NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ADDRESS COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon heard statements from a series of non-governmental organizations on the situation of economic, social and cultural rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Poland, Madagascar and the Republic of Korea, whose reports will be considered this session.
Concerning the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speakers spoke about the harassment of people denouncing work conditions and combating corruption; the right to adequate food and the situation of rural communities and of peasant farmers; the rights of women; the right to housing; and the right to access to better physical and mental health.
On Poland, a speaker raised the issue of the right to the highest attainable standard of health of people who were drug dependent in Poland and the situation of persons in need of Opioid Substitution Treatment in the country.
With regard to the Republic of Korea, a speaker said that overall, economic, social and cultural rights in the Republic of Korea had drastically regressed and the quality of life for most Koreans had declined, while unemployment had risen sharply. This could be attributed to the Korean Government’s neo-liberal economic policies, along with the intensification of the global financial crisis.
On Madagascar, a speaker addressed the issue of the agri-business and land-grabbing project of the South Korean firm Daewoo in Madagascar.
The representatives of the following non-governmental organizations took the floor: La Ligue des Electeurs, the Fédération Internationale des Droits de l’Homme on behalf of the Association Africaine des Défense des Droits de l’Homme, Foodfirst Information & Action Network, Franciscans International, the International Harm Reduction Association, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Collectif pour la Défense des Terres Malgaches and the Non-Governmental Organization Coalition on the Optional Protocol.
During the present session, the Committee will also consider the report of Chad, but no NGO representatives were present to speak about that country.
The next meeting of the Committee will be at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 3 November, when it will start to consider the combined second to fifth periodic report of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (E/C.12/COD/5). It is scheduled to consider the reports of the Democratic Republic of the Congo over three meetings, concluding on Wednesday, 4 November at 1 p.m.
Statements
MARCHAN ROMERO, Chairperson of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in introductory remarks, said that the Committee deeply appreciated the participation of civil society in the Committee’s work. Once the Optional Protocol would enter into force, a real instrument would finally be available to the victims of violations of economic, social and cultural rights. They would finally have an effective instrument to make complaints. The Committee had thus come to the end of a period of a too lengthy waiting, but it would now be on an equal footing with the other treaty body committees. They should now all do the arduous work of communication and persuade States to adopt the instrument. An international campaign had to be launched in this regard.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
PAUL NSAPU, President of La Ligue des Electeurs, said that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the years 2008 and 2009 had been marked by the resumption of the war in the east of the country. In this context, a restriction of human rights had been witnessed. Numerous acts of harassment had taken place against those denouncing work conditions. Marches by teachers who called for improvements in their work conditions had been violently dispersed. Several individuals had been arrested. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, those combating corruption were also frequently subjected to acts of harassment. While the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remained sensitive about its natural resources, the defenders of economic, social and cultural rights denouncing the environmental consequences of activities in the mining and forestry area, or cases of corruption, were threatened. Local authorities were regularly accused of collusion with some of these firms by human rights defenders and lawyers.
JULIE GROMELLON, of Fédération Internationale des Droits de l’Homme, speaking also on behalf of the Association Africaine des Défense des Droits de l’Homme, talked about the illegal production activity that was taking place in the uranium mine in Shinkolobwe, in spite of a presidential decree which forbade any mining activity in this region. The mine should have been closed and the issue was also of concern to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Uranium continued to be taken out of the mine, with the active participation of members of the Congolese armed forces. The fact that the IAEA and United Nations Environment Programme had not continued to look at this affair had led to an agreement between the firm AREVA and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The agreement was signed by the Congolese Government secretly. It gave exclusive right of exploitation of all Congolese mines to one single partner: AREVA. The Committee should demand the publication of all mining contracts, in particular the AREVA-DRC contracts.
SANDRA RATJEN, of Foodfirst Information & Action Network, addressed issues in relation to the right to adequate food in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There was a particularly severe situation in rural communities and among peasant farmers in the country with regard to access to adequate food and clean water. The reasons for this included the insecurity of land tenure, the competition of mining and extractive activities with food protection and the lack of protection of and support to small food procedures. Like many African countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was witnessing the effects of the neglect of agricultural and rural development and the needs of peasant farmers. The violence affecting the country had also made it difficult to address the issues linked to food security. Peasants were not only inadequately supported by the States, but they also suffered under the war situation in the country. Their tools were often taken away for security reasons, as they could be used as weapons.
YAO AGBETSE, Coordinator, Africa Programme, Franciscans International, said, on the issue of discrimination against women, that the Government had set up prejudicial legislation; women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were subordinate to their husbands under the law. This jeopardized the capacity of women to fully meet their needs and their ability to take care of children. However, thanks to recent changes, men were no longer claiming their traditional role in the country. Franciscans International hoped that the Committee would call on the Government to set up a real calendar on human rights of women in order to ensure that it met its international commitments.
Turning to the right to housing, Mr. Agbetse said that policemen last March had expelled people from their homes in Kinshasa to make way for the construction of a hospital. Such expropriations would have called for a proper prior notice but this had not happened. Some were still without housing and were living on the streets. The Government had clearly failed in its obligations. The Committee should intervene to ensure that the families were immediately provided with housing. Turning to access to better physical and mental health, he noted that over 80 million persons did not have access to any form of healthcare in the country. This had led to considerable self-medication, with the risk of intoxication. Many of the illnesses affecting the population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be easily healed. Nurses were not getting paid. Drugs were being sold on the street corners. On the national strategy to step up education in the country, he said that this had not been effective, especially in the east, because of the ongoing conflict. Over 5.5 million girls did not have access to basic education. The Committee should call on the Government to make primary education free and available to all.
Poland
MAGDLALENA DABKOWSKA, of the International Harm Reduction Association, raised the issue of the right to the highest attainable standard of health of people who were drug dependent in Poland. According to Poland’s report, “using psychoactive substances other than alcohol or tobacco was a very rare phenomenon”. This was far from the truth; there were hundred of thousands of drug users in the country. Opioid Substitution Treatment was an integral part of a harm reduction approach and one of the most effective and evaluated forms of medical intervention for opiate dependence. The situation in Poland for those in need of this treatment was far from satisfactory. Only 4 to 6 per cent in need of medication were getting it, while the European average was 20 per cent. It had also been reported that about 50 per cent of the total HIV cases in Poland were related to injecting drugs. Poland had one of the most restrictive drug laws of Europe. Polish prisons were overcrowded and Opioid Substitution Treatment programmes only existed in five prisons. In many countries, drug users were marked out as criminals. This might keep people away from seeking medical help, for fear of being mistaken of being a criminal.
Republic of Korea
YUN-JIN MOON, United Nations Advocacy Programme Manager, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), said that overall, economic, social and cultural rights in the Republic of Korea had drastically regressed and the quality of life for most Koreans had declined and unemployment had risen sharply. This could be attributed to the Korean Government’s neo-liberal economic policies, along with the intensification of the global financial crisis. Also, no trials had been conducted based on the Covenant so far in the Republic of Korea. Further, although the Government had introduced a measure to realize fair housing rights, the Housing Redevelopment Project itself was the biggest threat to the right of residence. Many houses that had been used inexpensively by the poor had been destroyed. The sit-in demonstration by tenants, who demanded resettlement, had been crushed by the Government within a day. Turning to the right to social security, she noted that the total amount of the Republic of Korea’s welfare expenditure was the lowest among the 24 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Further, despite the recommendations given to the Government by the Committee in 2001 to review the human rights situation of non-regular workers, there were still no measures of protection for non-regular workers.
Madagascar
MANY RAKOTONDRAINIBE, of the Collectif pour la Défense des Terres Malgaches, raised the issue of the agri-business and land-grabbing project of the South Korean firm Daewoo in Madagascar. This covered up to 1.3 million hectares. The information around it had been completely opaque. The Korean group said it was planning to start growing maize and palm oil to strengthen food security in South Korea. Some 1 million hectares would be allotted to maize and 300,000 hectares to palm trees. The details of the contract had led to indignation among the citizens of Madagascar. There was a petition to cancel all types of similar land grabbing projects. Urgent appeals had been made by several non-governmental organizations and several letters of protest had reached the authorities in Madagascar and South Korea. In the context of the anger of the people against poor governance, the Daewoo affair had been the last straw. The Daewoo agreement was annulled by the first Council of Ministers of the new Administration, after the coup d’etat. Daewoo however continued to work under the names of local companies. The export of crops would be a serious problem with regard to the right to food of the people of Madagascar. The Committee should ask for official confirmation that all contracts and all leases had been annulled.
Other
BRUCE PORTER, of the Non-Governmental Organization Coalition on Optional Protocol, said that he welcomed the introductory remarks of the Chairperson, with regard to the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. He echoed the need for a strategy with regard to the promotion of ratification of the Optional Protocol. He felt that the important thing to emphasize was how critical ratification would be to provide effective remedies to people who needed them. He also addressed some of the key issues that were worth thinking about. For example, the nature of violations in the context of the Covenant was group-based rather than individual-based. They should thus consider the issue of consent of the group and anyone representing a group should thus act with the consent of the group. One had to imagine the issue of groups which could not deliver such consent for whatever reasons. Also, there was the issue of the workload for the Committee and the need to prioritize communications.
For use of the information media; not an official record
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