The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by its States parties.
The 65th Session of CESR which took place in Geneva on 18 February-08 March 2019, reviewed reports from five States including two of Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Estonia and Kazakhstan.
Civil society organizations took active part in this session by submitting information as NGO reports: 2 from Estonia and 9 from Kazakhstan.
Both Estonia and Kazakhstan received recommendations related to sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as HIV/AIDS.
The concluding observations from CESR on the third periodic report of Estonia include indubitably urgent issues:
- The Committee recommends that the State party increase the level of social spending, particularly in the areas of social security, housing, health and education, with a special attention to disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and regions with high levels of unemployment and poverty, particularly Ida-Virumaa County.
- The Committee is concerned that the Equal Treatment Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion or views, age, disability and sexual orientation only in the areas relating to working life and acquisition of professional qualifications. It also regrets the delay in amending the Act to broaden the scope and application of the Act to other social sectors.
- The Committee recommends that the State party amend without delay the Equal Treatment Act with a view to ensuring that the Act prohibits all direct, indirect and intersectional forms of discrimination, on the grounds in terms of article 2(2) of the Covenant and in all spheres relevant to economic, social and cultural rights; and providing effective remedies for victims of discrimination, including through judicial and administrative proceedings.
- The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Eliminate gender stereotypes, including through awareness-raising campaigns and school education;
HIV/AIDS
- The Committee is concerned at the high prevalence of HIV, particularly among women and people who use drugs. It is also concerned that many persons with HIV do not seek antiretroviral treatment (ART), despite the fact the treatment is provided free of charge, for fear of stigma and disclosure of confidential information to family and employers (arts. 2 (1) and 12).
- The Committee recommends that the State intensify its efforts to:
(a) Prevent new cases of HIV;
(b) Improve HIV-testing and the initiation of early ART therapy;
(c) Combat social stigma against persons living with HIV/AIDS;
(d) Ensure that medical professions respect the confidentiality of medical information pertaining to HIV/AIDS status or treatment.
- In accordance with the procedure on follow-up to concluding observations adopted by the Committee, the State party is requested to provide, within 24 months of the adoption of the present concluding observations, information on the implementation of the recommendations contained in paragraphs 11 (amendments to the Equal Treatment Act).
It is necessary to highlight that Estonian Equal Treatment Act still lacks the “gender identity” as a ground to be protected from all forms of discrimination, which negatively affects trans community.
A full set of documents 65th Session of CESR incl. concluding observations on Estonia is available at the link:
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1308&Lang=en
Kazakhstan submitted its state report for the CESCR for the second time.
The concluding observations from CESCR include:
Civil society
- The Committee is concerned at information that some non-governmental organizations in the State party, working for the protection and promotion of human rights, in particular on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, have faced difficulty in registering.
- The Committee recommends that the State party guarantee an enabling environment for the non-governmental organizations engaged in the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights, including a functional and accommodating registration procedure.
Non-discrimination
The Committee is concerned that neither the Constitution nor the domestic legislation of the State Party explicitly prohibits some of the existing grounds of discrimination, such as gender identity and sexual orientation, which contributes to the persistence of discrimination on those grounds in access to employment, health care and education. It is also concerned by the lack of tailored legal protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons against attacks and harassment.
The Committee recommends that the State party:
- Adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that addresses direct and indirect discrimination and encompasses all the prohibited grounds of discrimination, including sexual orientation and gender identity, set out in article 2 (2) of the Covenant, taking also into account the Committee’s general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights;
- Take all the necessary steps to prevent and combat discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, and ensure their equal enjoyment of Covenant rights, as well as enact tailored legal protections of these persons against attacks and harassment.
- In accordance with the procedure on follow-up to concluding observations adopted by the Committee, the State party is requested to provide, within 24 months of the adoption of the present concluding observations, information on the implementation of the recommendations contained in paragraphs on non-discrimination (para. 11 a and b)…
A full set of documents 65th Session of CESR incl. concluding observations on Kazakhstan is available at the link:
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1308&Lang=en
The concluding observations on both countries also include strong recommendations on harm reduction issues. ECOM congratulates its partner EHRA on successful and highly valuable contribution to raise these issues at the 65th session of CESR.
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