Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
List of issues in relation to the combined second and third periodic reports of Liechtenstein *
I.General information
1.Bearing in mind the direct applicability of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the State party’s legal order, please provide examples of when the provisions of the Covenant have been applied by, or invoked before, domestic courts.
2.In relation to paragraph 7 of the State party’s report (E/C.12/LIE/2-3), please provide information on progress made in establishing an independent national human rights institution with a broad mandate that includes economic, social and cultural rights, in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). Please indicate whether any of the existing human rights bodies are mandated to protect and promote economic, social and cultural rights.
3.Please provide information on whether the State party intends to become a member of the International Labour Organization and ratify its core conventions. If so, please specify the time frame.
II.Issues relating to general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1-5)
Maximum available resources (art. 2 (1))
4.Please explain why the State party has not contributed to official development assistance (ODA) since 2014 and indicate when the State party plans to reach the international agreed target of contributing 0.7 per cent of its gross national income to ODA.
5.Please provide information on efforts made by the State party to address and prevent tax abuse, including tax evasion. Please also provide information on the State party’s commitments to allow the exchange of information for the purposes of avoiding tax abuse, either automatically or on demand.
Non-discrimination (art. 2 (2))
6.Please provide information on any plans to adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation.
7.Please provide information on measures taken, within and outside the school system, to promote ethnic and religious tolerance and to fight xenophobia, especially against Muslims. Please provide information on the implementation and impact of the National Action Plan against Racism.
Equal rights of men and women (art. 3)
8.Please provide information on the human and financial resources allocated to the Equal Opportunities Office since 2013. Please specify the percentage of those resources that have been allocated to promote gender equality.
III.Issues relating to the specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6-15)
Right to work (art. 6)
9.Please provide statistical data on employment rates covering the years 2015-2016 disaggregated by full or part-time employment, sex, age, disability and ethnic origin.
10.Please provide information on measures taken to combat discrimination in accessing employment, such as that faced by women wearing headscarves, among others. Please provide examples of remedies given to such persons, including, notably, women who face discrimination in access to employment owing to their Muslim faith.
Right to just and favourable conditions of work (art. 7)
11.Please provide information on the number and percentage of workers not covered by collective agreements who do not enjoy the negotiated minimum wage and on the measures taken to ensure that all workers are entitled to a minimum wage that guarantees an adequate standard of living for them and their families.
12.Please provide statistical data on the gender wage gap since 2013 and information on measures taken to reduce the gender wage gap and the results achieved.
13.Please provide statistical data on the average wage covering the years 2013-2016, disaggregated by the age, sex, work sector and ethnic origin of the workers.
Right to social security (art. 9)
14.Please indicate whether the State party intends to review article 49 of the Law on Foreigners to make sure that non-nationals can apply for the social benefits they need to enjoy the right to social security.
Protection of the family and children (art. 10)
15.Please provide information on any plans the State party has to introduce the necessary legislative changes to the Law on Foreigners, with a view to removing the penalties imposed on non-nationals for not meeting the requirements of the integration agreement and to avoiding the risk of family separation.
Right to an adequate standard of living (art. 11)
16.Further to the Committee’s previous recommendation (see E/C.12/LIE/CO/1, para. 34), please provide statistical data on the situation of non-citizens in the area of housing, indicating any barriers faced by them in renting accommodation and the measures taken in that regard, as well as the results achieved.
Right to physical and mental health (art. 12)
17.Please provide updated data on tobacco, drug and alcohol consumption in the State party since 2012, disaggregated by sex and age.
Right to education (arts. 13 and 14)
18.Please provide information on the impact of measures taken to improve the school achievements of migrant children. Please also provide statistical data, disaggregated by sex and ethnic origin, covering the years 2012-2016 on the distribution of children in the different tracks of secondary school.
Cultural rights (art. 15)
19.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure that Muslims are able to practise their religion and enjoy their right to promote and participate in cultural activities.