COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS EXAMINES INITIAL REPORT OF BENIN ON COMPLIANCE WITH COVENANT

CESCR
28th session
2 May 2002
Afternoon



Experts Query Delegation on Discrimination against Women,
Child Labour, Language Barriers, and
the Poverty Eradication Programme



The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon started its examination of an initial report from Benin by questioning a Government delegation about discrimination against women; the high number of working children; language barriers and the high rate of illiteracy affecting the population; and the status of the poverty eradication strategy paper, among other things.
The report was introduced by Joseph H-Gnonlonfoun, Minister of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights of Benin, who said that since 1994, his country had seen economic growth but it had not been sufficiently accompanied with an equitable policy of resource distribution. He said that the structural adjustment programme had created big distortions; at the level of poverty and unemployment, the situation had deteriorated. For that reason, a National Commission on Development had been put in place to fight poverty and a poverty reduction strategy paper was in the course of being finalized.
Mr. H-Gnonlonfoun said that the Government of Benin was allocating one-third of its national budget to health; and some claimed that the fight against malaria, which was killing more people than any other disease, was absorbing much of the budget allocated to the sector. In addition, the right to education had been provided for by the Constitution and the Government was devoting a substantial amount of money to that field, the Minister said.
Over the course of the Committee's consideration of the report, an Expert said he sympathized with Benin which had experienced economic hardship in the past; however, he said that there were a number of problems that could be resolved with measures which did not require financial means. The Government did not need a huge amount of capital, for example, to put an end to the practice of servitude of children placed in the service of wealthy families, it only needed political will.
A number of questions were also raised by other Committee members on such issues as discrimination against women; the high number of working children; the language barrier and high rate of illiteracy; lack of communication among regions; labour safety; the right to strike and the status of the poverty eradication strategy paper, among other things.
In addition to Mr. H-Gnonlonfoun, Benin's delegation was also composed of Aristide Odounharo, Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights; Marie Sabine d'Almeida-Vieyra, Director of Social Development and of Solidarity in the Ministry of the Family, Social Protection and Solidarity; Grace Theodora Adonon-Hessou, Director at the Department of Labour; and Eloi Laourou, Rosemonde Adjanonhoun and Bienvenu Accrombessi, from the Permanent Mission of Benin in Geneva.
Benin is among the 145 States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and as such it must provide the Committee with periodic reports on how it is implementing the provisions of the treaty.
The Committee will continue its consideration of the report of Benin when it reconvenes at 10 p.m. on Friday, 3 May.

Report of Benin
The initial report is contained in document E/1990/5/Add.48 and enumerates the measures taken to implement the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It recalls that the 1980s were characterized by an unprecedented crisis in Benin's economy, marked by a slowdown in economic growth, the collapse of Benin's export potential, and a profound disruption of the foreign balance of payments. The consequences of the crisis were a rise in open or short-time unemployment, an increase in underemployment, generalized job insecurity and an increase in unremunerative jobs.
The report notes that women comprise 51 per cent of the labour force, accounting for 32 per cent of agricultural workers and 90 per cent of workers in the commercial sector. Few women are wage earners. By the end of 1992, of a total of 34,330 permanent State officials, only 8,861 were women. They are also poorly represented in the liberal professions. This situation is the result of various legal, political, socio-cultural and economic constraints which used to place limits on women's full participation in the country's development. A large proportion of children are to be found in the agricultural and informal labour force, an indication of the structural illiteracy of the rural population.
The report says that employees and employers have the right to form trade unions in sectors of activities and geographical sectors which they may determine. Persons over 15 years of age have the right to freely join and leave trade unions. Self-employed operators employing no staff also have the right to form a trade union.
In recent years, Benin, a pilot country in the Bamako Initiative, had greatly improved access to health care for all, encouraging the use of essential drugs by setting up a centralized unit for the purchase of products and developing a policy for community financing of health structures, the report say. An important programme for the renovation and construction of peripheral health centres, supported by donors, has resulted in a marked improvement in peripheral infrastructures. Several provincial hospitals, together with the National University Hospital Centre in Cotonou, also benefited from renovation programmes.

Introduction of Report
JOSEPH H-GNONLONFOUN, Minister of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights of Benin, said that with its 6.8 million population, Benin lived in peace with itself, and it regularly held elections in a transparent manner. It was because of its concern to comply with its international obligations that Benin had submitted its report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child two years ago, its report to the Committee against Torture in 2001, and today a delegation was before the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Mr. H-Gnonlonfoun said that his Government understood that the progressive implementation of the democratic elements required freedom, transparency and truthfulness. Least advanced countries had the obligation to commit themselves so that their children received a solid education, workers were paid equitably, rights were legally protected, and public liberty was constantly taken into consideration in governmental acts. The Government of Benin had incorporated all the provisions of the International Covenant in the Constitution.
Since 1994, Benin had seen economic growth but it was not sufficiently accompanied with an equitable policy of revenue distribution, Mr. H-Gnonlonfoun said, adding that the structural adjustment programme had created big distortions. At the level of poverty and unemployment, the situation had deteriorated. For that reason, a National Commission on Development had been put in place to fight poverty. It was finalizing a poverty reduction strategy paper.
The Government of Benin allocated one-third of its national budget to health, the Minister said. The fight against malaria, which was killing more people than any other disease, was absorbing much of the budget allocated to health. In 1999, 4 per cent of the population had been affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In addition, the right to education had been provided for by the Constitution and the Government was devoting a substantial amount of money to that field.

Discussion
An Expert said he sympathized with Benin which had experienced economic hardship in the past. However, he said that there were a number of problems that could be resolved with measures which did not require financial means. The Government did not need a huge amount of capital, for example, to put an end to the practice of servitude of children placed in the service of wealthy families. Such acts did not require financial implications but political will from the Government. Also, the stereotyped traditions which were prejudiced against women and the discrimination females were subjected to could be reduced if the Government would take some measures.
Quoting the report of the Independent Expert of the Commission on Human Rights on human rights and extreme poverty, Anne-Marie Lizin, another Expert said the Independent Expert had observed in Benin the extreme difficulties in the cohabitation of the various languages; and in addition to that, illiteracy was a veritable mental prison for millions of Beninois. Besides, a big number of children, particularly girls, were sent by their parents to serve wealthy families.
The language barrier was the first factor in discriminating against groups of people, an Expert said, asking the delegation how the Government was managing to communicate with the population that was speaking a variety of languages. Although French was spoken in the country, it was rare that people in the rural areas communicated each other, even in their own local languages.
Referring to the Poverty Eradication Strategy paper, which Benin was in the course of finalizing, an Expert asked if human rights were integrated in the programme in accordance with the recommendations of the Independent Expert. The delegation was also asked if the Government had reacted to the Vienna Declaration on the promotion of human rights.
Children were serving in restaurants and other places, an Expert said, asking what measures were taken to protect the economic and social rights of children; what achievements were made in that field?
The lack of communication with other countries, or even between regions, during the rainy season had bad effects on the economic growth of Benin, an Expert said. Due to the lack of road communication, children or sick people could not transport goods to centres where transactions were effected. What measures were taken to improve that situation?
The delegation had said that the Covenant was part of the Constitution, which also guaranteed the right to health, education and other rights, an Expert said. Why then was the violation of those rights not justiciable? Why didn't the Human Rights Commission, which was established in 1990, do anything when these rights were violated?

Response of Benin
In response to the questions, the members of the Benin delegation said that the African Charter of Human Rights and of Peoples had been made part of the Constitution, in addition to the provisions of the International Covenant. There was also a will to deal with violations of rights through the legal instruments of the constitutional court or the labour court.
The use of the term of slavery of women or children was not acceptable, the delegation said. However, "vidomegone", a system of placing children in the service of wealthy families, was acceptable in the society of Benin. The practice was socially accepted and it had no negative effect. The Government was rather convinced that the anti-poverty strategy should be implemented to eradicate the level of impoverishment of the population. Mentalities should change to reduce the high number of children per family whose parents did not have the capacity to bring them up properly. However, the use of family planning might have a connotation of forcing parents not to have children.
The Human Rights Commission, which was established in 1990, was not functioning properly due to the lack of funding; there was currently a discussion to find a private funding mechanism to make it more independent from the State.
Although the official language was French, people spoke their own languages in all circumstances, the delegation said. At present, 70 working languages were used in all activities. In some regions, the fact that one person could speak at least 7 languages had lessened the problem of understanding each other. In order to facilitate juridical processes in courts, interpretation services were made available.
The phenomenon of brain-drain had affected Benin with more doctors working in France than in Benin, the delegation said. Benin was considered to be "the Latin quarter of France" because it had been supplying technically trained people to France.
Although the country was not fully equipped with telephone lines, most of the communications with the regions were done through the phone, the delegation said. The state of road transportation was one of the problems facing the country. Roads eroded by rain were not repaired on time, the construction of new roads lacked funding, and little attention was given to their expansion. For that reason, some regions were beyond reach, thus affecting growth.
The language barrier could not be considered as an indication for economic progress, the delegation said. The Government considered that literacy campaigns should be given priority to reduce language barriers.
The Committee Experts continued to raise further questions on issues of corruption; the extent of informal labour; the high number of working children; the status of equal pay for equal amount of work; employment of disabled persons; and health and safety in the workplace.
Responding to those questions, the delegation said that with regard to language, the Constitution provided the right of each individual to use his own language and to preserve his own culture.
The fact that imprisonment was accompanied with compulsory labour did not mean that the regime of forced labour was used, the delegation said. The legal provision which allowed the sentencing of an individual to compulsory labour was copied from the French legal system.
The delegation said that the fact that children under 14 years of age accompanied their parents to work in the fields did not amount to child exploitation. Children had to learn and see how their parents were working. They should know how to catch fish too. The legal provision prohibited children under 14 years from working as salary earners.



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