COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONSIDERS REPORT OF ARGENTINA

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has considered the third periodic report of Argentina on that country’s implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Introducing the report, Maria Cristina Perceval, Undersecretary for Human Rights, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said Argentina was committed to the protection of economic, social and cultural rights, and that commitment could be seen in Argentina’s ratification of all United Nations human rights treaties, and of the Covenant’s Optional Protocol in October 2011. Argentina was overcoming the 2002 economic crisis and had transformed the political sphere. One of the most important repercussions of new polices was that the human rights agenda guided economic policy decisions, with the effect of reducing extreme poverty, unemployment and mortality. New legislation had been passed on education, welfare and social security, children and adolescents, violence against women, mental health, and sexual and reproductive health. School drop out rates had fallen, a new child allowance scheme supported poor families, vaccination rates were up and internet access had spread to 66 per cent of the population. Argentina had put an end to impunity, and held trials for past crimes against humanity and of genocide.

Committee Experts asked in-depth questions about the rights of indigenous peoples, the unemployment rate, housing deficit, social security for domestic workers, migrants and women, gender discrimination and violence against women. Experts also raised issues such as the function of the Ombudsman, healthcare and maternal mortality, as well as tobacco, narcotic and alcohol addiction. Child labour, trafficking of persons, and measures to improve education were also discussed.

In concluding remarks, Ms. Perceval said that it was not easy to make headway in upholding economic, social and cultural rights in a world that swung between the wealth of a few and the poverty of many, in an economy dominated by the few who gained wealth, often by unscrupulous means, and where it sometimes seemed the law of the jungle prevailed. In the past Argentina had been frustrated by a limited democracy that often just served the wealthy and did not meet the economic, social and cultural rights of the people. It welcomed recommendations to make further progress in building an Argentina that was more inclusive, more just and more equal.

In concluding remarks, Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay, Committee Chairperson, thanked the experts who had come a long way from Argentina to give information to the Committee, and reminded the delegation that concluding observations would be available on Friday 2 December.

The Argentine delegation consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the Ministry of Work, Employment and Social Security, the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism, the Ministry of Education, the National Institute of Indigenous Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the National Institute of Statistics and the Census, the National Secretariat for Children, Youth and Family, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, and the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations Office at Geneva

The next public meeting of the Committee will be at 3 p.m. on Friday, 2 December, when it will close the session after publishing its concluding observations on the reports of Estonia, Israel, Turkmenistan, Cameroon and Argentina, which were reviewed during the session.

Report

The third periodic report of Argentina (E/C.12/ARG/3) states that the 2002 economic crisis led to a massive rise in poverty rates; over half of the population was considered poor and 27 per cent of the population lived in extreme poverty. Public policies introduced since 2003 have led to good economic growth and a reduction in poverty, unemployment and indigence rates. Although many Argentineans still suffer from social exclusion and poverty the improvement of their situation was a main goal of the State. The labour market has seen great changes since 2003, with GDP rising from 2.9 to 8.6 per cent, and employment rates rising by the year. Women’s labour rights have also improved, as have international migrant workers, particularly thanks to the 2004 National Migration Act. There were several initiatives to improve youth employment, including training and apprenticeship schemes, and as well as to improve access to high quality jobs for people with disabilities.

The National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism has worked to empower citizens and promote the cultural changes necessary to eradicate discrimination. Civil society participation has been strengthened, and a special campaign has been launched to drive out human trafficking and modern slavery. A 2007 law on the Rights of Children and Adolescents allowed for local-level financing to tackle key problems such as child abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking of children, street children and juvenile criminals. Measures have also been taken to eliminate all child labour, including ratification of international conventions and the 2006 National Plan. The National Education Act of 2006 provides for free education for all, and that no less than six percent of the national budget be spent on education.

Through the Directorate for the Development of Indigenous Communities the Government was actively legitimizing land ownership for those communities, running community development projects and combating food, water and energy insecurity. A national housing fund worked to meet housing demand from families with insufficient resources, reduce the housing deficit and contribute to direct and indirect job creation. The Government planned to build 180,000 houses, creating 360,000 jobs in the process. Public health was one of the worst affected areas by the 2002 crisis, but the area had been improved with better health insurance coverage, improved supply of medicines and treatment of infectious diseases, a Childbirth Plan to reduce infant, child and maternal mortality, national programmes for congenital heart disease, public production of medicines and vaccines and surveillance of hospital-acquired infections.

Presentation of the Report

MARIA CRISTINA PERCEVAL, Undersecretary for Human Rights, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said that Argentina was clearly committed to the protection of economic, social and cultural rights, and that commitment could be seen in Argentina’s ratification of all United Nations human rights treaties. On 24 October Argentina ratified the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the fifth country in the world to do so. Since the 2002 economic crisis Latin America had been condemned to poverty, with the State being given a minimal role while the market made major economic decisions. Argentina had broken through that restriction and transformed the political sphere. Improvements to the tax system helped recover public investment and expand social rights. The President liquidated foreign exchange from mining and oil companies, and was determined to combat money laundering. Argentina aimed to move away from a commodity-based economy.

One of the most important repercussions of new polices had been that the human rights agenda provided guidance for economic policy decisions, with the effect of reducing extreme poverty. The rate of poverty had dropped to single digits, from 48.5 per cent to 7.3 per cent since 2003. Extreme poverty had fallen from 20 per cent to 2 per cent over the same period. There had been an increase in employment and dignified work, as the unemployment rate dropped from 70 per cent in 2003 to 7.3 per cent today. Argentina had put an end to impunity, and held trials for genocide and for crimes against humanity.

New legislation included the Education Law, which provided that at least six per cent of GDP be spent on education, a huge rise since 2003. Other new laws targeting key areas of human rights included legislation on welfare provisions, social security, pensions, a law protecting children and adolescents, a law to punish and eradicate all forms of violence against women, and laws on mental health and on sexual and reproductive health. The situation of migrant children had been prioritized. Infant mortality had been considerably reduced, from 16.3 per cent in 2001 to 12.5 per cent in 2008. The vaccination rate had increased, and drop-out from schools had fallen, partly due to child support allowances paid to low-income families. Internet use had increased from seven per cent in 2003 to today’s figure of 76 per cent of the population surfing the World Wide Web, resulting in greater access to information and job vacancies. Internet use had spread especially among children after three million computers were distributed to school pupils.

Questions from the Experts

A Committee Expert thanked the delegation for their frank, thematic and comprehensive introduction about the encouraging transformation of Argentina and its policies to fully implement economic, social and cultural rights. He noted that the third periodic report had been due in 2001, but was submitted in 2009. The impressive and rapid recovery from the 2002 crisis prompted the view that reporting to the Committee under such conditions might be inconclusive. However, the Expert quoted Amartya Sen, a famous economist and human rights researcher, who said that the real value of human rights should be measured during an economic downturn. The time of economic downturn showed whether human rights fulfilled one of their basic tasks; namely to provide a firewall against the deterioration of living conditions of those most vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized. Therefore the submission of a report in those times may be very helpful in a practical sense.

Since the State party had placed the Covenant on the same level as the Constitution, and prevailing over national laws, could the delegation please provide examples of court decisions based on or referring to the Covenant rights?

What role did the Argentinean Ombudsman, the Defensoria del Pueblo, play during the crisis and the recovery, and what was its current impact? How had statistics gathering improved in Argentina?

An Expert expressed concern that many concluding observations from the last report submitted by Argentina were still valid, particularly the following five issues: the impact of resource extraction in lands inhabited by indigenous peoples; the high unemployment rate; labour in slave-like conditions and lack of social security for domestic workers, migrants and women; continued inequality between women and men; continued housing deficit; and continued violence against women.

Regarding the extraction of natural resources and its impact on indigenous people, what efforts had the Government made to uphold indigenous rights? Non-governmental organizations reported that indigenous peoples’ right to hold land titles was not yet properly protected. The Mapuche people in particular were still subject to land seizure, without prior consultation, and were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands.

What measures had been taken to deal with discrimination, especially xenophobia and racism. With particular regard to indigenous people, migrant workers and women, what complaints and redress system was available? The court system was too expensive and time consuming. Did the National Human Rights Commission help in such cases?

Argentina was commended for their efforts to deal with disappeared and abducted persons and to combat related impunity, through convictions and sentencing.

International companies were leasing vast tracks of land to produce food, or for mining. An Expert said that the scale of leasing brought to mind neo-colonialism, returning to practices where land was removed from a country. It related to the rights to food and water, and also social rights as labour conditions often were not met. What policies had the Government adopted for today and for the future? The issue would have deep repercussions for neighbouring countries and even the developing world.

An Expert asked how the situation of women had improved on the ground in Argentina; especially what projects and plans had been implemented, and most importantly what results had been seen? It was easy to draw up a plan – that was human rights politics. The Committee wanted to know about the results – human rights realities.

Response from the Delegation

Regarding statistics, the most recent census, from 2011, was deemed the best run census ever carried out in Argentina. Also in 2007 the methodology behind the Consumer Price Index was changed (details could be seen on the Government website).

The Supreme Court of Justice was the highest ranking body in the Argentine judiciary, and within it human rights covenants were operational and implemented, particularly the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights. It had been invoked in cases concerning access to health, access to shelter and social security issues.

It was difficult to talk about issues of indigenous people and communities without giving a brief historical account of what had been done to improve their rights. Around the time of the revolution it was felt that there were no indigenous peoples left in Argentina, and in general people denied their existence. Colonial forces carried out killings and deportations of rebel groups as they sought economic resources. The most valuable resource was the land. Then there were constant attempts at assimilation, alongside discriminatory treatment, repression and pillaging. With democracy in the 1980s, legislation to govern indigenous people’s rights began to be passed and the demands of indigenous peoples came to the fore. The struggle for recognition started to take form and the Constitution was amended to incorporate recognition of indigenous people’s rights. Over the past decade there had been a revitalization of recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples. In 2003 the Mapuche people broke through protocol and opened up an in-depth dialogue with the Government. Since then there had been an inter-cultural dialogue with the indigenous peoples, which culminated in a State-funded Council for Indigenous Peoples being set up that had full representation.

The demarcation of land in Argentina was a very political and significant act, and led to efforts being stepped up in work on surveying and demarcating the land held by indigenous peoples; 40 per cent of demarcation work had already been done, covering 600 different communities. It was vital work if the necessary land ownership documentation was to be drawn up. Currently 5,000,000 hectares were owned on a community basis. The Bicentenary was a fundamental turning point which brought together a commission of representatives of 400 indigenous communities. The State had ensured the right to consultation, and fostered round tables, consultations and a comprehensive legal service to ensure the right of consultation was upheld.

A delegate said the National Institute against Discrimination had a 24 hour hotline to hear complaints and concerns. They worked with other Governmental bodies to resolve those issues. It was difficult to focus on specific complaints, but the main areas people of Argentina came forward on were gender violence, discrimination against migrants or persons with disabilities, and young people.

Most domestic workers were women, and it was estimated that over 50 per cent (around half a million people) of them were not registered as workers. The Government planned to register all of those workers, in order to grant them all proper labour benefits such as working hours, holiday and sickness leave. However it was not easy to implement such a policy and the Government was trying to put obligations on the employers that would actually be met, and also providing incentives. Maternity leave, for example, was now provided for domestic workers by the State.

There had been an increase in the number of women workers, and also in the quality of jobs offered to women, the result of specific policies targeted to benefit women, tackle the gender issue and assist businesses and employers to improve women’s working conditions and equality. The gender pay gap had been reduced from 18 to 10 per cent over the last six years, a result of work done by the Labour Inspectorate, who sent inspectors out into workplaces to check standards and policies. A delegate noted that more than 60 per cent of staff in the Labour Ministry were women.

Questions from Experts

An Expert asked for information on the problem of federalism.

Was there a systematic policy to reduce unemployment in the informal sector, to the benefit of employing more workers in the formal sector? When calculating the unemployment rate who was being taken into account: were workers in the informal sector also included?

As it stood, did the current minimum wage enable workers, in accordance with the terms of the Covenant, to have a ‘decent living for themselves and their families’?

Were all domestic workers, the majority being women, receiving the minimum wage, as reports said that in some cases they did not? Would Argentina consider ratifying the recent International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on the rights of domestic workers?

It seemed there had been infringements on trade union rights, particularly the right to strike, in judgements handed down by the Supreme Court. What was the Government’s reaction to those verdicts?

An Expert noted that the concept of the ‘right to work’ in the Covenant was broader than just the ‘right to employment’. It was an opportunity for an individual to make his living by doing a type of work he really chose, not just something imposed on him. He asked what percentage of labour took place in the construction industry, and what percentage of the construction expansion was devoted to housing? A 2008 Human Rights Council document referred to a severe housing crisis in Argentina. Of course the State party was not the only one to suffer a housing crisis, but how was that crisis being targeted?

An Expert commended the State party’s Heads of Household Programme, but asked whether it also covered employed agricultural workers and indigenous people. A 2007 survey showed that agricultural workers accounted for 37.5 per cent of total unregistered workers. What had been done to bring that figure down, and what was the situation now?

Response from the Delegation

The Ombudsman’s Office was an institution set up by members of parliament, based on the two-chamber system. The Ombudsman had to be voted in by an absolute majority of the two chambers of parliament.

The right to ensure participation in decisions made about exploitation of natural resources was provided for in legislation and the Constitution. Argentina had over 35 different indigenous groups, resident in over 1,280 communities. They elected their representatives on a regular basis, and the State financed their travel to take part in decision-making bodies. There were three bodies that provided for that, including the National Indigenous People’s Council, set up in 2004 and made up of over 100 representatives of indigenous peoples. Decision making also took place through the traditional authorities of each indigenous community.

The right to consultation was a fundamental, collective right. Communities’ control over their territories had recognition and several safeguards from the State. Five million hectares were already legally owned by the indigenous peoples who lived on them, and the Government was working on the rest.

The Government had intervened in over 19 cases, and mediated, through round-table dialogues, to ensure the right to consultation was effective. There had been cases where the right to consultation and prior information had not been realized. When that happened the State did not take a position of neutrality, they mobilized. There was a case where an oil company was taken to court by an indigenous community, which was provided with legal aid, after the oil company breached their right to prior consultation. The oil company was found to be guilty and their licence was withdrawn. The case of lithium production in the Salinas Grandes was unfortunate, it was true, but prior consultation successfully went ahead in cases of uranium mining in Santa Cruz, and gas and oil production in other regions.

A delegate said they did not agree with the Committee Expert who said their statistics were not transparent. In fact they were transparent, particularly since reforms implanted in 2007.

The Covenant had been invoked in several cases, for example the Badaro case about pensions and retirement, a case about a worker’s rights, cases about health issues and others relating to universal free medication, particularly for HIV/AIDS patients. Human rights treaties had certainly had an impact on the jurisprudence and verdicts of courts, at both a national and regional level.

Unemployment now stood at 7.2 per cent: 8.7 per cent for women and 6.2 per cent for men. On average women made up 32 per cent of the workforce: the proportion was far higher in some fields, and lower in other fields, such as mining and oil extraction.

The issue of unregistered workers could be viewed from several standpoints: the cultural factor of neo-liberalism, and even just the change in monetary exchange policy had had a big impact on numbers of unregistered workers in Argentina. Of every ten jobs created today, nine were registered and one was unregistered. There did continue to be unregistered jobs, but enhancing union authority and holding regular labour inspections in each province were combating that. Other measures included special training programmes for insertion into the workplace.

The living minimum wage was determined annually. It was frozen during the 1990s at the ridiculous figure of 200 pesos. More recently the Government reactivated the National Council on Convening the Minimum Wage in 2003, and today that wage was around $500 US dollars, the highest in Latin America. That wage was in addition to family benefits, and was a reference value – average remuneration was around $2,000. Over 16 million workers earned more than the minimum wage.

There was a draft law that would determine the wages for domestic workers, providing the various categories of domestic work including primary school teachers, cooks, etc. Currently domestic workers only made a minimal contribution to social welfare benefits, so it was everyone’s benefit to regularize that.

There were around 3,600 trade union organizations in Argentina, most of which had legal status as trade unions, with affiliation rates often higher than those in European countries. The specific Rossi case was a Supreme Court decision based on an international treaty: the Government was found guilty of having prevented the election of a trade union delegate. The case was prior to 2000 legislation, and would not have arisen following the new trade union legislation passed in 2000.

Follow-Up Questions

An Expert noted that the Office of the Ombudsman was the main counterpart of the United Nations treaty bodies and considered very important; and any independent human rights institution could and was encouraged to participate with the Committee.

The long and clear response on the rights of indigenous peoples to their land was appreciated, but still only 40 per cent of the land had been given over. The Committee heard there was still illegal appropriation of that land, and clashes with indigenous peoples had resulted in deaths. Urgent measures to prevent further violations were needed.

An Expert said programmes and plans were fine, but what sort of rights did women workers have under law, for example for social security? The new child allowance system was a programme, not a law, and could be withdrawn at any time by the Government.

Response from the Delegation

The post of Ombudsman was currently vacant, as the previous incumbent resigned in order to stand for election. The Government was engaging with civil society organizations to allow for participation in a transparent and non-political election process.

There were corporations in Argentina that resisted changes to allow indigenous peoples their rights. Those corporations were initially against land demarcations, indigenous rights and suspension of evictions. Following the change in the law those corporations regrouped to prevent land demarcations and more generally the re-distribution of wealth in land and livestock areas. The henchmen of those corporations had been involved in clashes that resulted in the deaths and murders of indigenous people. To tackle that the Government had brought in aggressive legal measures appropriate to the situation. The people who were responsible for the murder, the perpetrators and the businessman who employed them, were arrested and brought to trial. The families involved were assisted. On Thursday, 24 November, the President of Indigenous Organizations met with the High Court of Justice to discuss a ban on expulsions of indigenous farmers.

Undoubtedly women’s rights were an institution-wide effort vulnerable to political change. However, aside from the various initiatives set forth by the Institute for Women, the Supreme Court of Justice had established an office on family violence to ensure compliance with laws on violence and the security forces now underwent virtual internet-based training on dealing with cases. Headway had been made in making the issue of violence against women more visible. A special Senate commission ensured feminist and gender issues were included in all draft legislation, such as laws on childbirth and sexual and reproductive health. Women were increasingly in a position where they could decide when they wanted children, how many children to have and they could access contraceptives.

A million women worked in private homes, it was estimated. The President of Argentina demanded legislation to protect those women who had no rights when it came to falling ill, getting pregnant, holiday pay and working hours. In cases of sexual harassment, it was often thought that it was a man’s prerogative. That tradition of sexual harassment could not be considered a cultural issue and was now classified not just as violence against women, but a crime against sexual integrity. A judge recently ruled that a woman who had complained she had been a victim of 32 separate incidents of serious violence could consolidate the 32 separate complaints into one legal case.

Questions from Experts

The Chamber of Commerce of Argentina classified the economy as in recession, and one in every three Argentineans was classified as poor. What was the actual situation in Argentina, and what should the international community’s role be in supporting the State party in combating poverty?

Many women died as a result of clandestine abortions. What was being done to lift the illegality of abortions? Did the Government have any statistics on how many women died as a result of clandestine abortions?

What sexual education was provided in schools to reduce the high levels of teenage pregnancies? Although by law every school had to provide sexual and reproductive education, it was up to provincial councils to implement, and it was often not taught as a result of strong Catholic influence on schools.

The leading causes of morbidity were cardiovascular, cancer and communicable diseases, particularly sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. What measures were being taken to decreases those causes of death?

There were over 40,000 deaths per year in Argentina as a result of tobacco. There was a very high percentage of female smokers, particularly girls, and around a quarter of young people smoked. What was being done to reduce tobacco consumption? Although a law banned smoking in public buildings, it was not fully implemented.

Could the delegation provide information on healthcare in prisons, as raised in the Human Rights Council’s Universal Period Review in 2008, difficult conditions prevailed in police station cells, including overcrowding, recurrent violence and a lack of healthcare. What steps had the Government taken or were planning to take to ensure suspects were not detained longer than necessary?

The new Mental Health Act, passed in 2010, was truly a praiseworthy achievement. An Expert asked if there were any initial results available.

Child labour was still present in Argentina, especially in the 14 to 17 year old age group. In rural areas one in three children worked, and in urban areas one in five. In the age group of 13 years and under there was still considerable child labour. The report referred to the United Nations Global Compact agenda, which aimed to ban child labour through corporate social responsibility. What efforts had been made to tackle that problem, and how was the effectiveness assessed? The issue of street children was listed in the last set of concluding observations: was it still a problem? What had been done to follow up on recommendations made in 2010 by the Committee on the Rights of the Child?

Could the delegation give more information on their income tax system, and also on indirect taxation, especially on consumer material?

An Expert asked about pensions for retired people. Also while the child allowance scheme was very good, what about unemployment insurance? There was universal health coverage in the health system, but how universal was it really, especially for those who were unable to make payments because they hadn’t been in work?

What was being done to tackle the problem of substance abuse and to help drug addicts?

The new law on education for all was commendable. The Government planned to grant scholarships to children from poor families, which would help reduce the drop-out rate. Despite that many adolescents dropped out of school, especially indigenous children who lived in extreme poverty. Those scholarships were not adequate. Why were so many children excluded from the school system, and what was being done for them?

The report referred to high levels of physical violence and aggression in schools, which was a serious concern. Why were there such high levels of violence in schools, was it due to ethnic differences? What was the Government doing about that serious problem that characterized the Argentine school system?

There were no figures on illiteracy in Argentina, but the Government was proposing a literacy programme for the indigenous peoples. Did that mean only the indigenous peoples had a problem with illiteracy?

Did the law on intellectual property in Argentina protect the rights of indigenous people to their traditional knowledge?

Argentina had shown considerable progress in the area of science. How had scientific progress been used to benefit the people of Argentina?

Response from the Delegation

A delegate reiterated that Argentina’s statistics were reliable. He also replied to an Expert’s question about ‘capital flight’ as a result of lack of confidence in the economy. The delegate said that Argentina’s economy was strong, and the international crisis, especially in Europe, meant that many international corporations had been seeking remittance in foreign currency, as they were making tremendous profits in Argentina and other Latin American countries, which they were using to ease their own financial crisis.

The estimate for the rise in the cost of the ‘basket of goods’ at close of accounts 2011 should be around 10 per cent, whereas public sector salaries increased by 24 per cent, and the private sector by 28 per cent. So salary increases covered the rise in cost of the ‘basket of goods’ twofold.

As the Committee was aware, poverty could be described in various ways. In the first half of 2003, poverty affected 54 per cent of the population. A consequence of new policies meant that in the first half of 2011, using the same variables, only eight per cent of the population lived in extreme poverty. That tremendous impact on living conditions in Argentina was well known and shown by consistent statistics. In 2003, for every ten children in Argentina more than six lived below the poverty line. With that level of exclusion it was difficult to think about overall human rights goals. Argentina was proud of the considerable reduction of those rates of child poverty, which now lay at 11 per cent, while extreme poverty (which included lack of food) was currently three per cent. As President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said, the Government would not rest as long as there was one poor compatriot in Argentina.

Even though 3.5 million children out of the 12 million children in Argentina received child allowance it was universal because it went to the children who had the least. Children from families that had a salary did not receive it. A presidential decree of 2009 set up a register of children, and 95 per cent of children in Argentina got some national allowance or benefit. The remaining five per cent were the most difficult cases, and were a Government focus.

Ten years ago there was a top-down system for access to non-contributory pensions, such as pensions for persons with disabilities. Someone really had to die for someone else to get the pension. Now pensions had been increased exponentially, with over 1.6 million non-contributory pensions available.

Street children were a specific problem in three cities: Cordoba, Rosario and Buenos Aires, which all ran city authority-ran programmes. Over 2,500 child development centres had been developed to prevent children slipping into child labour and even to provide childcare for working parents.

Regarding access to water in rural communities, resources were distributed by a national programme. Specific measures included the building of water cisterns and mills; pipe networks were developed to make more use of existing water resources in an area; and various water storage systems had been constructed. If accessibility posed a problem to a project, water supplies could be temporarily provided by tanker lorries. The Government always ensured that solutions to water problems were locally developed and the ideas for water solutions often came from the communities themselves.

There was a steady trend of urbanization in Latin America, therefore provision of job opportunities had to include improved infrastructure, good housing, services, facilities, schools and health services to ensure that living conditions improved. There were legitimate disputes over housing, and an expert referred to difficult episodes in Buenos Aires. The Government had never conducted the kind of repressive evictions they had sometimes seen in other places, or used violence, repressive measures or the security forces to settle any social conflict or dispute. By law the mandates of the defence forces were very clearly defined. In 2010, on International Human Rights Day, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights began working with the Argentine Security Council and the provinces to ensure that any evictions were done in accordance with human rights provisions.

The provision of health services was quite complex. The Ministry of Health developed national policies but a lot of responsibility was delegated to provincial authorities. The health sector consisted of a public and private sector. The public sector dealt with public health, epidemiological surveillance, monitoring standards and promoting development in the provinces. The private actually provided services to the public sector, as well as providing healthcare to those in a pre-payment scheme.

Around 98 per cent of births were in medical institutions: an indication of broad access to healthcare services. Abortion was one of the reasons for the high maternal mortality rates, and caused 21.2 per cent of maternal deaths. In 2008 there were 53,900 abortions in hospitals, but no breakdown of statistics on abortions in hospitals was available. To reduce the maternal mortality rate, training, consisting of simulations with computerized dolls to reproduce possible emergency situations, had been held in maternity centres, and emergency kits were handed out to deal with obstetric emergencies. Maternity centres worked to eliminate HIV/AIDS, and especially congenital syphilis, which was an embarrassment for the country as there were still cases of syphilis being transferred from mother to child during childbirth.
The HIV/AIDS infection rate had stabilized, with around 5,000 new cases annually.

Breastfeeding rates had increased: 55 per cent of children below the age of six months were breastfed exclusively. In some provinces the figure was as much as 75 per cent. Breastmilk substitutes were dealt with by the National Institution for Drugs, Food and Medical Technology.

The President signed the World Health Organization’s Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003, and attempted to get it ratified in Congress, but the ratification has not yet been completed. The anti-smoking campaign was widespread but concentrated in Buenos Aires, while several provinces have enacted their own legislation and established smoke-free areas. Support to stop smoking was also available.

The Government was working to reduce mortality and improve healthcare in prisons. Prisons provided maternal, child, mental health, addiction, and sexual healthcare including programmes for HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis.

The new Law on Mental Health had changed the way people suffering from mental health disorders were looked after in Argentina. The law guaranteed an inter-disciplinary, inter-sectoral approach. For example, a person could not just be sectioned at the word of a judge; they had to be assessed, had the right to a lawyer, and their situation was constantly monitored and reviewed. Individuals had the right to identity, privacy and to maintain their links to society. The Government assessed the threat to society from people with mental health disorders, and also their mental capacity to make decisions about their own healthcare. The old mental health system was based on hospitals, but now there was a broader approach which avoided putting people in hospital where possible, in favour of a community-based solution, for example supervised housing or a person living in their own house with professional support. Mental health was also covered by Integrated Community Healthcare Centres, which were run by trained staff.

Drug addicts were also covered by the Law on Mental Health, with the ethos of keeping them inside society rather than criminalizing them, which drove them outside of society. There was also a programme to help alcoholics.

Education was a right guaranteed by the State, under the 2006 Education Law, which provided that at least six per cent of GDP was spent annually on education, and that 13 years of schooling was mandatory for every child, from the age of four. Related new legislation included a Law on Incentives for Teachers, the Salary Guarantee Law, a law stipulating a minimum of 180 school days per year, a law on technical and vocational education, a law on sex education and a law on protecting children and adolescents. Since 2003, 2,000 new schools had been built, with 500 more under construction.

So far 1.8 million laptops had been handed out, from a goal of three million pieces. They would enable all pupils to have access to the Internet, a tool that would improve the education, training and information available to them. Argentina had opened nine new national universities in the last seven years; which provided free tuition and degrees. Over 6,000 rural schools had been provided with an internet connection and satellite television to access the Government-run educational TV channels for preschool and school-age children.

Drop-out rates in rural areas had been improved by a dedicated programme that ran from nursery school to the end of secondary education. In some provinces, the number of children going from primary to secondary school had increased from 83 per cent in 2007 to 89 per cent in 2010. A module on issues related to education in rural areas had been included on teaching qualification curriculums. Scholarships continued to be a major part of the economic package given to poor families, and 20,000 per year were given to students from indigenous communities. More support was given to children with learning disabilities, particularly at exam time, which was the most likely time for children to drop out.

Violence was not seen as being unique to schools, it was tackled at all levels of society. It was important to build a sense of citizenship among school students. For 2012 it was proposed that all secondary schools have codes of conduct, where teachers and students would set guidelines for behaviour and school conditions.

Students in both public and private schools had the right to receive comprehensive sex education, and the Ministry of Education worked with all regions on implementing that, developing curricula, teaching materials and guidelines for schools. Millions of copies of a magazine about sex education (including copies in Braille) had been sent to all families, so if it was not covered in schools relatives could teach children themselves.

Illiteracy rates had considerably reduced to two per cent nationwide, which reflected a drop from the high literacy rates (some at six per cent) in certain provinces.

Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages in 2010, and also allowed same-sex couples to adopt children. Children of such marriages were registered in their province, and at least 50 children from same-sex marriages had already been registered.

Child labour in rural areas, particularly in agriculture, was a particularly sensitive and complex issue, and difficult to resolve. The basic issue was the strong tradition of children working with their parents. Public awareness-raising, subsidies for parents and school scholarships for children were the most important measures taken.

Concerning trafficking of persons, this year alone over 1,400 victims of trafficking had been rescued. The victims were having their human rights thoroughly trampled on in all cases, but it was important to know why. Of that number, the majority were Argentinean nationals, and 1,061 were adults while 339 were under the age of 18. Most victims were used for work exploitation, but many victims were being used for sexual exploitation. There had been a reduction in trafficking of persons in 2011 thanks to inspections carried out in work places and better monitoring of seasonal workers. Argentina could not deal with the problem alone, however, so it was tackling the problem regionally through Mercosur. Furthermore the problem was exacerbated by the media, which frequently advertised sexual services in personal adverts, as a cover for trafficking networks. The Government had passed a law to stop those adverts.

Gender equality would also help tackle the issue of trafficking, and while more girls were doing better academically, gender discrimination was still an obstacle in the work place. If women were discriminated against at work, they were more likely to become victims of trafficking. The Government was trying to open up more opportunities outside of traditional areas where women worked, such as nursing and teaching. Paternity leave was being offered for fathers, to encourage the view that both parents were equally responsible for caring for and raising children. Femicide was an extreme form of violence perpetrated against women because they were women. It was scandalous, and it happened in Argentina. The President had decreed that the Human Rights Secretariat could now be a plaintiff in cases where there had been femicide or trafficking of women.

Advances in science which had benefitted the people of Argentina included gene therapy, production of vaccines (particularly a cheaper and internationally recognized version of the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in women), advances in cardiac healthcare (including a major innovation in health science development that could rebuild damaged cardiac muscle), discovery of micro-organisms from Antarctica, and of a whole new species. Radar technology had been developed which could be used to detect trafficking of peoples.

Concluding Remarks

MARIA CRISTINA PERCEVAL, Undersecretary for Human Rights, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, said that it was not easy to make headway in upholding economic, social and cultural rights in a world that swung between the wealth of a few and the poverty of many, in an economy dominated by the few who gained wealth, often by unscrupulous means, and where it sometimes seemed the law of the jungle prevailed. In the past Argentina had been frustrated by a limited democracy that often just served the wealthy and did not meet the economic, social and cultural rights of the people. It welcomed recommendations to make further progress in building an Argentina that was more inclusive, more just and more equal.

In concluding remarks, ARIRANGA GOVINDASAMY PILLAY, Committee Chairperson, thanked the experts who had come a long way from Argentina to give information to the Committee, and reminded the delegation that concluding observations would be available on Friday 2 December.


For use of the information media; not an official record

ESC11/017E