E/C.12/ARG/3
United Nations / E/C.12/ARG/3/ Economic and Social Council / Distr.: General
26 January 2011
English
Original: Spanish
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
Argentina[*]
[6 May 2009]
Contents
Paragraphs Page
I. Introduction 1–4 4
II. Article 1 5 4
III. Article 2 6–11 4
IV. Article 3 12 6
V. Article 6 13–201 6
A. The employment situation 13–21 6
B. The distribution of jobs 22–26 8
C. Protecting the unemployed 27–56 8
D. Policies to promote employment and enhance employability 57–67 13
E. Evaluation of measures 68–120 15
F. Programmes for vulnerable groups 121–160 23
G. Measures adopted in relation to undeclared workers 161–201 28
VI. Article 7 202–257 37
A. Wages 202–220 37
B. Employment contracts: characteristics, new contractual arrangements
and other aspects 221–257 42
VII. Article 8 258–266 47
A. Union rights 258–261 47
B. Information on trade union law 262–266 47
VIII. Article 9 267–325 48
A. Social security expenditure 275 49
B. Financing and operation 276–325 51
IX. Article 10 326–482 64
A. Protection of the family 327–364 64
B. Protection for children and adolescents 365–382 71
C. Child labour 383–440 73
D. Street children 441–451 81
E. Activities to publicize children’s rights 452–482 82
X. Article 11 483–680 88
A. The current living standards of the population 483–486 88
B. Indigenous peoples 487–495 89
C. The right to adequate food 496–560 91
D. The right to housing 561–680 100
XI. Article 12 681–751 117
A. The right to health 681–686 117
B. Measures taken by the State 687 118
C. Programmes to guarantee the right to health 688–751 118
XII. Article 13 752–880 130
A. The right to education 752–755 130
B. The right to education for vulnerable groups 756–802 131
C. Statistical information 803 140
D. Programmes implemented by the Ministry of Education to guarantee the
right to education 804–880 143
XIII. Article 15 881–901 155
A. Measures to promote and protect the cultural identity of indigenous
populations in Argentina 881 155
B. Measures to safeguard the development of science and culture 882–901 155
I. Introduction
1. The Argentine development model during the 1990s was famously characterized by the pursuit of policies of deregulation and flexibility which produced severe consequences in terms of unemployment, vulnerability and rising inequality in income distribution. These measures led to an unprecedented political, social and economic crisis as whole swathes of the population became marginalized and excluded.
2. Following the political, social and economic crisis, the social situation tended to deteriorate over the course of 2002 as a result of rapidly rising prices. The proportion of people living in poverty rose to 57.5 per cent in October 2002, representing a total of 13,870,000 people in 3,198,000 households, which meant that 45.7 per cent of households were in a situation of indigence. During the first half of 2003, over half the population was considered poor (54 per cent), implying a figure of 11,074,000 people distributed among 2,524,000 households. At the same time, indigence (extreme poverty) affected 27.7 per cent of the total urban population covered by the Permanent Household Survey, meaning that 4,749,000 people in 1,044,000 households were below the indigence line.
3. Only after the fixed exchange-rate system was abandoned in 2002 did relative prices begin to shift in a way that enabled growth to be taken in a more inclusive direction, with new jobs drawing in excluded sectors of the population. Public policies implemented since 2003 have introduced a new conception of work, which is now treated not as a problem for the labour market but as a bridge between the economic and social spheres, as the basis of social cohesion, as a source of human dignity and as a constituent element in citizenship.[1]
4. Notwithstanding economic growth and the gradual improvement in the indices of poverty, indigence and unemployment in recent years, a large percentage of our country’s people still suffer from social exclusion and from situations in which economic, social and cultural rights are not fully operative. In this context, the struggle against poverty and exclusion is one of the main goals of the national State.
II. Article 1
5. In relation to the right to self-determination, we shall refer the reader, for the sake of brevity, to the latest report of Argentina to the Committee on Civil and Political Rights.
III. Article 2
6. With regard to action against discrimination, the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI) is responsible for leading national action to eradicate discriminatory practices in whatever form they may manifest themselves. To this end, its main objectives include federalizing its operations (by reviving and/or creating INADI offices throughout the country), improving the service received by people suffering from discrimination through the provision of a comprehensive advice and guidance system (via implementation of the 0 800 999 2345 toll-free telephone advice line, the www.inadi.gov.ar website, the INADI con vos television programme and legal advice provided by legal counsellors in Institute reception areas) and creating and enhancing civil society forums that coordinate procedures on different discrimination-related issues. Since2006, INADI has been developing an “open door” management style whereby civil society organizations and the different social movements are involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of public policies. Everyone collaborates to empower citizens and promote the cultural changes necessary to eradicate discrimination.
7. With the objective of strengthening civil society participation, different national forums are being created for organizations working against discrimination. Some of these forums are being organized by subject area: gender; children and adolescents; older adults; Afrodescendants; people with disabilities; sexual diversity; religious diversity; migrants and refugees; indigenous peoples; youth; people living with HIV and AIDS; other situations (people deprived of their liberty, ex-inmates, etc.). Others are transversal: poverty/exclusion; education; health; work; environment; communications media; sport). Similarly, campaigns are being designed to promote an appreciation of social and cultural pluralism, the integration of diversity and the elimination of all discriminatory, xenophobic and racist attitudes.
8. Pursuant to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (Durban, South Africa, 2001), the intention is for the recommendations of the National Plan against Discrimination, the text of which was approved by President Néstor Kirchner in Decree No. 1086/05, to become a cornerstone of the Institute’s work. Accordingly, among other measures, the national Congress was presented in 2006 with the legislative reform proposals suggested in the Plan. The aim of these proposals, entitled “Legislación para integrar la diversidad en equidad” (“Legislation to integrate diversity in equity”), is to put discrimination issues on the legislative agenda and seek commitments from members of both chambers to the effort to secure the passage of the initiatives described.
9. In general terms, the institutional goal of INADI is to raise the quality of institutions in the different areas of public life by setting priorities for the management agendas of government departments at the different levels (national, provincial and municipal) in relation to the situation of population groups whose rights have been infringed. To this end, INADI has been working to implement projects in coordination with ministries and other national, provincial and municipal institutions and with international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). At the local level, protecting victims of discrimination entails municipal action in the different areas that are most important for each community. INADI coordinates its local activities with its own local offices (2006: Chubut, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Misiones, Mendoza and Tucumán; 2007: Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Córdoba, Jujuy, Neuquén, San Luis, Santa Fe), the Cities Free of Discrimination Programme (in coordination with the Provinces and Municipalities Secretariat of the Ministry of the Interior), the Argentine Federation of Municipalities (FAM), the Common Market of Cities (MERCOCIUDADES) and the Coalition of Cities against Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia.
10. INADI is also sponsoring a public information campaign called “Digamos No a la Trata, No a la Esclavitud Moderna” (“Say No to Human Trafficking, No to Modern Slavery”), designed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and making available its 0800 999 2345 toll-free national telephone line, which operates around the clock. Calls on the subject of human trafficking are taken and referred to the competent bodies in each case.
11. Lastly, Act No. 26162, which was passed in November 2006, recognized the authority of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to receive and examine communications from people claiming that their rights have been violated by the State, as established in article 14 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and named INADI as the national body competent to receive and examine petitions from individuals or groups.
IV. Article 3
12. In relation to this article, we shall refer the reader, for the sake of brevity, to the latest reports of Argentina to the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
V. Article 6
A. The employment situation
13. The situation in the labour market underwent great changes between the period of the fixed exchange-rate regime (1991-2001) and the administration of President Kirchner (2003-2007). Average annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rose from 2.9 per cent to 8.6 per cent, while average annual employment growth rose from 1.3 per cent to 5.3 per cent. After rising by 1.6 per cent a year in the first period, unemployment fell by 1.4 per cent a year in the second. Likewise, (cumulative) registered employment growth was 27.7 per cent in the administration of Néstor Kirchner, whereas in the fixed exchange-rate period it was about 1.5 per cent.
14. The unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2007 was 9.8 per cent, the second consecutive time it had been in single digits after 13 years of double-digit rates. The main importance of this development is that it shows that one of the most serious problems in the Argentine labour market, its inability to create enough jobs to absorb the unemployed population, is on its way to being solved. This reduction in unemployment to a single-digit rate is the consequence of employment growth of a strength and consistency unparalleled in the past 30 years. The figures for the national urban total bear this out: 3.1 million jobs were created between the first quarter of 2003 and the first quarter of 2007.
15. The number of jobs created in the past year has also been much higher than the annual average for the 10 years during which the fixed exchange-rate regime lasted. An average of 77,000 jobs a year were created in the 1990s, just 10 per cent of the number generated between the first quarters of 2006 and 2007.
16. A striking feature of this period is the fall in unemployment that resulted from higher employment growth, driven essentially by the expansion of registered employment. The evolution of the labour market situation between the first quarters of 2006 and 2007 was characterized by strong employment growth in which the essential factors were the dynamism of registered employment and of employers, two essential components in the construction of a labour market capable of providing all workers and their families with decent living conditions while at the same time creating an environment in which the production system can develop successfully.
17. The number of employers grew by 20.1 per cent in 2007, and this growth generated some 109,000 new jobs. This increase has not only expanded overall employment in its own right, but has shown that the current period is one of expanding job opportunities driven in part by the emergence of new businesses.
18. The number of jobs generated and the consequences in terms of lower unemployment take on even greater significance when it is realized that most of those newly employed are working in high-quality jobs, which is a fundamental shift in the employment dynamic by the standards of recent history in the Argentine labour market. Of all the wage-paying jobs created over the past four years, about 85 per cent were registered. This contrasts with the situation during the fixed exchange-rate regime, when there was a net decline in registered jobs.
19. These contrasting developments in the two categories of wage employment mark the beginning of a phenomenon that stands in contrast to the recent history of the Argentine labour market and that has a vital role to play in reversing the relentless spread of substandard employment conditions over the past 20 years. This phenomenon is the sustained generation of registered employment, part of which has gone to replace unregistered work with jobs that comply with employment regulations and provide social protection.
20. How new this phenomenon is becomes apparent when the annual change in registered and unregistered employment between 2003 and 2007 and the average change in the 1990s are analysed. Thus, as long as the fixed exchange-rate regime was in force, employment growth came almost exclusively in the form of new unregistered jobs. Between 1991 and 2001, an average of 101,000 unregistered jobs were created even as 16,000 registered jobs were destroyed. Sustained over 10 years, this employment dynamic ultimately turned unregistered working into one of the most serious issues in the Argentine labour market.
Chart
Year-on-year change in registered and unregistered wage workers, urban total
(Thousands of people)
Source: Directorate-General of Labour Studies and Statistics (DGEyEL), Undersecretariat for Technical Planning and Labour Studies (SPTyEL), on the basis of the Permanent Household Survey (EPH) of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC).