Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
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E/2000/22 E/C.12/1999/11 COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS REPORT ON THE TWENTIETH AND TWENTY-FIRST SESSIONS (26 April-14 May 1999, 15 November-3 December 1999) ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL OFFICIAL RECORDS, 2000 SUPPLEMENT No. 2 UNITED NATIONS E/2000/22 E/C.12/1999/11 COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS REPORT ON THE TWENTIETH AND TWENTY-FIRST SESSIONS (26 April-14 May 1999, 15 November-3 December 1999) ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL OFFICIAL RECORDS, 2000 SUPPLEMENT No. 2 UNITED NATIONS New York and Geneva, 2000 NOTE Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. E/2000/22 E/C.12/1999/11 - 3 - CONTENTS Paragraphs Page Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter I. DRAFT DECISIONS RECOMMENDED FOR ADOPTION BY THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL .............................................................................................. 8 II. ORGANIZATIONAL AND OTHER MATTERS ........................ 1 - 20 11 A. States parties to the Covenant................................................. 1 11 B. Sessions and agenda............................................................... 2 - 3 11 C. Membership and attendance ................................................... 4 - 7 11 D. Pre-sessional working group ................................................... 8 - 10 13 E. Election of officers.................................................................. 11 13 F. Organization of work.............................................................. 12 - 15 14 G. Next session........................................................................... 16 15 H. States parties’ reports scheduled for consideration by the Committee at its twenty-second session........................ 17 - 18 15 I. Composition of the pre-sessional working group...................... 19 - 20 15 Twenty-second session...................................................... 19 15 Twenty-third session.......................................................... 20 15 III. OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENT WORKING METHODS OF THE COMMITTEE................................................................ 21 - 53 16 A. General guidelines for reporting............................................... 23 16 GE.00-41210 (E) - 4 - CONTENTS (continued) Chapter Paragraphs Page III. B. Examination of States parties’ reports...................................... 24 - 37 16 (cont’d) 1. Work of the pre-sessional working group ........................... 24 - 32 16 2. Presentation of the report .................................................. 33 - 36 18 3. Deferrals of the presentation of reports............................... 37 19 C. Procedures in relation to follow-up action................................ 38 - 41 19 D. Procedure in response to non-submitted and considerably overdue reports.................................................. 42 - 44 20 E. Day of general discussion........................................................ 45 21 F. Other consultations ................................................................. 46 - 48 21 G. General comments.................................................................. 49 - 53 22 IV. SUBMISSION OF REPORTS BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLES 16 AND 17 OF THE COVENANT.......................... 54 - 57 24 V. CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLES 16 AND 17 OF THE COVENANT....................................................................... 58 - 409 25 Twentieth session Iceland ................................................................................... 67 - 89 26 Denmark................................................................................ 90 - 122 29 Ireland.................................................................................... 123 - 152 33 Tunisia.................................................................................... 153 - 183 36 Solomon Islands (without a report).......................................... 184 - 212 40 - 5 - CONTENTS (continued) Chapter Paragraphs Page V. Twenty-first session (cont’d) Bulgaria.................................................................................. 213 - 248 46 Argentina................................................................................ 249 - 290 49 Armenia ................................................................................. 291 - 314 54 Cameroon.............................................................................. 315 - 362 56 Mexico................................................................................... 363 - 409 62 VI. FOLLOW-UP TO THE COMMITTEE’S CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS UNDER ARTICLES 16 AND 17 OF THE COVENANT............................................................................... 410 - 416 67 VII. REVIEW OF METHODS OF WORK OF THE COMMITTEE.............................................................................. 417 - 466 69 A. Decisions adopted and matters discussed by the Committee at its twentieth session........................................... 417 - 429 69 B. Decisions adopted and matters discussed by the Committee at its twenty-first session........................................ 430 - 466 72 VIII. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT................................................... 467 80 Annexes I. States parties to the Covenant and status of submission of reports............................. 81 II. Membership of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.................... 96 III. A. Agenda of the twentieth session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (26 April-14 May 1999)........................................... 97 B. Agenda of the twenty-first session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (15 November-3 December 1999) ........................... 98 - 6 - CONTENTS (continued) Annexes (continued) Page IV. General Comment No. 11 (1999): Plans of action for primary education (art. 14 of the Covenant).......................................................................... 99 V. General Comment No. 12 (1999): The right to adequate food (art. 11 of the Covenant).......................................................................................... 102 VI. General Comment No. 13 (1999): The right to education (art. 13 of the Covenant) ......................................................................................... 111 VII. Statement of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to the Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization........................ 128 VIII. Proposal of the Committee for a workshop on indicators, benchmarks and the right to education...................................................................... 130 IX. Outline for drafting general comments on specific rights of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights................................ 135 X. A. List of States parties’ delegations which participated in the consideration of their respective reports by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its twentieth session....................................................................................... 137 B. List of States parties’ delegations which participated in the consideration of their respective reports by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its twenty-first session................................................................................... 140 XI. A. List of documents of the Committee at its twentieth session................................ 143 B. List of documents of the Committee at its twenty-first session............................. 145 - 7 - ABBREVIATIONS EEA European Economic Area FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GDP Gross domestic product GNP Gross national product HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome ILO International Labour Organization IMF International Monetary Fund OAS Organization of American States OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women WHO World Health Organization WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization WTO World Trade Organization - 8 - Chapter I DRAFT DECISIONS RECOMMENDED FOR ADOPTION BY THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL Letter from the Chairperson of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to the President of the Economic and Social Council “Dear Sir, “On 2 December 1998 the Acting President of the Economic and Social Council, in a letter addressed to the Chairperson of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, informed the Committee of Council decision 1998/293 by which the Committee was invited to provide the Council with updated information on several requests (draft decisions I-IV1) made by the Committee during its sixteenth session in 1996. “At its twentieth session, held in Geneva from 26 April to 14 May 1999, the Committee, in response to Council decision 1998/293, reconsidered its requests from the sixteenth session in 1996. After careful discussion,