COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONSIDERS REPORT OF EL SALVADOR

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has reviewed the second periodic report of El Salvador on how that country implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Introducing the report, Byron Fernando Larios Lopez, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said progress was being made towards development, not only strengthening inter-American integration, but also regional initiatives and new forms of bilateral cooperation for development which made it easier to obtain debt consolidation for new projects. The Government was making great efforts to safeguard and promote economic, social and cultural rights for its citizens, working to improve the economic and political situation in the country, providing improved infrastructure on many levels, and promoting national identity and culture.

In questions, Committee Experts raised various issues, such as the direct applicability of the Covenant and the possibility of invoking it before the courts, asking for examples of this; whether the internal framework for implementation of the Covenant and other international treaties had precedence over the Constitution and which one prevailed in the case of conflict; why the State did not have an unemployment benefit and how it protected people who had lost jobs, as it did not apply all the standards of ILO Convention 102; a request for more information on the National Plan against family violence and what were its objectives and whether the penal code provided for specific sanctions for domestic violence; and on issues related to the cultural rights of the indigenous population, in particular with regards to the promotion of indigenous languages and whether these last were recognised as national languages and if not what was their status.

In concluding remarks, Mr. Larios Lopez said it had been a greatly satisfying experience to share El Salvador’s problems and hopes with the Committee, and to recognise the difficulties and long path that it had had to take to reach the stage at which the country was today. The discussion had been very positive, but El Salvador was very far from being able to answer all questions, and recognised its shortcomings and difficulties. The Committee had to undertake its own assessment of the pros and cons of El Salvador’s history. The efforts made by the Committee to help El Salvador would help to point the country in the right direction and to respond to the many problems and concerns that lay ahead.

The delegation included members of the Ministry of External Relations, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Aid and Social Assistance, and the Ministry of the Interior. They were present over three meetings to present the report and to respond to the questions raised by the Committee members.

The final observations and recommendations by the Committee will be released at the end of the session on Friday, 24 November.

The Committee will take up the initial report of Tajikistan (E/C.12/TJK/1) at its next meeting, at 10 a.m. on Friday, 10 November.

Report of El Salvador

The second periodic report of El Salvador (E/1990/6/Add.39) covers the period from January 1995 to December 2003, which was a time of profound legal and institutional change for El Salvador following the signature of the Peace Agreements in Chapultepec, Mexico, on 16 January 1992, mainly in respect of civil and political freedoms and steps taken to rebuild and transform the country’s economy, which had been destroyed by the war. The Peace Agreements have fostered ideological and political tolerance, the strengthening and consolidation of democracy, the reconstruction of the damaged or destroyed basic social and production infrastructure, and the implementation of macroeconomic policies for the stabilization and development of the national economy. These changes have created a favourable climate for the general exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Despite difficulties, the Government reaffirms its commitment to combat poverty by means of human development allied to measures to meet people’s needs.

There is a significant link between democracy and observance of all the human rights and fundamental freedoms; and the existence of a State governed by the rule of law is a decisive factor for successful economic, social and cultural development. Although the allegations of violations of fundamental rights do constitute an indication of the existence of such violations, they do not necessarily determine the facts of the offences. In the Government’s view, it is important to be clear that there is no automatic relation between the number of complaints and the actual number of violations. It should moreover be borne in mind that the number of complaints usually exceeds the number of verified violations. Where economic matters are concerned, the action taken has had positive effects but has also attracted criticism, some unfounded and some valid, which has served as a gauge for correcting the thrust of policy as necessary.

Recent years have seen the creation of governmental bodies to work on specific aspects of economic, social and cultural development; they are continuing to implement programmes, policies, plans and projects in their areas of competence, as will be seen throughout the report. In the sphere of education, the coverage of the system has been expanded in both quantity and quality. In the field of public health, the basic integrated health systems have been put in place and are now facilitating the people’s access to health services country-wide. In the case of cultural affairs, support has been given to a series of plans and projects designed to foster culture and the arts in their various expressions, and efforts are being made to restore and maintain the cultural heritage.

Introduction of Report

BYRON FERNANDO LARIOS LOPEZ, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said the list of questions had been received from the Committee only last August, and El Salvador therefore had only three months to answer over 40 questions, and had done as exhaustive work as possible. There had been no intention of handing in the report late. Although there were many inevitable factors that had made presenting the report difficult, such as natural disasters, there were some achievements to be highlighted, which had gained particular importance on the national agenda. The information in the report was the result of the work of an inter-Ministerial team. The report had been drafted according to the guidelines. The recommendation made by the Committee on El Salvador’s initial report on the implementation of the Covenant had been taken into account. In El Salvador, considerable improvements had been made for strengthening the political system, the rule of law, the political-economic system, and the macro-economic environment.

Progress was being made towards development, not only strengthening inter-American integration, but also regional initiatives and new forms of bilateral cooperation for development which made it easier to obtain debt consolidation for new projects. The Government was making great efforts to safeguard and promote economic, social and cultural rights for its citizens, working to improve the economic and political situation in the country, providing improved infrastructure on many levels, and promoting national identity and culture. There had been a re-channelling of a large amount of resources towards reconstruction efforts, subsequent to the 2001 and subsequent earthquakes, which had had significant effects on housing, agriculture, and the economy as a whole. The country still required support from international cooperation in order to promote social development.

The proportion of the population living below the poverty line had dropped in 2004 to 16 per cent, with the achievement of one of the most important Millennium Development Goals in this regard. The percentage of under-employed had also decreased. The ratio between boy and girl children in secondary education had remained largely unchanged. The State was doing a lot to improve access to public health, and was increasing coverage of essential health services in both rural and urban levels. Education was also a national priority, as it was the key to development of a national society, and the Government was making a sustained effort to improve equity in terms of broadening access to education. The indication was that El Salvador would reach the Millennium Development Goals with regards to education. A national policy for the advancement for women had also been elaborated.

Response by Delegation of El Salvador

As the answers to the list of issues had been received in Spanish only and there had been no time to translate it, the delegation, in a departure from normal procedure, provided a brief summary of the responses under articles 1 to 3 of the Covenant. El Salvador had adhered to various international conventions, including those of the United Nations and the ILO. Discrimination had been banned in the labour code and in the penal code. With regards to vulnerable groups and disabled persons, a law on equal opportunities had been adopted. There was also a law on the elderly, and the family code also had various relevant articles. There was a legal framework that applied to all citizens, including indigenous populations.

An institute for the advancement of women had been set up. There was inter-agency cooperation and various national training programmes had been set up on this topic. There was a major programme on combating violence within the family, with the aim of working together with municipal authorities to combat this problem, the delegation said, and in order to ensure that throughout the country people were aware of the need to combat domestic violence. There was also a programme for sexually-abused children, which provided training and support to help these children, as well as abused women, to earn a living. With regards to free popular elections, women participated more in political life, and there were more women than before in decision making posts, the delegation said.

With regards to the legal framework in which the Covenant was implemented, there had been progress on the legal framework for vulnerable groups such as women, the elderly, and the disabled. There had been a series of changes in rulings and jurisprudence in all areas of the national legal framework, which had been applied directly to economic, social and cultural rights. On the application of the Peace Accords with regards to economic, social and cultural rights, there had been great progress made in building the infrastructure, despite the repeated natural disasters. A large-scale programme was being launched to combat poverty. The law called for the elimination of all barriers so that disabled employees could be hired. There was a national council for the elderly, which followed up the law on the elderly. The rights of indigenous peoples were promoted with regards to their culture, among other things.

Questions by Committee Experts

In questions, Experts addressed a range of issues, including the direct applicability of the Covenant and the possibility of invoking it before the courts, asking for examples of this; dysfunction in the independence of the judiciary in cases of corruption and impunity, as well as reports of some cases of fraud; the difficulty of access for minimum services and the low rate of the minimum wage in rural areas, and what was being done to improve the situation in these areas; issues related to equal treatment; the large number of programmes and projects set up on social issues and how these ensured effectiveness; the great disparity between men and women in the labour area; whether the internal framework for implementation of the Covenant and other international treaties had precedence over the Constitution and which one prevailed in the case of conflict; indigenous issues and to what extent the Government recognised them and their particular rights; economic migrants and how the State party tackled this particular problem; and threats made against the Ombudsperson and her officials and what the Government was doing to protect these people who were doing very good work.

Response by Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, the delegation said conventions that had been ratified and entered into force constituted laws of El Salvador, and the Constitution prevailed over domestic order. In the case of a conflict between a secondary law and an international convention, then the latter prevailed. Examples of cases of this had been provided in an annex document. A violation of an article of the Constitution, plus a secondary law, plus of the Covenant had to be used to give judiciary basis for a prosecution. Training was being given to judges and to the members of the National Council for the Judiciary with regards to respect for human rights. El Salvador was working on the implementation of international treaties, but was on the right path, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was giving El Salvador great support in training judges and others working in the legal field in order for them to be able to apply the Covenant and other international treaties appropriately.

El Salvador was a country of migration, the delegation said, and had three migratory flows: origin, transit and destination. A quarter of the population was outside the country, and there was a Secretariat whose task was to protect the rights and interests of nationals abroad in various areas including protecting their rights, family reunification, and others. A humanitarian assistance unit had been set up for assistance to illegal migrants to the United States, and there was a repatriation fund for those who had died abroad, had been wounded or mutilated, or were particularly vulnerable, such as children. There was a Welcome Home Programme for immediate care of those deported from the United States. El Salvador was working on the legal framework for the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women. There was also a home for women who had been abused and trafficked, and the Institute was working on improving the status of these women. There were small-scale programmes to extricate families from the vicious cycle of poverty. On equality, the Institution centralised efforts, coordinating efforts with other Ministries so as to benefit women, and the budget of the Institution had increased significantly.

Work was being done with the municipal governments for roving workshops to reach the remote areas that depended on municipalities, the delegation said, as the rural areas had the greatest problem with access to services. Training support was also provided, and there was high demand in this regard. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs had a special gender unit for the prevention of discrimination. This approach had caused a strengthening of the budget assigned for recruitment to the Institution for the Advancement of Women. There was no evidence of reluctance to make complaints on grounds of inequality by employees. What was required was to look at the results of programmes, and this needed to be done with international assistance. Labour inspections ensured that Conventions were applied at work, and that the rights of workers were not undermined.

After the Peace Accords, the efforts of El Salvador were mostly for reconstruction, however, there had been a number of natural disasters in the country, which had required a re-channelling of resources. Rural areas were the most affected by poverty. The Government had therefore been working to gather information and analyse patterns of poverty, and a poverty map had been created, indicating which areas of the country had which types of poverty and were in need of what services. Efforts had been made to provide these services through the Solidarity Network, which was not an isolated programme, it was a programme which had the mandate of providing services to the poorest through the coordinated efforts of all Governmental institutions. A Technical Committee worked to ensure that all decisions were implemented and appropriately channelled into the field. An information service in the Government measured the impact of the programmes, and Ministries had to report on their successes.

El Salvador was doing its best to improve the situation, had the political will to do so, and was progressing in this regard. On the coordination of the provision of technical and social services and how these were linked to other services so that support did get through, this was coordinated through the Technical Secretariat of the Presidency. Coordination defined the basic priorities of the country, taking into account needs and budget gaps, aiming to complement the resources already in the general budget. A Coordinator was appointed to work in each sector. International cooperation over the last few years was re-entered mainly into public finances, and not into State flows. When there was an overlapping expenditure, there was a mechanism for absorbing the expense. The Ministry of Social Affairs was responsible for cooperating with the General Board of Cooperators in these areas.

With regards to peace agreements and economic, social and cultural rights, this was not an item which had been included during the 1992 negotiations, as establishing democracy had been more urgent at that point. Social and economic reforms had however been promoted even though they were not in the peace agreements, and there had been positive results with improvements in such indicators as poverty and life expectancy. The Procaduradia dealt with protecting all human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, as all human rights were indivisible. With regards to indigenous peoples, the delegation said that efforts were being made to number and quantify these. A census would take place in 2008 which would include questions on the ethnic origin of citizens. A programme was operating on restoring the national identity and language of certain indigenous peoples. El Salvador was on the road to find out more and more about its indigenous population.

On the subject of immigration and what was being done to put an end to the rural exodus, the delegation said that $ 462 million had been employed with the goal of putting an end to this internal migration flow. El Salvador recognised officially the exercise of every religion, unless it was contrary to public order and morality. Legal standing was given to the Roman Catholic Church after 1993, and this was applied to the legal life of the country. However, it was made quite clear that other religions and denominations had to request the same legal status, and each one was treated in the same way, with the same freedoms as other institutions. There had been an investigation into allegations of false judges and lawyers, and in most of the investigations it had been determined that there were no false papers, and only irregularities: only two people had been punished. An initial course for training judges had been created in order to ensure that judges were professional, well-trained, and had the capacities compatible with modern requirements.

Questions by Experts

In follow-up questions, Experts asked for examples in which the Office of the Procurator had investigated or prosecuted cases related to economic, social and cultural rights; if the Roman Catholic Church enjoyed special treatment under the tax system and if it received subsidies from the State; why El Salvador had not subscribed to ILO Convention 169; what was the impact of the dollarisation of the economy; what was the current status of the Economic and Social Forum; what was the situation of the law on Equal Opportunities; and what had been the social impact of the Peace Agreements.

Response by Delegation

Responding, the delegation said the Human Rights Procurator protected all human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, to such an extent that there was also a deputy-Procuratorship for other types of rights. There was a department for follow-up on economic, social and cultural rights, which drafted reports on this. There was also an effort to follow up the progressive nature of compliance with economic, social and cultural rights, and there were individual cases related to economic, social and cultural rights. A study was being made on Convention 169 to see if it was necessary to amend the Constitution in this regards, but both Houses of Parliament would have to approve this. The ratification of the Convention was being studied, but the process was not a short-term affair. There was no Church of any kind which received subsidies in El Salvador. The Catholic Church was recognised as a legal body, but had received no other preferential treatment from the State. All Churches were tax-exempt.

The Law on Equality of Opportunity was a preliminary draft bill which had been presented to the Assembly and Legislative Assembly, the delegation said. Feedback was currently being awaited from the Institute on the Advancement of Women, and there was also a high-level legal commission that would amend the law to come up with legislation on the legal status of women within El Salvador. In 2002-2003 there had been 37 amendments to the law on the family, including one which banned sexual harassment and all forms of violence against women. On the Forum for Economic Consultation, this was related to the Peace Agreement of 1992. A great deal of reform had taken place in the Superior Council for Labour to avoid discrimination against, for example, pregnant women.

Taking up articles 6 to 9 of the Covenant, summarising once more the answers given to the list of issues and questions 11 to 20, the delegation said on the creation of new jobs to reduce un- and under-employment, there was a system of job-related interventions. The Employment Service was based more or less on the National System for Job Opportunities. Twenty-eight decentralised places had also been set up to widen opportunities. The President of the Republic had decreed that there should be an exhaustive study of the electrical energy system to examine how it had impacted low-income population groups. The Minister for Work and Social Provision had set up a body to eliminate discrimination from the workplace due to gender and to ensure exercise of trade union rights, among others. The Ministry of Labour was trying to come up with a programme for working women, promoting the rights of women workers especially in the family environment and improving their quality of life, the equality of opportunity, and the establishment of adequate conditions in this regard. Employment exchange had been created.

Questions by Experts

In questions, Experts raised issues such as employment figures, which appeared to be rather good, and indicated concern for under-employment and what was being done to reduce the gap between the formal and the informal sector; whether women were more affected by non-employment than men and if there was a difference in geographical distribution; issues related to the maquilas and their lack of legal situation and how this impacted on such things as sexual harassment and had an anti-trade union policy; why the State did not have an unemployment benefit and how it protected people who had lost jobs, as it did not apply all the standards of ILO Convention 102; violations of labour laws and security rights in the context of short-term employment of women so as to ensure that they did not have access to maternity rights; and issues linked to the system of compulsory pensions for employees to which self-employed workers could not subscribe and what was in particular the situation of the indigenous population in this regard.

Response by Delegation

Responding, the delegation said on freedom of association in the context of trade unions, at present there were 362 trade unions in the country, and 648 branches. There were 20 federations, and four confederations. There was no obstacle to joining or creating a trade union. There was real freedom of association. Collective bargaining, taken as the right of workers to freely negotiate their working conditions with their employers, was an essential aspect of trade unions, and the right to strike was an essential means for promoting and defending interests. However, the right to strike was not expressed specifically in any ILO Convention that mentioned freedom of association. Strikes were illegal if necessary procedures had not been fulfilled, and if the workers provided an essential service. With regards to a woman having to prove that she was not pregnant in order to gain employment, this was forbidden in the Labour Code, and work inspectors had been created in order to verify this and other forms of discrimination, and women were encouraged to make official complaints if their rights had been violated. Work had been done to increase awareness of sexual harassment and discrimination, and the means for redress that were available.

With regards to indigenous populations, El Salvador had done its best to preserve their culture and habits, through ratification of ILO Convention 107, among other measures. ILO Convention 169 had not been ratified, but it would be submitted to the Superior Labour Council which would analyse it to see if it was possible to identify compatibility between the Convention and some secondary laws of El Salvador. Should this be the case, then it would be ratified, as had been other ILO Conventions. Rural wages had an additional component, in that company owners should pay not only wages but also food allowances for those in certain sectors such as the cotton and sugar sectors, and related sectors. A motion had been proposed to the Council on Minimum Wages for a study to be undertaken on the increase in this complement to minimum wages. El Salvador was moving ahead and setting up programmes that would benefit the various sectors that gave rise to concern.

A National Committee for the Eradication of Child Labour had been set up, and there was a plan for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. Twenty Experts had been hired to contribute to these efforts. There were also awareness-building efforts of both the phenomenon and of the relevant ILO Conventions by labour inspectors, which had had a very positive impact on companies, in particular in the sugar-cane industry in rural areas, the delegation said. The Ministry of Labour and Social Provision had also made a series of undertakings with a range of bodies in order to ensure follow-up for children in situations of vulnerability, with a view to setting up local training centres in order to be able to identify the scope of these situations, with the aim of eliminating child labour’s worst forms.

The system of social protection gave independent workers an option, so that they could affiliate themselves with a pension administration, Mr. Larios Lopez said. Citizens in the country who were not in a formal work relationship, or those living abroad, also had this option. All workers had a pension number. The number of those covered had definitely increased, with coverage up to 48 per cent in 2006.

Questions by Experts

In follow-up questions, Experts asked, among other things, for more details on the improvement of the social justice system, whether women and indigenous groups were better protected; issues linked to the cost of living, in particular in rural areas and for workers in the textile industry; what precisely was being done to combat child labour, in particular among those of age to attend school, and the root causes of child labour, namely economic disadvantage; the particular problem of young female domestic workers who often started working at about the age of seven or eight and the need for more information in this regard; a request for comments on the Report of the Human Rights Procurator including on such figures contained therein such as that more than 80 per cent of the population was living below the minimum wage; and a request for confirmation that a large number of women left jobs due to sexual harassment and whether the Government was considering a separate law to deal with sexual harassment in general.

Response by Delegation of El Salvador

Responding, Mr. Larios Lopez said nobody on the delegation was aware of the Report of the Human Rights Procurator, and if a copy of the report could be given to the delegation, it would be able to answer the relevant questions. The delegation said that companies were not condemned for sexual harassment, as this was an offence committed by a person, and was of a criminal nature, and the person was punished consequently. In response to the request for further data on child labour, El Salvador did have figures, and worked with these. Work was being done to remedy the situation. Wherever there was poverty, there was a problem with regards to child labour, and the Government was not turning away from this problem, it was facing it, and, among other things, had made enormous efforts to find alternatives for children who were taken out of employment, including support for parents. The sugar-cane industry was the area in which the most success had been gained, with agreements with the industry as to the minimum age for employment.

With regards to follow-up after allegations of sexual harassment and reports that women had to leave their jobs subsequent to complaining, there was such follow-up at the Ministerial level. On street children, there was the Salvadoran Institute for Full Development of Children and Adolescents. There was a form of vicious circle, however - street children were found, taken to school, and they ran away again. There were non-governmental organizations working in the field, and the Government was also working for the benefit of these children. Work was coordinated with the Ministry of Labour to try to identify children who were at risk because of child labour. Efforts were also made to try and identify children at risk of leaving school early, with a system of coordination between parents, teachers, and organizations which worked for children. A fund had been established to cover the income generated by children for their families when the former were taken out of employment. Particular efforts were made at the metropolitan level to protect the health and education of young children at risk.

Introducing the responses to the list of issues on articles 10 to 12, Mr. Larios Lopez said these were cross-cutting issues that influenced almost all sectors of the Government. The delegation said the law on the family had been amended, and a further series of reforms were being considered in order to ensure that it better fitted the era. The family was protected as the basic unit of society. There was a law on domestic violence which had been completely recast in 2002. There was a national policy for women which had been in force for a year, and also a plan of action which had been revised. The whole normative framework had been updated, with a National Programme for the Development of Children and Adolescents, and a policy for the elderly. The most important aspect was prevention, and there was training and prevention to ban family violence, and there were shelters for battered women and for abused children. There were also networks for abused women throughout the country. Work had been done to eliminate stigma on illegitimate children. Work was being done to increase opportunities for women, in particular those who headed families and single women in employment. There were training centres that had been set up to deal with various issues, including the strengthening of municipal governments, and the Institution for the Advancement of Women was closely linked to this work.

Questions by Experts

In questions, Experts raised a range of issues, including whether 14 was the legal age for marriage; a request for more information on the National Plan against family violence and what were its objectives; whether the penal code provided for specific sanctions for domestic violence; what the State was doing to address the problem of births not being recorded; whether corporal punishment in schools was common; issues related to unequal distribution of wealth and low wages and the need to improve wages in rural areas; intra-familial violence and whether there were deficiencies in regard to the programmes aimed at combating this and the need for realistic and effective policies; issues linked to abortion; why the rural food basket was assessed at less than the urban food basket; a request for further data on poverty, including extreme poverty, as the latest data was from 2000, and what was the present situation with regards to all the different programmes that had been implemented; issues related to pollution, in particular water pollution, and thus the scarcity of drinking water that was fit for consumption, how water needs were protected and what precautionary measures were being taken to protect the right to water; and whether there were any cases of misuse of radioactive waste and a request for further details on what was done with such waste and what legislation existed on this matter.

Response by Delegation of El Salvador

Responding, the delegation said with regards to family life and means used for reconciling women’s work and family life, there were nurseries and training institutions set up to help organise this. There were still many machos in Salvadoran culture, and it was up to women to help make progress. Paternal leave was not yet generally available. Men and women were being trained on equality and what its true meaning was. There was an institution which took care of the registration of all children, in order to solve the issue of lack of registration of some young children. There was a transitory law on including natural persons in the register, and making room for young people and newborns who had not yet been registered. There were projects to increase sensibilisation as to the benefits of registration.

Mr. Larios Lopez said that the delegation had done its best to read the Report of the Procurator, but it was very long and detailed, and would require much more knowledge than was available among the members of the delegation, and therefore the delegation could not respond today to the questions in that regard. However, El Salvador was committed to provide answers later on. On figures and statistics, the delegation would consult within the country, and would also provide answers at a later date.

On sexual harassment and corporal punishment, the delegation said that problems had been reported at some educational institutions. Corporal punishment was illegal, and there were some mechanisms which functioned in this area. Teachers who were guilty of corporal punishment were withdrawn whilst the necessary legal procedure took place. There were mechanisms for advice in order to increase cooperation and in order to avoid this sort of problem, and there was a strong emphasis on prevention. If programmes were to be really geared towards extreme poverty, then there was a need to determine exactly in which areas extreme poverty manifested itself. It had been necessary to re-settle many inhabitants due to the prevalence of natural disasters, in particular those living near volcanoes and in areas where there were landslides. Sometimes these people had to be resettled temporarily, but they were eventually given permanent homes at no or at very little charge. There were measures for poorer families to obtain accessible housing through programmes that were either subsidised by the State or through the national financial system.

Referring to the issue of violence, in particular domestic violence, there was broad legislation in the area of preventing and sanctioning violence, which was a crime. Sexual and physical violence were crimes, and sexual assault, sexual abuse of minors and other forms of violence were particularly sanctioned. This was an autonomous crime, the delegation said. The law on inter-family violence described the various types of violence which existed, and judges were capable of passing down punishment on all situations. Minors could get married in two cases: when the girl was pregnant, or if she had the consent of the parents of both partners. However, this did not bring an end to the responsibility of the parents. On abortion, legislation stated that human persons were recognised from conception, thus this issue was penalised, and the country maintained its position in this regard. On sexual and reproductive health, work had been done from the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education so that sexual education was an integral part of the curriculum in schools, based on the level of psychological development of the children.

Water was under the responsibility of a national administration, and there was no privatisation of water services. There was a decree where a reservation had been protected as a natural area. On migration, within the Vice-Ministry for External Affairs, there was a department for Salvadorans living abroad, for which there was concern, in particular for those living in the United States. There were other organizations that aimed to help these nationals free of charge. On activities undertaken to fight against violence, in particular homicides, the problem of delinquency was a very common one which had increased across South America, and El Salvador was no exception. A national commission had been set up to research this type of crime, and the General Prosecutor of the Republic had also been tasked with this. Special efforts were made to protect the judiciary and guarantee their independence when making decisions. El Salvador was undertaking major efforts to fight against crime in prison, and was extending the two main prisons, whilst analysing the implementation of facilities within prisons for those who had completed half or two-thirds of their sentence, and to facilitate their reintegration into society.

Further Questions by Experts

In follow-up questions, Experts asked questions on general health and whether there were special programmes for teachers in this regard, and what was being done to cover the part of the population that could not afford health insurance; what was being done with regards to young female domestic employees, as their extreme youth and vulnerability required particular attention; what was being done to counter the trend in which the gap between rich and poor was getting ever wider; and what was being done to decrease the number of illegal settlements.

Response by Delegation

Responding, the delegation said the Ministry of Public Health had frequently admitted the serious problem of teenage pregnancies, and more particularly that the age for first sexual relationships was becoming ever younger. Programmes had been implemented in this regard, with particular emphasis on teenage groups with the aim of reducing the number of pregnancies. Teenagers were encouraged to recognise the importance of emphasis, and to postpone the beginning of their active sexual life. Because of many natural catastrophes and events, El Salvador had many problems with its health system. For the population that did not have health coverage, there was a primary health care programme that had been strengthened and which took health services straight to vulnerable communities. The medical insurance of domestic workers was provided by the social and sanitary services and provided free medical care to them, as well as to all persons who had no insurance.

Questions by Experts

Moving on to articles 12 to 15 of the Covenant, Experts asked questions on, among other things, the law on higher education, under which it was stated that students could receive additional financial support, and what form this support took; whether secondary and higher education, which were not free, were provided by private or public establishments; what were the Government’s plans for eradicating the reasons for which young people left school after their ninth year; and issues related to the cultural rights of the indigenous population, in particular with regards to the promotion of indigenous languages and whether these last were recognised as national languages and if not what was their status.

Response by Delegation

Responding to these questions and others, the delegation said with regards to grants and scholarships in higher education, there were many different scholarship programmes which the Government promoted. When the Government had carried out privatisation of the office that was administering telecommunications, the emerging fund from that was allocated to cover various social programmes, one of which was the scholarship programme. There were other scholarships which were associated with various funds. There had been an increase in the budget earmarked for the University. Secondary education through law was not free of charge either, however, there were various support services granted, and the country thus had approximately 71 per cent of the population involved in State institutions. Textbooks, clothes and resources were provided in some cases to allow children to attend school. Work had been done in recent decades to discourage children from dropping out from school, and there had been a certain percentage of success. Major efforts of coordination were being undertaken to ensure that children stayed at school and did not take up employment.

Three indigenous ethnic groups were recognised, although many Salvadorans were of indigenous descent at least in part. No one in the country did not speak Spanish, including in areas where there were ethnic populations, which spoke their own language only among themselves. Ethnic groups had a significant level of recognition by the State, the delegation said, and recognised their knowledge as something that should be preserved for the good of the country and its population. Within the Ministry of Culture, there was a department that was responsible for indigenous culture, which undertook a wide range of activities. Work was being done in some communities so that indigenous groups retained and preserved their ancestral and traditional customs.

Concluding Remarks

In concluding remarks, BYRON FERNANDO LARIOS LOPEZ, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said it had been a greatly satisfying experience to share El Salvador’s problems and hopes with the Committee, and to recognise the difficulties and long path that it had had to take to reach the stage at which the country was today. The discussion had been very positive, but El Salvador was very far from being able to answer all questions, and recognised its shortcomings and difficulties. The Committee had to undertake its own assessment of the pros and cons of El Salvador’s history. The efforts made by the Committee to help El Salvador would help to point the country in the right direction and to respond to the many problems and concerns that lay ahead. Some questions required further thinking for clarification and response, and El Salvador was fully committed to providing them with answers as soon as possible.

VIRGINIA BONOAN-DANDAN, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks, thanked the delegation for its patience and efforts to respond to the many questions. The Committee would do its best to provide helpful conclusions. It would have been more helpful to receive the written replies in appropriate languages, and it was hoped that this would not happen when the next report was submitted. This was important as it enabled the Committee to do justice to the reports of all its States parties. The concluding observations would be drafted and released to the Mission on the last day of the session, as was normal practice. It was hoped that they would be of help to El Salvador.