COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONSIDERS REPORT OF MADAGASCAR
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has considered the second periodic report of Madagascar on how that country implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Christine Razanamahasoa, Minister of Justice of Madagascar, introducing the report, said that Madagascar had signed the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, which testified to the country’s will to reinforce the application of the Covenant. The fact that economic, social and cultural rights were enshrined in Madagascar’s Constitution had had an influence on the legislation. As an example, discrimination and equality had been enshrined in the law. The Labour Code provided that salaries were equal for all workers. For the protection of workers’ rights, the Labour Code fixed the modalities for their right to exercise their union rights. On equality between men and women, the law on marriage established the age of marriage for both sexes at 18, instead of 17 for men and 14 for women as was the case before. On harmful customs, Madagascar had adopted a strategy to combat customs that were contrary to the provisions of the Covenant. Madagascar also had a National Council on Human Rights, which operated in keeping with the Paris Principles. However, without the help of the international community, Madagascar would not be able to ensure the realization of all of the rights provided for in the Covenant.
Questions and issues raised by Committee Experts included the poverty reduction efforts undertaken by the Government and how Madagascar intended to engage international aid in this regard; whether it was realistic to ask for international assistance in light of the recent events in Madagascar; what work the National Human Rights Council did; what had been done to fight corruption and impunity, especially in Parliament and the judiciary; whether Madagascar intended to extend any invitations to Special Procedures; what specific measures were being taken to eradicate discrimination against descendants of slaves; the status of the major agro-project contracts with Daewoo; what was done to fight sexual harassment in the workplace; the functioning of trade unions in the current political situation; and what steps had been taken by the Government to implement the law prohibiting the work of children.
Marchan Romero, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks, highlighted the Malagasy delegation’s multi-sectoral and gender diversity. This sent a very positive signal to the Committee and they hoped to continue this positive dialogue with the State party. The Chairperson also highlighted the fact that Madagascar had been one of the first countries to sign the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Minister of Justice of Madagascar, in concluding remarks, said that during this interactive dialogue, the Committee members had not spared any efforts to request clarifications so as to obtain an accurate picture of the country. Madagascar would take into consideration all elements of the discussion. Progress had of course been made but much remained to be done. They had helped to fill the gaps by their own means; however the support of partners would be beneficial to help them achieve all the provisions contained in the Covenant.
The delegation of Madagascar also included representatives of the Permanent Mission of Madagascar to Geneva, the Inter-ministerial Human Rights Reports Drafting Committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Administrative Tribunal, the Vice Prime-ministry for Health, the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Internal Security.
This afternoon at 3 p.m., the Committee will take up the third periodic report of the Republic of Korea (E/C.12/KOR/3). It is scheduled to consider the report over the next three meetings, concluding on Wednesday, 11 November at 6 p.m.
Report of Madagascar
The second periodic report of Madagascar (E/C.12/MDG/2) notes that since the last report, Madagascar adopted, on 18 September 1992, a new Constitution. Subsequently, the Constitution was revised twice, in October 1996 and April 1998. Direct applicability of international conventions by the courts is guaranteed by the Constitution, which, in its preamble, recognizes the International Bill of Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Conventions on the Rights of Women and the Rights of the Child, which are considered to be an integral part of positive law. Accordingly, Madagascar seeks to standardize its national legislation in compliance with the requirements of duly ratified international conventions.
Also, since the last report, significant economic reforms were implemented in 1994. They relate to economic liberalization, the disengagement of the State from the productive sector, and the progressive privatization of enterprises in the secondary and tertiary sectors. Save for the years 1991 and 2002, characterized by political crises, Madagascar recorded a constant increase in GDP from 1985 to 2005. The 2002 political crisis led many companies to reduce or halt their activities, which resulted in a significant increase in the rate of unemployment in cities. In 2004, 72.1 per cent of the Malagasy population lived under the poverty line. Poverty is mainly a rural phenomenon in all provinces. The rural population with the highest standard of living is in the Antananarivo province, with a poverty incidence rate of approximately 68.2 per cent.
Introductory Remarks
MARCHAN ROMERO, Chairperson of the Committee, in opening remarks, said that the Committee was aware of the recent political events in Madagascar but that the delegation should rest assured that the Committee’s main concern and the starting point of their discussion would be the extent of the implementation of Madagascar’s commitments in relation to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Introduction of Report
CHRISTINE RAZANAMAHASOA, Minister of Justice of Madagascar, introducing the report, said that it was a great honour and pleasure for her to speak before the Committee to present her country’s second periodic report. In order to catch up with their reporting delays, Madagascar had created an inter-ministerial drafting committee by a decree adopted in 2003, with the involvement of civil society. Since then, 15 reports had been drafted and three had already been presented before the relevant committees. Further, Madagascar had also signed the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, testifying to the country’s will to reinforce the application of the Covenant.
The fact that economic, social and cultural rights were enshrined in Madagascar’s Constitution had had an influence on their legislation, said Ms. Razanamahasoa. As an example discrimination and equality had been enshrined in the law. The Labour Code provided that salaries were equal for all workers. For the protection of workers’ rights, the Labour Code fixed the modalities of their right to exercise their union rights. However, unions, as a culture, had not yet been properly developed in the minds of workers, who feared reprisals and for their jobs.
On equality between men and women, Ms. Razanamahasoa said that the law on marriage established the age of marriage for both sexes at 18, instead of 17 for men and 14 for women as was the case before.
Ms. Razanamahasoa further noted that Criminal Law had also reinforced the sanctions applicable to violence against women. Child rights protection networks had been set up around the country with the help of the United Nations Children's Fund. Their mission was to detect cases of violence, abuse, and harsh treatment of children. Sexual harassment had also been criminalized.
On harmful customs, Ms. Razanamahasoa said that Madagascar had adopted a strategy to combat customs that were contrary to the provisions of the Covenant, such as those affecting twin children and women. Community discussions and debates had been organized with religious leaders, customary chiefs and the local authorities.
On health, equity funds had been set up in all public health centres; funded with participation of users, they were targeted to help the poorest, said Ms. Razanamahasoa. Vaccination, parasite elimination and Vitamin A supplement campaigns took place twice a year with the partnership of the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund and the World Bank.
In terms of school attendance, not much disparity in the attendance rates between boys and girls had been registered, said Ms. Razanamahasoa.
On human rights education and training, Ms. Razanamahasoa said that human rights were factored into primary and secondary as well as some of the higher school curricula. Training had been given to judges, criminal police officers, prison staff, members of the bar association and civil society, in several jurisdictions.
Ms. Razanamahasoa said that Madagascar also had a National Council on Human Rights, which operated in keeping with the Paris Principles. It could carry out individual or collective investigations into violations of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights. In order to facilitate access to justice to poor communities, five “legal clinics” had been established, tasked with resolving community based litigation. The spread of such clinics to other regions was already planned.
On international cooperation, Ms. Razanamahasoa said that, without the help of the international community, Madagascar would not be able, using its own resources, to ensure the realization of all of the rights provided for in the Covenant. Development aid could well help to improve the standard of living in Madagascar and the fight against poverty would enjoy considerable progress.
Questions by Experts on Articles One to Five of the Covenant
Committee members asked questions and made various comments on articles one to five of the Covenant, including on the fact that the head of the delegation had said, in her introductory statement, that Madagascar would not be able to realize all provisions of the Covenant, without the help of the international community. This was an admission of the problems the Malagasy population was encountering with regard to their enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.
On poverty, could the delegation say what the poverty rate was in the country? To what extent had the Government been able to reduce poverty, through the various programmes it had adopted, asked an Expert.
Concerning international help, how did Madagascar intend to engage its international partners to rapidly reduce poverty in the country? Was it realistic to rely on international assistance, at the present time, when the country had been shunned by the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie; also in light of the fact that forecasts from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank showed that Madagascar was heading towards a crisis, especially due to the current political impasse in the country, noted an Expert.
It was good to note that the Covenant was directly applicable in Madagascar, but an Expert noted that no case law had been provided. While the judiciary had been trained with regard to the Covenant, what had been done with regard to the general public? Was it aware of its rights? Was there a system of legal aid in place? As the national human rights institution had a mandate of economic, social and cultural rights, could the delegation talk about what kind of cases had been brought before this institution?
An Expert noted that another problem was the climate of corruption and impunity prevailing in the country. What measures had been taken to tackle these issues? Could the delegation tell of any cases where Government officials had been prosecuted? Several sources also said that the Parliament and the judiciary had been noted as being the most corrupt in Madagascar, could the delegation develop on that allegation?
Turning back to the fact that Madagascar was asking for the international community’s help to address the problems it was facing with regard to economic, social and cultural rights, one Expert said that it was remarkable to note that the country had never invited any of the thematic Special Procedures, nor had it extended any standing invitation. Many countries had benefited from the visits and the dialogue with the Special Rapporteurs, especially those linked to economic, social and cultural rights. Were there any plans for Madagascar to invite any Special Procedures in the near future?
On the National Human Rights Council, was Madagascar asking for accreditation for this new council from the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions, asked one Expert.
Another Expert noted that the Government had made a reservation when it had ratified the Covenant, stating that the Government “reserves the right to postpone the application of article 13, paragraph 2, of the Covenant, more particularly in so far as relates to primary education, since, while the Malagasy Government fully accepts the principles embodied in the said paragraph and undertakes to take the necessary steps to apply them in their entirety at the earliest possible date, the problems of implementation, and particularly the financial implications, are such that full application of the principles in question cannot be guaranteed at this stage”. Since there had been an improvement in the economic structure of the country, did the Government still feel that it had to maintain this reservation?
What specific measures were being taken to eradicate discrimination against descendants of slaves in the country and against children who had a non-Malagasy father, asked an Expert. He also noted that a high number of members of the Muslim community were not able to acquire Malagasy nationality. Could the delegation provide more information about citizenship laws?
What had been the response of the traditional leaders with regard to the discussions on gender equality, such as the issue of women’s inheritance rights? Did they show any resistance to these issues, asked an Expert?
Other issues that were touched upon by Experts included: inheritance laws; the situation in prisons; and discrimination against minorities of Indian origin.
An Expert highlighted the concerns by some donors that despite Madagascar’s GDP growth and the help that the country had already received, the money had not been used to lift people out of poverty. How did the delegation assess these critics? Had the Government taken any measures to improve public service performance? Was there any plan to better use international assistance?
Turning to the agro-projects of Daewoo in Madagascar, an Expert expressed concern about the land-grabbing issue. Such practices were increasingly violating the right to food. Could the delegation indicate whether the annulment of the contract that was decided in March 2009 was final and whether all issues had been settled?
On natural catastrophes, as Madagascar was often affected by large scale natural catastrophes, how was the Government going to press on with alert systems and civil defence for the population? Had there been any achievements in this regard, asked an Expert? On the international aid that was made available in cases of natural catastrophes, how was the State ensuring that these funds were not embezzled?
Response by Delegation
Answering these questions and others, the delegation, on international cooperation and whether it was realistic at such a time of political instability to count on international aide, said that the commitments under the Covenant were ongoing commitments and their implementation ought not to be suspended during times of political instability. Madagascar was starting to move out of this political instability.
On what kind of assistance they were looking for, the delegation said that there was the traditional one, such as the one given by the United Nations and its specialized agencies. But they also believed that strengthening economic aid towards developing countries could be of a great help. Helping countries to develop, one would see real results in the fight against poverty, as this was one of the main issues impeding the full realization of many of the economic, social and cultural rights.
On the National Plan for Gender and Development, the delegation indicated that this plan had been implemented by a decree; as such it was not fair to say that there was no legal framework for its implementation.
On what had happened with the Daewoo contract, the delegation said that the contract had not been completed; it had been a draft contract which had not been followed through. Further, Madagascar had an Environmental Charter which was invoked whenever a large scale project was being planned and which might have a negative impact on the lives of the people. Periodic assessments of the potential effects of work carried out by foreign companies were also conducted.
On natural disasters, the delegation indicated that Madagascar had a special body tasked with dealing with these: the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management. In order to prevent human rights violations when natural disasters occurred, the Government worked in collaboration with the local partners and had strategic plans in place for risk prevention and risk management.
On the current situation of the National Human Rights Council, the delegation said that Madagascar had already had a national human rights institution before the current Constitution. This former body had been created through a decree. Its mandate had expired in 2002. The Government had then felt that, in order to give the institution more credibility, it would be better to create it by passing a law. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had closely worked with the Malagasy Government on this. The delegation was however not able to give any cases that the Council had had to deal with as this body still had to be brought to full effect.
On cases of corruption in the Parliament and the judiciary and what measure had been taken to prevent it, the delegation said that, amongst other measures, the Government had set up an Integrity Safeguard Council and that the Government had conducted large scale campaigns to combat corruption. Since corruption was linked to poverty, they had increased the salaries of the judges, the police and other key sectors of the State. Further, all the bank accounts of senior officials were being monitored and banks had to report to the Anti-corruption Institution any major movement of money.
On the legislation on nationality, the delegation said that Madagascar had just recently ratified the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women and had taken measures to repeal all discriminatory provisions.
On inviting Special Procedures to Madagascar, the delegation said that the Government intended to fully and continuously cooperate with the Special Procedures; this invitation was something they were considering. The Special Rapporteur on the right to food’s mission to the island had already been planned, but had had to be postponed due to the current political situation in the country.
Questions by Experts on Articles Six to Nine
Turning to questions on articles six to nine of the Covenant, one Expert noted that women’s unemployment rate had doubled in recent years, while men’s unemployment rate had remained stable, what was the reason behind this? What were the results of the national employment policy?
Another Expert noted that the Government admitted that workers in export processing zones enjoyed lower standards of their rights compared to other workers. Could the delegation elaborate on this, and on the steps taken to combat sexual harassment in the workplace? The United Nations Population Fund had reported that the problem of sexual harassment at the workplace was a widespread practice.
While recognizing the steps taken by the authorities on the issue of sexual harassments in the workplace, the Expert said that one had the impression that the State left it to a certain extent to the victims to come forward. What was being done with regard to awareness-raising at the workplace?
Another Expert asked to what extent the recent political events had influenced the right of trade unions to function freely and the right to strike.
Further, what programmes had been put in place to address the issue of female employment in the rural areas? How was the domestic workers sector dealt with and regulated? How did the Government avoid child labour and children working as domestic workers? How many labour inspectors were operating in the country and had their number been increased? What was the status of the women’s employment code, asked the Experts.
Response by Delegation
Answering these questions and others, the delegation said, on sexual harassment in the workplace, that according to a study by the United Nations Population Fund, around 50 per cent of women were allegedly victims of sexual harassment in the workplace in Madagascar. Sexual harassment was a criminal offence.
If a victim of sexual harassment failed, for whatever reasons, to denounce such violations, it was not possible for the State to take the appropriate measures to respond to this. The Government was currently increasing its number of labour inspectors. These also conducted regular checks concerning sexual harassment and this might prove to be a way of getting more information on these cases, said the delegation.
On the regulation of domestic work, the delegation said that it was governed by the Labour Code. The minimum working age was 15, as was the case for other kinds of work. Breaking this rule was punishable. There were however many domestic workers who were not declared and were not benefiting from any social services.
On whether there had been any cases which had gone to court on the basis of request of salary adjustment, the delegation said that Labour Courts had frequently dealt with such issues.
On the right to strike and the effects of the current political crisis thereon, the delegation said that this right was recognized by the legislation, but that trade union rights had not been fully developed, as employees were encountering problems of job losses and reprisals in the country.
The delegation also noted the fact that they did not have enough labour inspectors at the present time in Madagascar. They had however recently carried out a recruiting drive to recruit 25 additional inspectors, in addition to the current 75. But this was still not enough. In major cities, employees and employers were requesting more additional inspectors.
On child labour, the delegation said that Madagascar had acceded to International Labour Organization Convention 138, on the minimum age for employment, and International Labour Organization Convention 182, on the worst forms of child labour. In Madagascar there were many working children. A recent survey had noted that there were 1.8 million children workers in the country.
The Government was conducting projects with non-governmental organizations on the issue on children workers. A National Committee to combat child labour had also been set up. As a result of these measures, around 15,000 children had been prevented from working since 2001, said the delegation.
At the moment, the Malagasy Government did not yet have the means to extend social benefits to those workers working in the shadow economy or the informal sector. They did however try to include them into the formal economy, said the delegation.
On the question of rural women working in the fields to help their husbands and whether they enjoyed any protection, the delegation indicated that no specific social security protections were available to them.
Questions by Experts on Articles Ten to Twelve
Turning to articles ten to twelve of the Covenant, Experts asked questions on the measures taken to address the situation of overcrowding and chronic malnutrition in prisons, which affected two-thirds of detainees. As the State party had adopted programmes to deal with those issues, what had been their result?
How was the Government alleviating the poverty of the most marginalized groups in the country? What was the budget allocation for poverty reduction, wondered one Expert.
Other Experts wondered how many cases of family violence had come before the courts. Had there been any cases of ill-treatment of children employed as domestic workers?
As so many children were working, sometime as young as six years old, what steps had been taken by the Government to implement the law prohibiting the work of children, wondered one Expert.
Another Expert wondered whether the steps already taken by the Government were enough to address the issue of unregistered children. Also, domestic violence was quite prevalent, what practical programmes had been put in place to punish this form of violence?
Other questions that were asked by Experts pertained to, among other things: trafficking in persons; sexual violence against children; trafficking of children and the status of abortion in the country.
Had there been any prosecutions under the law against forced marriages? How many prosecutions had there been under the national campaign to fight against human trafficking, asked an Expert.
On the right to an adequate standard of living, could the delegation elaborate on the level of the consumer prices index and the average tax burden, related to the minimum wage?
On the right to education, how did the Government ensure that children were being sent to school by their parents?
Response by Delegation
Answering these questions and others, the delegation said that many cases of domestic violence had appeared before the courts; however the delegation had no figures to offer to the Committee on this issue.
Concerning rape inside the family, there was currently no stand-alone offence for such cases. Malagasy women did not like to speak of such acts. There was still work left to be done in terms of awareness-raising for Malagasy women, said the delegation.
Illegal abortions were one of the main reasons of maternal mortality in Madagascar, indicated the delegation. The Government had thus organized seminars and workshops to propose a solution to this problem. Out of these came a proposal to proceed with administrative sanctions, rather than an imprisonment or fine. This matter would now be put before Parliament.
On customary practices related to twins, the delegation said that this custom dated back centuries and that it was not that easy to fight such an old practice.
Turning to the situation in prisons, the delegation said that efforts had been undertaken to improve the situation; they were combating malnutrition among detainees. As to overcrowding, this was predominantly the case in the capital and in detention areas in the provinces. But overall in the territory there had been a clear drop in the number of people in jail. Many efforts had also been made in the way in which cases were being handled.
To reduce prison overcrowding, the delegation said that the Government had transferred some prisoners who had behaved well to work in agriculture camps, where they helped increase the food rations for the other prisoners. The country had also seen conditional releases of a certain number of prisoners who had behaved well.
On trafficking and sexual tourism, the delegation said that Madagascar had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. Women and children were being trafficked in Madagascar for sexual purposes, as a work force and for forced marriage and adoption. Madagascar had conducted awareness raising campaigns on the issue of children used for sexual trafficking.
On child labour, the delegation said that they were aware that this was a serious problem in Madagascar; it was a major impediment to achieve the goal of education for all. They had a national action plan in place to combat this scourge. As part of this plan, they intended to carry out the necessary legislative reforms to eradicate child labour. In December 2007, a Decree was issued on child labour, which set out the modalities for governing child labour. In the Labour Code there were also a certain number of articles which punished child labour.
Questions by Experts on Articles Thirteen to Fifteen
Turning to articles thirteen to fifteen of the Covenant, Experts asked how the State Party intended to seek solutions to the various problems of the land locked areas. What was done to address the high rate of school drop outs and illiteracy? What was the material situation of teachers? Why was their salary so low, compared to other categories of civil servants?
An Expert noted that Malagasy was the national language and that French was also used and taught in schools, but wondered what the official language was. What was being done to integrate children with disabilities in the regular school system? On the distance between schools and the pupils’ homes, why were public schools built so far away from the communities, could the delegation explain this?
On the media, how did the State promote the communication of regional cultural heritage? With regard to the broadcast of discriminatory ideas through the media, were there any standards, or a code of conduct, which regulated the media, asked an Expert.
On access to Internet, as Internet could facilitate the enjoyment of several rights, such as the right to work when looking for a job, an Expert wondered whether the Government had a policy to give access to Internet to everybody, and especially groups such as migrants, people living in remote areas and the youth?
Did Madagascar plan to accede to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights Indigenous People, wondered another Expert.
Answers by Delegation
Answering these questions and others, the delegation said, on the outcome of the meetings between traditional customary chiefs and state representatives, that the customary chiefs had agreed to take concrete measures for prohibiting, for example, child weddings of children under the age of 18. Monitoring visits to the communities were being carried out by the Ministry of Justice, also to quantify the reduction in the number of child marriages.
With regard to access to the Internet, the delegation said that Madagascar was at the start-up phase and that its widespread use was not yet a reality in the rural areas.
Regarding the distance between schools and residences, the delegation said that the Government was currently conducting an education reform which also included a plan to build new schools closer to the villages and settlements.
The delegation acknowledged that there might be a problem of transport between homes and schools in the cities, but not in the countryside, as there were often no roads there and children had to cross several rivers to go to school.
Further, the problem of distance did not have an impact on the access of girls to schools. Studies had even shown that there was a slight preponderance of girls in schools, said the delegation. The difference in attendance affected the various social groups.
Concerning the high drop-out rate, one of its causes was the shortage of teachers. The Government was currently conducting recruitment campaigns for new teachers, said the delegation. The Government’s intention was to recruit around 2,000 new teachers every year between now and 2012.
Drop-outs were also caused by a lack of interest in education by parents and the children themselves. The school curricula were not in keeping with the needs of the people and thus the Government had started a reform to revise the school curricula, said the delegation. This reform would see the adoption of a new approach to education, in order to teach children knowledge and skills that were directly applicable in their daily lives.
Concerning the languages spoken in Madagascar, the delegation indicated that Malagasy was the national language and that there were three official languages in the country: Malagasy, French and English.
Between 1975 and 1984, Malagasy had been introduced as the official language in schools, but this had been a failure. After 1984, education was turned back to French. Recent surveys had shown that the sole use of French in school had a negative impact. In the new system, Madagascar would go back to the Malagasy language for the first five years of primary school and, for the following years, Malagasy would be used for social subjects and French for scientific subjects. English was also being taught in schools.
On access to the Internet, the delegation added that it was developing very quickly now in Madagascar, particularly thanks to the existence of mobile services providers. All provinces had access to the Internet, mainly through the major cities.
The delegation also highlighted the fact that computer science had been included in the primary school programme and that the Ministry of Education was developing an Intranet service to link up the Ministry with its various units in the country.
Concerning the lack of leisure activities in the country, the delegation noted that the Government had just created a Ministry for Leisure and Young People.
Returning to the change of language in schools, the delegation said that Madagascar did not yet have a law on linguistic policy. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization had issued a recommendation to use the mother tongue for teaching children. Madagascar had thus changed its policy to comply with this recommendation. Further, French was not fully mastered by all teaching staff; a nation-wide survey had shown that only 20 per cent of the teaching staff was capable of teaching in French.
On international cooperation in the field of culture, the delegation said that they had asked the help of the World Intellectual Property Organization to audit their cultural sphere, in order to determine in which field they would request cooperation.
Concluding Remarks
MARCHAN ROMERO, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks, highlighted the Malagasy delegation’s multi-sectoral and gender diversity. This sent a very positive signal to the Committee and they hoped to continue this positive dialogue with the State party. The Chairperson also highlighted the fact that Madagascar had been one of the first countries to sign the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
CHRISTINE RAZANAMAHASOA, Minister of Justice of Madagascar, in concluding remarks, said that during this interactive dialogue, the Committee members had not spared any efforts to request clarifications so as to obtain an accurate picture of the country. The delegation had also undertaken to provide in writing all questions that had not been answered. Further, Madagascar would take into consideration all elements of the discussion. Progress had of course been made but much remained to be done. They had helped to fill the gaps by their own means; however the support of partners would be beneficial to help them achieve all the provisions contained in the Covenant.
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