United Nations E/C.12/ISR/3 Economic and Social Council Distr.: General 12 July 2010 Original: English Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Third periodic reports submitted by States parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant Israel* [20 January 2009] * In accordance with the information transmitted to States parties regarding the processing of their reports, the present document was not edited before being sent to the United Nations translation services. GE.10-43626 (E) 090810 E/C.12/ISR/3 Contents Paragraphs Page Introduction............................................................................................................. 1–8 4 Article 1: Self-determination .................................................................................. 9 6 Article 2: General principles: State responsibility, non-discrimination and international cooperation......................................................................................... 10–122 6 Article 3: Prohibition of discrimination between men and women......................... 123–154 23 Article 6: The right to work .................................................................................... 155–248 29 Article 7: The right to just and favorable conditions of work ................................. 249–296 48 Article 8: Collective labor rights............................................................................. 297–304 59 Article 9: The right to social security...................................................................... 305–344 61 Article 10: Familial rights....................................................................................... 345–416 67 Article 11: The right to an adequate standard of living........................................... 417–493 80 Article 12: The right to the highest attainable standard of health ........................... 494–545 104 Article 13: The right to education ........................................................................... 546–624 113 Article 15: The right to take part in cultural life and enjoy scientific progress....... 625–667 131 Tables 1. Employment and unemployment: levels and trends, 1999–2007............................ 30 2. Employed persons, unemployed persons and persons not in the workforce by severity of disability, ages 20–64, 2005.................................................................................... 36 3. Unemployed persons out of the workforce, ages 20–64, 2005 ............................... 36 4. Persons with disabilities in Israel by severity of disability, employment and type of pension, ages 20–64, 2005 .................................................................................................... 36 5. Average income per capita (net) of persons with disabilities, as per cent of income of persons with no chronic health problem or disability, 2002–2006....................................... 37 6. Adult vocational training comparative data, 2002–2007 ........................................ 39 7. Employed persons in 2007 by gender and population group .................................. 43 8. Employed persons, by occupation, gender and population group, 2007................. 43 9. Minimum wage law enforcement report (2005–2007)............................................ 50 10. Urban wage and salary workers: women’s hourly wages as a percentage of men’s hourly wages, 1995, 1998 and 2006................................................................................... 52 11. Gross income per employee by occupation and gender, 2007 ................................ 55 12. Monthly income by status at work of head of household, 2007.............................. 56 13. Work injuries, 2000–2006....................................................................................... 56 14. Fatalities from work accidents, 1999–2007 ............................................................ 56 15. Injury compensation in 2007, by branches of work ................................................ 57 16. Injury compensation in 2007, by gender and age.................................................... 57 2 GE.10-43626 E/C.12/ISR/3 17. Strikes in Israel, 2000–2007.................................................................................... 60 18. Population age 15–17 by work, studies, gender and population group, 2001–2007 75 19. Minimum wage for youth ....................................................................................... 75 20. Monthly income and expenditure, by deciles of net income per standard person, 2006 81 21. Gross monthly monetary income per households, by source of income and by employment status of household head ......................................................................................... 82 22. Gross domestic product and uses of resources, 2002–2007.................................... 84 23. Gross national income and gross domestic product, 2002–2007 ............................ 85 24. Private consumption expenditure, by purpose and type of expenditure.................. 85 25. The food balance sheet: calories and nutrients per capita per day .......................... 88 26. Supply of vitamins and minerals per capita per day ............................................... 89 27. Selected data on housing, by deciles of households, by net income per standard person, 2006 91 28. Households by housing density, size of household and population, 2007 .............. 92 29. Requests submitted for building permits, 2002–2007............................................. 98 30. Building permits granted, 2002–2007..................................................................... 98 31. Demolition orders carried out, by year and neighborhood, 2004–2007.................. 98 32. Building offences – cases opened by year and neighborhood, 2004–2007............. 98 33. Infant mortality, 2004–2007 ................................................................................... 106 34. Immunization: percentage of children immunized by the age of two years, 2005.. 107 35. Life expectancy by gender and population group, 2001–2007 ............................... 107 36. Mortality rates, by cause (total population) ............................................................ 108 37. Persons aged 15 and over, by population group, years of schooling, age and gender, 2007 116 38. Pupils in educational institutions, 2004–2008......................................................... 118 39. Students in universities, by degree, gender and population group .......................... 119 40. Pupils in grades 7–12 dropout rates by population group, grade and gender.......... 120 41. Examinees and entitlement to matriculation certificates, 2006............................... 121 42. Recipients of degrees from universities .................................................................. 122 43. Degree recipients from universities by gender, age and population group ............. 122 44. Teaching staff, by level of education and average work hours per week, 1999–2007 130 45. Teaching posts (full-time) in schools, 2007/08....................................................... 130 46. Expenditure of Government Ministries on civilian research and development, by type of expenditure, 2002–2007.......................................................................................... 137 GE.10-43626 3 E/C.12/ISR/3 Introduction 1. This is the Third Periodic Report of the Government of the State of Israel, submitted to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in accordance with the requirements of articles 16–17 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. (hereinafter referred to as the “Covenant” or the “CESCR”). This report has been compiled by the Human Rights and Foreign Relations Department at the Ministry of Justice, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Government bodies. Israeli Non-Governmental Organizations (“NGOs”) were also invited to submit comments prior to the compilation of the present report, both through direct application, and a general invitation to submit remarks posted on the Ministry of Justice website. Their contributions were given substantial consideration. 2. Since the submission of the Second Periodic Report (UN document – E/1990/6/Add.32), many legislative, administrative and judicial developments relevant to the implementation of the Covenant occurred. A short summary of the main changes is included below. This report provides a comprehensive account of these developments. It also addresses the comments made in the concluding observations by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/1/Add.90) dated May 23, 2003. 3. In terms of legislation, since the submission of Israel’s previous periodic report, noteworthy steps have been taken to promote economic, social and cultural rights issues. Some of the more prominent new laws include the Increasing Participation in the Work force and Reducing Social Gaps (Negative Income Tax) Law 5767-2007, (the “Increasing Participation in the Work force and Reducing Social Gaps (Negative Income Tax) Law”) which endeavours to reduce poverty and increase work force participation rates, providing remuneration for labor to low income-earners. In accordance with an amendment to the Equal Employment Opportunities Law 5748-1988, dated January 3, 2006, an Equal Employment Opportunities Commission