Austria, Belgium and Norway present their parallel reports to UN Committee
Geneva, November 20, 2013 - In the frame of the 51st Session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) taking place in Geneva this month, diverse human rights organizations from Belgium, Austria and Norway present their parallel reports both on the territorial and extraterritorial dimensions.
The parallel reports, in which FIAN sections in each country played an essential role, complement the information submitted by the respective member states and give the CESCR the opportunity to have diverse information for its constructive dialogue with the national authorities.
On November 7, Belgium NGOs, including FIAN, reported the role of the State party on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), requesting it should be applied as part of the national legal order; informed the Committee on the discussions concerning the establishment of a National Human Rights Institution in accordance with the Paris Principles; and asked how rights conferred by the Covenant can be guaranteed to everyone residing in Belgium emphasizing in the situation of peasants. Main concerns on ETO’s included European Union (EU) agro-fuels regulations, specifically surpassing the negative human rights implications, and the lack of access to adequate food and nutrition by local communities undermined from agro-energy projects co-financed by Belgium. See the Belgium parallel report here.
Similarly, The Austrian WSK Platform presented its report submitted in September in the frame of an NGO and a lunch briefing with Committee’s members in preparation to the formal review, which is taking place today. The report states that economic, social and cultural rights are insufficiently protected by the law in this country, which disregards mechanisms for marginalized and disadvantaged people to defend their human rights violations. It also addresses the lack of transparency of democratic institutions and the lack of resources’ allocation into basic human rights services including education, health, professional care, and others. In terms of Austria’s ETOs, the statement emphasizes that the State must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the EU acts in accordance with the country’s international human rights obligations, specially the current EU policies on agro-fuels and agricultural export subsidies, both of which undermine the right to adequate food and nutrition in third countries. See Austria’s parallel report here.
Lastly, FIAN Norway is also participating in diverse NGO briefings to the Committee to advocate for the right to food and related ESCR. Civil society representatives demand justiciability of the Convenant rights, ratification of the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR, participation of civil society, and protection of human rights by establishing a National Institution, in accordance with the Paris Principles, that can combat human rights violations and guarantee social and cultural rights to all. FIAN Norway’s ETOs report focuses on the specific impacts of projects financed by the State and a private Norwegian fund, which have caused substantial negative impact in communities of Guatemala (Marlin Mine), Sierra Leone and Mozambique (Niassa). The report requests the Government to regulate funds investing in land abroad and adopt effective mechanisms that ensure protection of the right to food and adequate standard of living for the affected communities.