Robelo Raffone, Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations Office at Geneva, in his opening statement, said that Nicaragua was a country which was firmly committed to its obligations under the different international human rights instruments it was party to. The Government was committed to building a unit for follow-up of recommendations of all international instruments under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which included participation from civil society. The Government aimed to overcome poverty and democratize the country. A number of measures had been taken since the last report. The National Commission on Confiscation and the Nicaraguan Institute on Territorial Studies monitored the issues on land ownership and housing. With regard to the right to property and urban and rural reform, important measures had been established to speed up the process of legal review in order to legalize the sorting of property disputes. The Ministry for Property was tasked with dealing with and sorting property disputes, to quantify the property confiscated and deal with all complaints pending with the State. In 2008 the Government gave titles to more than 30,000 land plots, and granted the absolute exercise of rights in over 80 neighbourhoods. Important progress made by the Government also included the signing of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture; it was ratified on 26 August 2008.
Among other issues raised by the Experts were questions regarding widespread poverty; compulsory and free education; national health services; regulations on asylum seekers; migrant workers and their families; indigenous and afro-descendant people’s rights and to land specifically; invoking the Covenant directly into domestic courts; the realization of economic, social and cultural rights for indigenous and afro-descendant people; the lack of thoroughness and the systematic nature of reports received; homosexuality as a punishable offence; a rights based approach in the National Plan for Human Development; the impact of signing in October 2005 the Customs Union or Free Trade Area agreement on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the situation on land ownership for the indigenous peoples in the north and south Atlantic costal regions; the draft law on refugees; consultation between civil society and the national institution for human rights; the Optional Protocol to the Convention and dealing with individual communications within the judicial system in Nicaragua; the labour policy for women; and the policy on abortion.
The delegation of Nicaragua included representatives from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Nicaragua to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Nicaragua to the United Nations Office at New York.
The dialogue with the Committee extended for three meetings.
The concluding observations and recommendations of the Committee on the report of Nicaragua will be issued towards the end of the session, which concludes on Friday, 21 November.
When the Committee meets at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will begin its consideration of the fifth periodic report of Sweden (E/C.12/SWE/5).
Report of Nicaragua
The combined second to fourth periodic report of Nicaragua (E/C.12/NIC/4), presented in one document, notes the adoption of various international agreements and a large number of laws and policies to improve the human rights situation in the country. New institutions have been established, and several action plans implemented. Nicaragua took a significant step towards the protection of the rights of migrant workers, by acceding, on 28 September 2004, to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. In addition, the National Plan now promotes gender mainstreaming as a cross-cutting approach and as a key planning strategy under various institutional policies and practices. At the local level, focus on supporting women and children is promoted in 60 per cent of municipalities, including through women’s or gender committees comprising representatives of various Government and civil society bodies. On 22 June 1993 the Government committed itself to preserving, safeguarding and promoting the ethnic cultures of the indigenous peoples and communities. With regard to non-discrimination, Nicaragua has signed the International Labour Organization Convention concerning discrimination in respect of employment and occupation (ILO Convention No. 111, 1958), aimed at equality of opportunity and treatment, and the Government has made poverty reduction a pillar of national policy. The percentage of Nicaraguan households living in poverty and extreme poverty declined, respectively, from 50.3 and 19.4 per cent in 1993 to 45.8 and 15.1 per cent in 2001.
One area of particular focus of the report is employment, which is seen as being crucial for the reduction and removal of poverty. The report looks at trends in employment, unemployment and underemployment, freedom of choice and non-discrimination, productivity and international assistance. Regarding article 7, minimum wages, equal pay, conditions of occupational health and safety and equal opportunity for promotion are among the issues addressed. Social security includes employees’ funds and family pensions, maternity benefits, family issues, child labour and other child issues. The right to an adequate standard of living is addressed through indicators of current standards of living, human development, agrarian reform and food related issues, housing, drinking water and urbanization, among others. Measures towards physical and mental health address health indicators, medical service delivery system, medical education and research, programmes of action for various diseases, and maternal and child health and insurance. In education, new data shows that with regard to gender differences, the educational system undoubtedly reflects conditions of equality. The report also looks at the system of schools and the structure of education, primary and secondary education, educational trends for vulnerable groups and modalities of education. Difficulties identified include the lack of economic, human and material resources. With regard to Article 15, several development programmes in infrastructure, human resources, technology and other areas are being implemented.
Presentation of the Report
CARLOS ROBELO RAFFONE, Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations Office at Geneva, in his opening statement, said that Nicaragua was a country which was firmly committed to its obligations under the different international human rights instruments it was party to. The Government was committed to building a unit for follow-up of recommendations of all international instruments under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which included participation from civil society. The Government aimed to overcome poverty and democratize the country. The fight against poverty could not be achieved under the current global model, structural changes were necessary, the model needed to be transformed for global development. This affected not only the scandal of hunger, but also the energy crisis.
In 1994, when Nicaragua was last reviewed by the Committee, concern was raised by Committee members over the coherency of the State report, and specifically laws on land ownership and housing. A number of measures had been taken since the last report. The National Commission on Confiscation and the Nicaraguan Institute on Territorial Studies monitored the issues on land ownership and housing. With regard to the right to property and urban and rural reform, important measures had been established to speed up the process of legal review in order to legalize the sorting of property disputes. The Ministry for Property was tasked with dealing with and sorting property disputes, to quantify the property confiscated and deal with all complaints pending with the State. In dealing with the social demands and the productive sectors of the country, looking at the small producers and poverty in rural areas, the Ministry of Property had set forth tasks to assist the Government in dealing with the people’s needs with respect to property. In 2008 the Government gave titles to more than 30,000 land plots, and granted the absolute exercise of rights in over 80 neighbourhoods, through raising awareness, the preparation of plots, the legalization of these properties and dealing with the transfer of lands, among others.
In 1993, 50.3 per cent of households lived in poverty and 19.4 per cent in extreme poverty. In 2001, the figures decreased with 45.8 per cent of households living in poverty and 15.1 per cent in extreme poverty. Between the years of 1990 to 2006 over 2 million people entered into extreme poverty, and 82 per cent, 4.2 million were living below the poverty threshold. The regrettable poverty situation and slow change of reversing poverty illustrated the need to reform the current strategy, and design a more equitable and democratized strategy to address this need. A new model had been created and was called the National Human Development Plan for 2008 - 2012. It initiated a broad consultative process throughout the Nicaraguan society, with the hope to resuscitate the society and free up the potential of marginalized people. The success criterion was to achieve growth in overcoming hunger and eliminating poverty through a number of programmes, such as, the School Meals Programme, Zero Hunger Programme, Seeds for Sewing Programme, job creation programmes, the production and promotion bank (ensuring fair prices), and programmes to provide cookers and gas cylinders for families in need.
The main legislative and institutional changes that had taken place in Nicaragua to modernize and democratise the State without any distinction included reforms to the labour code which established working rights and protections for women, and the law on the dissolution of marriage for either sex. On 13 December 1995 law 212 was adopted which set up a special office for women’s affairs; in April 2006 the National Human Rights Institution gained `A’ status under the Paris Principles; in 1998 the National Convention for the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women was created; in 1996 law 185 of the labour code established rules related to labour, which included the right to benefits, days off and holidays. Law 238 was adopted in December 1996 for the promotion and protection of human rights for those living and working with AIDS/HIV, and in 1990 law 119 guaranteed rights and benefits for person living with disabilities as a result of war.
Important progress made by the Government also included the signing of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture; it was ratified on 26 August 2008. In 2007 the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified and in October 2008 the Optional Protocol to the Convention was signed. The Penal Code was reformed with law 641 in July 2008 which established the offence of discrimination as being an aggravating factor in other offences. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs set up a unit designated to indigenous affairs. On the 11 September 2008 the second Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights concerning the death penalty was signed.
The new model of the Government of Nicaragua was designed to ensure structural transformation to overcome exclusion and to free the human potential of the marginalized sectors of society. Solidarity, community, inclusion and equality were central to this aim. Problems must be solved in the short, medium and long term. The reconciliation and national unity Government reaffirmed its commitment to the people of Nicaragua to achieve these aims.
Questions by Committee Members
An Expert asked for more information on whether the courts in Nicaragua could invoke the Covenant directly; how the realization of economic, social and cultural rights for indigenous people had been met; and how the national human rights institution was in conformity with the Paris Principles? One Expert shared the concern that the State party did not seem to hold the Covenant highly with late report submissions and the lack of thoroughness and systematic nature of the reports received; he asked how the current global model affected Nicaragua from meeting its obligations under the Covenant, and how were the hundreds of complaints sent to the Committee dealt with?
Questions by Experts also related to the rights of indigenous people; homosexuality as a punishable offence; a rights based approach in the National Plan for Human Development; the impact of signing in October 2005 the Customs Union or Free Trade Area agreement on economic, social and cultural rights; the situation on land ownership for the indigenous peoples in the north and south Atlantic costal regions; the draft law on refugees and what body dealt with refugees specifically and regulations related to asylum seekers; and consultation between civil society and the national institution for human rights.
On the Optional Protocol to the Convention and dealing with individual communications within the judicial system in Nicaragua, an Expert asked what was the system in Nicaragua in which the Committee could look to when deliberating on the question of admissibility of individual communications where all domestic remedies have been exhausted?
Answers by the Delegation
In response to the questions raised, the delegation said the new Government’s priority was to honour commitments to the various States parties and international instruments. Technical support was received through the United Nations, specifically the United Nations Development Programme and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the preparation of the report. Governmental and non governmental organizations were consulted in the process. The report reflected the position of the Government and all sectors concerned. A website was developed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which published a draft for consultation and reflected all relevant contributions. Meetings were conducted to consult the information suggested. The failure to comply with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was not limited just to this Covenant but other treaties as well, and the Government was catching up with such compliance.
On the promotion of equality of rights of indigenous peoples, the delegation said that since 2007 the Government has been ensuring better participation of indigenous people in political posts and decision making; currently they were better represented. The Atlantic Coast Development Council was established for coordination and communication between the Governments and leaders of indigenous people. A specific commission was established to address the needs of the people, called the Root to the Caribbean, where it was composed and regulated by the indigenous people in those regions. The Government of Nicaragua created a development regime covering 40 different communities reaching over 30,000 people, and worked to strengthen municipal Governments and communities. All the programmes established included a particular emphasis on the Caribbean coast. These areas had the highest rates of poverty, mainly due to a lack of resources, its geographic location and climate. In order to preserve ethnic diversity a National Literacy Programme was created.
On poverty, rights and equality for women, the delegation said that the Government of Nicaragua aimed to eliminate poverty and was carrying out awareness raising and training on a municipal level, in particular for women to become aware of their rights under the law. The building of positive frameworks to ensure that change was effective and real was the cornerstone of true equality between men and women. Moreover, it was highly important to promote women’s participation in all sectors of the country. Law 648, the law of equality, rights and opportunities, had become the main tool for women in their fight for their rights. All the gender programmes were mainly aimed at women from rural areas, where the women had the most need for education and health care and invited them to participate in all the development programmes throughout the country. Zero Hunger provided women with a voucher to be redeemed for basic living needs, such as a cow, pig or chickens; giving women power in the home. Technical assessment was available to help with the resources available, for example in 2007 a loan programme was established which granted women loans at a very low interest rate to develop small or medium size businesses. A high percentage of loans had been recovered, and there were plans to increase funding for this programme.
On health care services and programmes for women the Government of Nicaragua reintroduced maternity units in the communities; more than 11,000 women received care at such units in the last year. In addition, increased access to retroviral drugs for women living with AIDS/HIV had been implemented. A massive campaign was underway to promote women in Government positions with an aim to fulfilling a 50 per cent margin. In terms of the proportion of women in public office, currently there were four women holding ministerial level positions and five general directors, magistrates and judges among others. In municipalities women represented 10 per cent of officials and 30 per cent in other areas. The Nicaraguan Institute for Women was also recently granted greater status over women’s issues. Moreover, maternity rest (after the birth of the child) and breast feeding time had been increased.
The delegation recalled that the legal system in Nicaragua was composed of 16 independent magistrates and judges. It was noted that the State party did not need to ratify Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, as the protections for indigenous peoples were covered in the national Constitution of Nicaragua, including a law on autonomy, nationality and use of native language and special programmes for education and health.
On property rights and land ownership, the delegation said that, law 278 on urban and rural property in December 1997 and the creation of a supervisory body designed to identify indemnification and compensation were examples of steps taken to address the issues arising from property titles. In addition housing was addressed and adequate and affordable housing was created with an interest rate of 4 per cent, the lowest rate in the history of Nicaragua. All components of property had been harmonized through the national Commission for the Review of Conflicts, the body for the assessment of compensation, and the Nicaraguan Institution for Territorial Studies. The Institution for Territorial Studies was also responsible for the coordination of relevant bodies to ensure land was regulated and regularized.
On the implementation of the Covenant and specifically how it was directly invoked in the courts in Nicaragua, the delegation said that Article 46 of the Constitution of Nicaragua provided for the Covenant’s application. Further, both general and specific human rights instruments had been adopted in cases before the courts. The delegation apologized for the absence of specific examples or cases in which the Covenant was directly invoked.
On the question of land ownership rights for indigenous and afro descendant people with regard to the Human Development Plan 2008-2012, the delegation said that five territories had been given legal security for 2008, this process also gave legal security to those who still belonged to the municipalities of the autonomous regions. This aspect of demarcation and entitlement of indigenous lands was central to the Human Development Plan of 2008-2012.
On how the National Development Plan foresaw tackling the international financial crisis, the delegation said that, in 2007 the revision of the old National Plan was initiated on how to fight poverty, identifying objectives and goals. As such, the National Development Plan for Human Development was the result, and proposed to resituate citizens’ rights, to better represent democracy and represent the people’s voice in shaping public policy. Central to the National Development Plan was democracy, which in turn provided a voice to the traditionally marginalized groups in the country. Eliminating poverty was a long term mission; however, to envisage this goal more resources were necessary. Steps had been taken by the Government to address this in providing technical assistance; financing and incentives to the poorest productivity sectors were of focus. In addition production of food increased, both for internal and external export. The National Plan was a living document with ongoing adjustments and consultations. The Human Development Plan was now in its last stage of adoption.
Further Questions by the Committee Members
Discrimination was noted in the presentation as being a newly adopted offence under the penal code and an Expert asked for concrete examples of cases examined? Committee Experts raised concerns about the lack of statistical data or concrete examples provided by the delegation in their responses. Nicaragua had not ratified the International Labour Organization Convention 169 and the San Salvador Protocol; one Expert asked if they planned to?
One Expert underscored that poverty was related to a number of issues facing the country, among others child labour and illiteracy. He noted that it was important to address poverty. Therefore figures on population were necessary; however, the report did not include any concrete figures, and he asked if more accurate figures could be provided.
On article 7 of the Covenant dealing with the right to just and favourable conditions of work, an Expert noted that the situation of women in Nicaragua was not favourable, unequal wages, and women not being considered to be highly employable (pregnancy concerns), were among a number of issues experienced, how was this being addressed? The Committee heard from a number of sources that complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace were not being dealt with, and requested further information in this regard and specific examples of some of the cases brought forth. Further information was requested on the types of vocational training established to assist in the creation of employment opportunities for young people. Did social security cover domestic workers or not? It was reported that less than 20 per cent of the population was covered, however, the replies indicated that the Government expected to increase coverage from 20 to 29.48 per cent by the end of 2008, was the target going to be reached? Was there a minimum amount for pensions in the private sector?
Committee Experts asked for further information on minimum wages for domestic workers; regulations and policies on social security; migrant workers in the work place; and the right to organize trade unions.
Answers by the Delegation
The delegation said that no judgements had been handed down since the adoption of discrimination as a new offence two months ago. The Government was in the process of consultation and intended to ratify the International Labour Organization Convention 169. On the San Salvador Protocol more specific answers would be provided at a later time.
In relation to article 6 of the Covenant on the right to work, the delegation said that the Office of Equality and Discrimination had been created in order to address the needs of people who had been discriminated against or experienced a hindrance into the work force. In terms of training, there was help for the employment of women over the age of 45, people with disabilities and those from the informal sectors with the help of the Technical Institute and the Nicaraguan Institute for Women.
With regard to the Committee’s questions on domestic labour, and the regulations on domestic labour, the delegation said that workers in domestic services were covered by a wide range of services, and enjoyed the same basic rights as all other workers, based in the Constitution and Labour Code of Nicaragua. Domestic workers wages were made up of money, food and lodging. After every six days of work they were granted one day of rest, and were entitled to go to night school if they so choose to do. It was the responsibility of the employers to register workers for social security. The legal minimum wages for domestic workers in 2007 was around 1,500 cordovans a month. In terms of the labour code and special inspections, publication of the new labour code had yet to be published, and as a result no special inspections had been carried out as of yet. In the agricultural sector workers wages averaged approximately 1,030 córdobas (plus food) in 2007, and that increased in 2008 to 1,230 córdobas (plus food).
The Ministries of Labour and Foreign Affairs were responsible for monitoring migrant workers, noted the delegation. The Zero Hunger Programme was an initiative that generated 32,000 direct jobs and 72,000 indirect jobs. Wages were freely agreed by the parties involved, however, it was never to be below the minimum wage regulated by the Government of Nicaragua and laid out in the Constitution. The minimum wage was set every six months, and was to be readjusted if there was a loss of purchasing power indicated by the human price index. With regard to labour conditions, during the previous Government the industrial free trade areas worked as economic enclaves that did not follow national legislation: trade unions were not allowed, and some had wages that were below minimum wage. The current Government had changed this, and now all national legislation applied to all areas of the country, people were free to organize themselves to protect their interests, and minimum wages were raised.
On formation of trade unions, the delegation said that in previous Governments obstacles had been put in place which hindered people from organizing unions, however, this was now changed. Since 2006 there had been a 90 per cent increase in the authorization of unions. Currently 70 new union organizations had been formed and more than 80 had been renewed. Workers had the right to organize themselves as long as the union was not declared unconstitutional.
The amount of pensions was closely related to that of wages, said the delegation, and based on low, medium, high, and very high wages.
Questions by the Committee Experts
What could be done with 1,500 córdobas, and was this amount enough for people to live on, asked one Expert. Other issues remained of concern to the Committee such as illegal settlements, acute poverty, and regularization of land settlements, forced evictions, and homelessness. The poverty reduction strategy was not yielding results, it did not target the poor and was extremely politicized, noted an Expert. Why was the Government of Nicaragua adopting a human rights approach to poverty? Article 64 Constitution provided Nicaraguans with the right to housing, guaranteeing the privacy of the family, therefore what had the State party done to promote the right to housing? A reoccurring theme throughout the dialogue was the question of adequate resources, was the Government not able to provide enough resources? Further information was welcomed.
Law 423 of 2002 was created to promote good nutrition, prevent malnutrition, and provide micronutrients specifically for children, expecting mothers and elders, noted an Expert. How was this monitored to ensure the level of sugar found in the micronutrients that had been distributed? HIV/AIDS and prison conditions were also of concern and further information was requested. Information on prevalent diseases such as Diarrhea was only provided up to 2001; however, since the last review was in 2004, the Committee was interested in hearing more about the status of addressing such a disease and others since then.
What were the numbers on street children and what measures had been taken to address this issue, asked one Expert. What was being done to address the rise of street gangs? On the problem of trafficking in persons, what legislation existed to address this issue? No effort had been made to help the elderly population since the early 1990s notes the report, did the Government plan to address this, and if so how? Why was the law repealed on abortions, this pushed women to take measures that had proven to be seriously harmful to their health or lethal in cases involving clandestine abortions.
If there was an offence penalizing sexual relations with children, an Expert asked if the text of that law could be provided. In cases of incest or rape, why were therapeutic abortions illegal?
What resources were available to envisage the goals of programmes mentioned by the Government of Nicaragua; what was the increase made in the areas of education, health and housing, asked one Expert. With regard to legislative and regulatory reform, resources were necessary to strengthen institutions, and what were the exact figures on budgetary funding?
Trafficking of women and children remained a serious concern, noted an Expert? The National Plan for Children 2002-2011 was not adequately funded and as such what was the point of having such a plan? In Nicaragua a child aged 13 and under was not protected under the laws of statutory rape, however, conversely a girl aged 14 years was legally entitled to engage in prostitution, this was a source of great confusion, why was there this contradiction and what was the difference?
Did the Human Development Plan of 2008-2012 include primary and tertiary education, asked an Expert? Illiteracy was a serious problem in Nicaragua, and was this plan to eliminate illiteracy comprehensive or was it more appropriate to say that it would be reduced by 2012? What were the results of the first year of the campaign? What were the percentages of the national budget allocated to education noted in the report related to?
Concerning the right to education of indigenous peoples, the report did not take into account the special characteristics of indigenous peoples, an Expert noted, therefore what was being specifically done to address this?
Experts asked what support migrant families received, taking into account the recent financial crisis; what amount of the national budget was set aside for debt servicing; what were school commissaries; about the measures outlined by the State party on free education and did that include free lunch and textbooks; why was there only 65 children accessing the numerous facilities available for pupils with disabilities, was it an issue of awareness or access; what languages were used to teach children of migrant workers; and was education for the children of migrant workers free and mandatory?
On Article 15 of the Covenant on the right to participate in cultural life, law 215 for the protection of Nicaraguan artists existed, and there was also a budget for promoting cultural life, but it was not allocated, an Expert noted. Why had the funds not been allocated and what policies existed to protect artists’ work and promote cultural rights?
Answers by the Delegation
In response to these questions and others, the delegation of Nicaragua said that now the country was at a stage of overcoming the problems it had inherited. Of course there was a lack of resources, however, the Government wanted to ask members of the Committee on the basis of appropriate criteria, being the second poorest country in Latin America. With regard to the question on street children, 25,000 was the current figure; there was a programme designed for promoting the rights of adolescents, which involved a number of ministries. The components of the programme included restoring the rights of these children to live in families (either their own or foster families), decent living standards, taking them off the streets and setting up child developments centres (providing education and recreation while women worked), to be registered in the civil registry (documentation), and lastly specialized assistance to children with disabilities.
On whether the new criminal code dealt with offences involving minors, the delegation said a copy of the code would be provided. It included a wide range of offences, and was a progressive rule which was in accordance with the standards of international law and was designed to amend the previous criminal code under these types of offences.
The church, the families of these children (involved in gangs), and several ministries, all sought to reintegrate these young people, save them from the danger of the streets, and bring back to the love of the family.
Regarding the general budget of Nicaragua, the delegation said the Government tried to optimize the use of its resources. For the implementation of new programmes on health and education, the 2008 budget showed an increase for both sectors. Comparing the 2008 budget with the proposed budget for 2009, both the health and education sectors received a total of 30 per cent of the general budget. The policy of free access for health was carried out by teams of health officials who travelled to communities, including the most marginalized sections of society. The medical teams complimented the general health services provided throughout the country, and in the last year over 63,000 medical procedures took place.
Since the first case of HIV/AIDS was registered in 1987 more than 1,200 cases had been registered. Sixty-six per cent of cases knew they had the illness, and knew where to take the test, 10 per cent knew of other prevention methods, and many of the surveyors already had the test done. In November 2007, the Government held the fifth Central American Congress on HIV/AIDS. The theme was equality, fairness and non-discrimination. This provided an opportunity for the community to learn more about the virus and how to seek assistance.
With regard to the free trade agreement between Central America and the United States and labour rights, the delegation said the impact of this trade agreement and on the labour sector specifically showed an increase in investment following the signing of the agreement. There was a growth in jobs in 2007 and this registered a investment of around 11 million dollars, which generated a total of approximately 2000 new jobs, compared with that of 2008, with an increase of $ 23 million dollars and an increase of 2,280 jobs.
The Government of Nicaragua had yet to sign the International Labour Organization Convention 102, the delegation said. However, there was interest on behalf of the new Government to undertake all the covenants and conventions that had yet to be signed. Nicaraguan legislation provided the necessary protections and rights. This included social security rights for women, with the doubling of the maternity rest time, pay for maternity leave, and breast feeding support. In 2006 a total of 12,867 births were registered and of that total 64 per cent were workers and many were insured, with more than 11,000 received maternity pay totalling 37.6 million cordovans. In 2007, 64 per cent of employed women received maternity assistance, and around 15,000 received maternity pay totalling approximately 51.2 million cordovans.
The minimum wage did not cover the basic needs in Nicaragua, said the delegation, and the Government was trying to fill some of the gaps with the introduction of such programmes as Zero Hunger, which provided food vouchers to families. The budget deficit was of main concern, and the Government was trying to deal with the crisis as effectively as possible given the gross nature of the problem of poverty in the country.
On the question of migrant workers, the delegation said in most cases the workers did not travel with their families. There might be some cases, but none that had been recorded to date.
Poverty was underscored again by the delegation as a major problem in Nicaragua. The National Human Development Plan sought to insure that the problem decreasingly affected the population. Without the elimination of poverty development could not take place. It was important to note that the income of the population statistics showed that a percentage of the poor referred to people earning less than 2 dollars a day (about 4,200 cordovans), and extreme poverty referred to income of less than 1 dollar a day, (about 2,200 cordovans). Those described as poor were those with basic needs unsatisfied, just over 3 million of the population, and extreme poverty were those with multiple needs unsatisfied, just over 2 million of the population. In order to ensure implementation of the National Development Plan there was a need for sufficient resources to carry it out, but apart from that there was the effect of the energy crisis, and the rising price of oil, where a portion of the budget for health and education was now used to subsidize transport to alleviate this problem. In addition the devastation left behind by hurricane Felix had increased poverty levels in some of the poorest parts of the country, and dealing with the recent financial crisis had contributed to major challenges ahead while trying to continue the implementation of the plan.
Sixteen years of neo-liberal Government rule since 1979 had left Nicaragua with lost economic and social development opportunities, noted the delegation. One the hardest hit areas was education with illiteracy rates of over 22 per cent in 2006. The delegation agreed with the Committee that it would be impossible to eliminate illiteracy completely by 2012, but a significant reduction was the goal. In 2007-2008 approximately 170,000 illiterate people in Nicaragua benefited from education services, resulting in a decrease of illiteracy rates by 13.3 per cent on a national level. Different methods of literacy training methods had been set up including audio-visual methods, and a mixed method (psychosocial synthesis). Programmes were spread across the country to some of the most remote and difficult to reach.
On teaching, bilingual education, and education for the indigenous population, the delegation said that in 2007, an educational system was pushed forward that was regional and autonomous. A national commission was formed and it was responsible, among other tasks, for coordinating inter-cultural and bilingual training with local municipalities. In the last 16 years there was in practice discrimination under the previous Government for access for students from poorer families to public education. In order to reduce public spending the Government privatized education. In the previous Government there were hundreds of cases registered where parents who were not able to pay school fees had their children subsequently dismissed. The new Government changed the education system to eliminate private education, and to provide free primary (compulsory) and secondary education, including free lunch. Moreover, a total of 300 schools were being constructed, however, many were left unfinished, and it was the aim of the Government now to complete this project.
With regard to reforms of the Penal Code on the age set for the punishment and protection of girls in cases of statutory rape and the legal age for prostitution, the delegation said that statutory rape legislators might have wanted to make specifications and harmonize it with the code for children and adolescents because there were different levels of ages to establish majority. However despite this there was room for that to be changed.
In Nicaragua the state of housing also posed a challenge with only 22.5 per cent of housing in good condition, 47 per cent in satisfactory condition and 30.5 percent in poor condition, said the delegation. The Government’s priority for housing was, as with many of the other needs of the population, to allocate resources of the national budget as best as possible. `Houses for the People’ was designed to construct housing for all sectors of the population with low incomes and without plots of land to build, and `A Better House’ programme was designed to provide low cost funding at 4 per cent (the lowest interest rate in the country). A total of 13,000 new houses were built for low-income families, direct subsidies had been offered for improvement of housing, and 38 housing projects had been planned for 2008. These measures resolved the situation of a large number of low-income families from 33 municipalities scattered among 13 different provinces, totalling 12,000 people.
On the abolition of abortion, the delegation said that the country was divided on this very complicated matter. It was important to note that at no stage were doctors prohibited from treating women whose health was in danger, but what was prohibited was the voluntary act of abortion, which was established in the new Criminal Code, chapter 2. Additionally, therapeutic abortions were also made illegal, but changes to that were also possible.
Question by Committee Members
One Expert asked what the policy of Nicaragua was on the use of contraception?
Answers by the Delegation
The delegation said the Government did not forbid the use of contraception. There could be legislative decisions around this subject. The Catholic Church did not accept nor promote the use of contraception. The Government had taken on its responsibility and contraception was available and easy to obtain from both the economic view and supply. Women were entitled to ask for contraceptives from State run medical centres each month. It was important to note that the State wanted to concentrate all its efforts on prevention.
Concluding Statements
In his concluding remarks, CARLOS ROBELO RAFFONE, Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations Office at Geneva, thanked the Committee for the attention given to the review of the report of Nicaragua. He said that there was a need for international care to help Nicaraguans to live a decent and dignified life. He asked the Committee, despite the past Governments’ failures, to reiterate the present Government’s commitment to fight for the rights and freedoms of its people. Without putting an end to hunger there could be no freedom.
PHILIPPE TEXIER, Chairman of the Committee, thanked the delegation for its efforts to answer all the questions of the Committee Members.
For use of the information media; not an official record
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