COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF INITIAL REPORT OF BENIN

CESCR
28th session
3 mai 2002
Matin



The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning continued its consideration of an initial report from Benin on how that country was implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In response to questions raised by Committee Experts on Thursday afternoon, the members of Benin's delegation said that the Government was convinced that the process of decentralization would allow the population, through elections, to increase its responsibilities at the local level. They announced that local elections would take place on 1 December 2002.
The delegation said that the wage rate for women depended on the sector where they were employed; there was no discrimination either in employment or in salary payment for women. Since women made up the majority of the population, they were also the ones who provided labour in agriculture, in factories and in the informal sector.
An Expert said that there was a report that indicated that Benin was affected by a serious and wide ranging epidemic which could threaten the demographic composition of the population, and asked if the Government was aware of the threat.
Other Committee Experts also continued to raise questions on child labour; female genital mutilation; the situation of orphans and abandoned children; the status of HIV/AIDS; indexation of income with the cost of living standards; safe abortions; street and abandoned children; and the protection of vulnerable groups, among other things.
Benin is among the 145 States parties to the International Covenant and as such it is obligated to provide periodic reports to the Committee on its performance to implement the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will hear further responses from the delegation of Benin before concluding its consideration of the report.

Discussion
The delegation of Benin responded to questions raised by Committee Experts yesterday afternoon. Asked about the dissemination of the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the delegation said it had been translated into eight of the country languages and it had been broadcast.
The wage rate for women depended on the sector where women were employed, the delegation said, adding that there was no discrimination either in employment or in salary payment for women. Since women made up the majority of the population, they were also the ones who provided labour in agriculture, in factories and in the informal sector. In addition to the constitutional provisions, equality of women and men was guaranteed by the labour code.
With regard to trade unions, the delegation said that article 83 of the labour code stipulated that the existence of a trade union would be determined after its statute was "deposited" with the authorities with all details as to the names and addresses of the leaders. The right to strike was guaranteed by the Constitution, however, its exercise was determined by a subsequent law. A new law on the right to strike had been adopted but it had not yet been promulgated.
Asked about the function of the National Commission on Health, Safety and Labour, the delegation said it was a tripartite body that was made up of workers, employers and the Government. The members of the Commission had just been appointed and it would soon start its functions. In addition, the International Labour Office had been asked to provide training programmes for labour inspectors in the field of safety and security.
Concerning persons with disabilities, the delegation said that the Government was paying special attention to that category of persons; a centre had already been created in Cotonou for the blind and the deaf. In addition, non-governmental organizations provided significant support to the promotion of the causes of handicapped persons; and they provided vocational training to enable them to integrate in the society.
The Government was convinced that the process of decentralization would allow the population, through elections, to increase its responsibilities at the local level, the delegation said. A number of non-governmental organizations were involved in implementing the process and would be training the persons who would be in charge. The local elections would take place on 1 December 2002.
The delegation said that some women and children in families were victims of violence and sexual abuse. The violence against women consisted of forced and early marriages, rape or genital mutilation, while children suffered from corporal punishment, sexual abuse or trafficking. The Government and civil society were fighting against forced marriages, mistreatment of children under the "vidomegon" system, and all violence against women and children.
In order to ensure protection for orphans, street and abandoned children, the Government had taken measures, including the creation of training centres for children in difficulties; the financing of non-governmental organizations dealing with the protection of children; and the creation of a National Commission on the Rights of the Child.
In follow-up questions, an Expert said that the right to work was precarious due to the lack of availability of work. There were many persons who were not employed. What was the guarantee that collective dismissals were not taking place? With regard to child labour, the answer provided by the delegation yesterday had not been satisfactory; the delegation had said that they were not working in factories, but children should be going to school and not working in the agricultural fields. Was the new labour code adopted in 1998 an improvement? Did it follow the ILO's recommendations and requirements?
Another Expert underlined that some legal provisions should be replaced and new ones should be enacted to allow the implementation of international treaties. Although some legal instruments were there, they could not be implemented if there was a lack of political will.
In response, the members of the delegation said that they would not have appeared before the Committee if the Government had no political will to discharge its international obligations. The fact that some domestic legal provisions were not active could be attributed to various reasons.
With regard to unemployment, the Government was aware that the number of unemployed persons was high in comparison with the working force, the delegation said. The situation had been studied by the World Bank and remedies had been sought by the Government. In the past, the process of privatization had been accompanied by measures which protected workers from dismissal. Only companies that went out of business could dismiss their workers.
Children placed in the service of wealthy families had to go to school and the families had the obligation to ensure that they did so, the delegation said. Since primary education was compulsory, families sent the children placed in their service to school. The traditional system of "vidomegon" was not purely provision of child service by it also included education of the children.
Committee Experts continued to raise questions on child labour; female genital mutilation; the situation of orphans and abandoned children; the status of HIV/AIDS; indexation of income with the cost of living standards; safe abortions; and the protection of vulnerable groups, among other things.
An Expert said that there was a report that indicated that Benin was affected by a serious and wide ranging epidemic, which could threaten the demographic composition of the population. Was the Government aware of the threat?
In the major cities of Benin, the situation of street children could be termed as dangerous, an Expert said, adding that they were exposed to death and the worst forms of exploitation. What kind of campaign had the Government initiated against AIDS? Since many of people were illiterate, what practical measures were taken, concerning for instance the use of condoms? Benin had about 70,000 HIV carriers.
Another Expert said that Benin did not seem to give much attention to higher education. Turning to the structural adjustment programme, the Expert asked if the Government had taken measures to absorb those who graduated from universities despite the situation of unemployment created by the programme.
The delegation was asked by an Expert if the Government had a plan of action on education in accordance with the Dakar Framework.
An Expert recalled that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report in 2000 had affirmed that Benin had a three-year plan to establish 23 health centres by 2002 to fight all sorts of contagious diseases. How much of the plan had been achieved so far?
Recalling the delegation's assertion that Benin was on the move, an Expert said concrete examples should be cited to substantiate such a declaration. With regard to drinking water, did the State make efforts on its own other than the work by international agencies in this field. Was the process of decentralization profitable to the population?



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