Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

List of issues in connection with the consideration of the fifth periodic report of Denmark (E/C.12/DNK/5), adopted by the pre-sessional working group for the fiftieth session of the Committee (3-7 December 2012)

I.General information

Please clarify the ways in which citizens can invoke the rights contained in the Covenant, now that the State party has chosen not to incorporate the provisions of the Covenant into domestic legislation.

Please provide an update on the way the rights contained in the Covenant are applied by courts and other judicial and administrative bodies in the State party.

Please specify the replies to questions 1 and 2 with respect to Greenland and the Faroe Islands, if relevant.

II.Issues relating to the general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1-5)

Article 2, paragraph 1 – International cooperation

Please provide information on the extent to which the State party’s international development cooperation contributes to implementing the human rights approach to development, in particular with respect to economic, social and cultural rights.

Article 2, paragraph 2 - Non-discrimination

Please indicate whether the State party intends to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, in accordance with article 2, paragraph 2, of the Covenant.

Article 3 - Equal rights of men and women

Please provide information on steps taken to address discrimination against women, especially those from minority groups, with regard to the enjoyment of their right to education, employment and health care.

Please provide information on steps taken to address the persistent wage gap between women and men, in particular in the Faroe Islands. Please also provide information on measures taken to increase the number of women in high-ranking posts, especially in academia and the private sector.

III.Issues relating to the specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6-15)

Article 6 - The right to work

Please provide information on steps taken, and impact measured, to address the higher rates of unemployment among immigrants and their adult descendants from developing countries.

Please provide information on the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on employment opportunities, especially youth, and on the enjoyment of the labour rights contained in the Covenant.

Article 7 - The right to just and favourable conditions of work

Please indicate whether the State party intends to introduce a national minimum wage, with the view to providing a decent standard of living for workers and members of their family.

Please provide information on measures taken to improve working conditions of migrant workers and women from ethnic minorities.

Article 8 - Trade union rights

Please provide information on the categories of civil servants, throughout the territory of the State party, who are not allowed to strike.

Article 9 - The right to social security

Please provide information on steps taken to monitor the impact of the 450-hours rule on the reduction or withdrawal of supplementary benefits for families in need, in the context of the enjoyment of the Covenant rights.

Article 10 - Protection of the family, mothers and children

Please provide information on measures taken to address trafficking in children for purposes of forced labour and prostitution to the State party, either as a destination or as a transit country. Please provide information on measures taken for the rehabilitation of victims of trafficking. Please also indicate which steps are taken to ensure that perpetrators of such crimes are effectively prosecuted and sanctioned.

Please provide information on steps taken by the State party to ensure that corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings in Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Please provide information on the number of children as of 2012 who are placed in care outside of their home, particularly in institutional care, as well as the measures adopted to ensure that children, in particular children with disabilities, have adequate care. Please provide information on steps taken to ensure that family-type care rather than institutional care is offered for children deprived of a family environment.

Article 11 - The right to an adequate standard of living

Please indicate whether the State party intends to introduce a national poverty line. Please provide information on measures taken to provide targeted support to families living in poverty, including single parent families, families living on State welfare as well as immigrant families.

Please provide updated information on the implementation of the right to adequate housing, especially with respect to migrant workers and other disadvantaged and marginalized groups, including the Roma people. To what extent have social housing projects (including in the Faroe Islands) proven to be effective? Please provide information whether the homeless strategy has resulted in an actual decrease of homelessness in the State party, particularly among the immigrant population.

Please provide information on whether the financial and economic crisis has an impact on the number of forced evictions, especially on the disadvantaged and marginalized groups in the State party.

Article 12 - The right to physical and mental health

Please provide information on measures taken aimed at the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, in particular for adolescent girls and young women.

Please provide information on steps taken to ensure that undocumented migrants have access to basic public health care.

Please provide information on measures taken by the State party to address the growing rate of child obesity and other unhealthy lifestyles.

Articles 13 and 14 - The right to education

Please provide information on measures taken to facilitate access to education by children of immigrants, and Roma children.

Please provide information on steps taken to ensure an inclusive education for children with disabilities.

Please provide information on steps taken to ensure that asylum-seeking and refugee children receive quality education, and are not educated in separate schools.

Article 15 - Cultural rights

Please provide information on steps taken to recognize the Thule Tribe of Greenland (the Inughuit) as a distinct indigenous community capable of vindicating its traditional rights, including maintaining its identity and using its own language.

Please provide information on measures taken to guarantee access to and exercise of cultural rights of persons belonging to vulnerable groups or communities, such as minorities and migrants. Please also provide information on steps taken to promote their participation in cultural life, in an environment of tolerance and respect for cultural diversity.