GE.13-18612 (E) 161213 191213
Human Rights Council
Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Eighteenth session
27 January–7 February 2014
National report submitted in accordance with paragraph 5 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 16/21*
Uruguay
* The present document has been reproduced as received. Its content does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations.
General Assembly Distr.: General 12 November 2013 English
Original: Spanish
I. Methodology and consultation process
1. This report was prepared in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 16/21, was coordinated by the Directorate of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and involved the participation of all the relevant State bodies.
2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized information activities for civil society, at which the process of drafting the national report was presented in detail, and civil society was requested to make contributions and encouraged to submit recommendations reflecting its interests and opinions. The first information day involved the participation of representatives of the Regional Office of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
3. Subsequently, during the preparation of the report, the State held meetings with civil society and received many comments that were duly taken into account by the drafters.
4. In the process, it was noted with satisfaction that most of the recommendations made by the National Commission for the Defence of Water and Life were consistent with the lines of action already being implemented.
5. Part 3 of this report includes a chapter on Voluntary Pledges and Commitments, in accordance with the guidelines adopted for the second cycle of the universal periodic review.
6. Uruguay reiterates its commitment to the universal periodic review, having accepted all the recommendations made during its first review and submitted its midterm report in September 2012.
II. Progress in implementing the recommendations
A. Signature, accession, ratification (recommendations 1, 2, 3 and 4)
7. Accession to the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (Act No. 17,724 of 3 May 2004).
8. Ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Act No. 19,029 of 12 December 2012).
9. The Government has initiated inter-institutional consultations to consider ratification of ILO Convention No. 169.
B. National Human Rights Institution (recommendations 8 and 9)
10. The National Human Rights Institution was established by Act No. 18,446 (of 24 December 2008, as revised by Act No. 18,806 of 14 September 2011). Its five members were appointed in May 2012. Its accreditation to the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions is under way, and OHCHR and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supported the whole process leading to the establishment of the National Human Rights Institution.
11. The Act establishing the National Human Rights Institution gives it budgetary autonomy within the legislature, and the legislature provides technical resources. The budget for the current period was approved.
C. Reports to the treaty bodies (recommendations 10, 11, 20 and 21)
12. Uruguay is now up to date with the various international human rights treaty- monitoring bodies. Following the first universal periodic review in 2009, Uruguay submitted its national reports on economic, social and cultural rights (2010), racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other related forms of intolerance (2011), enforced disappearances (2013) and civil and political rights (2013), and has maintained a dialogue with the respective committees.
13. National reports were also submitted on the rights of persons with disabilities; the rights of migrant workers and their families; torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; children’s rights and the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and Uruguay is now waiting to hear the dates of the dialogue with the respective committees.
14. Furthermore, the Inter-Institutional Commission for the Preparation of Reports to the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism and the Treaty Bodies was established by Presidential Resolution of 25 October 2011, to follow up on the recommendations. The Commission operates within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and involves other ministries, the legislative and judicial authorities, and also civil society organizations, academia and the United Nations system.
15. Depending on the subjects of the reports and as provided by the Presidential Resolution, regular meetings have been held with NGOS working in each Committee’s field.
16. Since the National Human Rights Institution and Ombudsman’s Office became operational, effective communication has been established with it and it has been involved in the reporting process as an observer, with due regard for its independence and its right to submit alternative reports.
D. Children’s rights, sexual exploitation of children and adolescents and the juvenile criminal justice system (recommendations 14, 15, 16, 18, 44, 45, 46, 47, 67, 68, 69 and 70)
17. In 2008, the National Council for the Coordination of Social Policies defined the national goals and strategic guidelines on public policies for children and adolescents for the period 2010–2030. The outcome of these discussions was the National Strategy for Children and Adolescents 2010–2030, which gathered the views of more than 5,000 children and adolescents. Moreover, there is now an “Action Plan on the National Strategy for Children and Adolescents 2010–2015”, which covers the main challenges identified and proposals to be developed, with benchmarks, goals to be achieved and action to be taken by each service for children and adolescents.
18. In May 2013, under the agreement between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Child and Adolescent Institute of Uruguay and the National Council for the Coordination of Social Policies, an extensive campaign entitled “No Excuses” was conducted in the media and on the streets, to expose the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents and to place the issue on the public agenda.
19. With regard to child trafficking and smuggling, in 2011, the Child and Adolescent Institute of Uruguay started to implement the National Plan of Action to Eradicate the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, placing special emphasis on prevention, protection, support, restitution, participation, training and dissemination, and on monitoring
and evaluation of the situation. The Plan was devised and promoted by the National Committee to Eradicate Commercial and Non-Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents.
20. Between 2009 and 2012, there were 23 prosecutions for child and adolescent sexual exploitation, brought mainly in criminal courts by the Office of the Public Defender Service for Criminal Matters specializing in organized crime.
21. In 2009, the regulations to Act No. 18,250 of 2008 (which defines the offences of trafficking and smuggling of persons) were adopted, establishing special aggravating circumstances when the victim is a child, adolescent or person with disabilities. Two courts with national jurisdiction over cases of organized crime were established, as well as two public defenders (Act No. 18,362 of 2008) and two special prosecutors’ offices (Act No.
18,390 of 2008) responsible for prosecuting human trafficking offences.
22. The number of street children and adolescents in Uruguay has decreased in recent years. In 2003, the NGO Gurises Unidos (Kids United) conducted a census to identify the number of street children, and found that there were 3,100 in Montevideo and its metropolitan area. In order to improve the living conditions of street children and adolescents and ensure that their rights are respected, the Comprehensive Programme of Support for Street Children was established and is implemented jointly by the Child and Adolescent Institute of Uruguay and the Ministry of Social Development.
23. In 2007, two years into the Programme, the Child and Adolescent Institute conducted a new census, which found a total of 1,887 street children and adolescents, namely, 40 per cent less than in 2003. There were 111 street children living in extreme situations. The programme Network for Extreme Street Situations was established in response to that.
24. The number of street children continues to decrease. In order to verify this trend, a new census is being planned.
25. In July 2011, the institutional framework to deal with adolescents in conflict with the law was strengthened through the creation of the System of Adolescent Criminal Liability. Since then, the use of custodial measures has changed with greater emphasis being placed on a socio-educational approach to the criminal liability of adolescents in conflict with the law. This has involved implementing initiatives to help adolescents to remain in their family and community environment or, if appropriate, to use deprivation of liberty in correctional facilities and a gradual increase in freedom of movement. In both cases, custodial and non-custodial, initiatives are under way to settle adolescents into a compulsory, personalized educational routine.
26. The provision of alternatives to deprivation of liberty for adolescents has been successfully extended to the national level through 25 projects in 17 departments.
27. Community mediation experiments have been carried out by the regional offices of the Child and Adolescent Institute of Uruguay with a view to applying alternative conflict- resolution methods among young persons, thereby avoiding prosecution, and particularly regarding clashes between rival sports fans.
28. The new structure (System of Adolescent Criminal Liability), which is responsible to a committee of the Board of the Child and Adolescent Institute, seeks to increase levels of expertise with a high level of technical autonomy through the development of five programmes: (a) admission, study and referral, (b) community-based socio-educational measures, (c) remedial measures, (d) deprivation of liberty and partial release, and (e) social and community integration and support upon release.
29. In 2011, the Institute allocated considerable resources to infrastructure projects and for the period 2012–2014 it invested in human resources specializing in each of the five programmes.
30. In Uruguay, there are approximately 67,000 children and adolescents involved in child labour – defined as work carried out by persons aged under 15 or hazardous work carried out by adolescents aged between 15 and 17. The purpose of the National Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of Working Adolescents is to provide advice on, coordinate and propose policies and programmes to eliminate child labour.
31. The National Committee is drawing up a Plan of Action to Eradicate Child Labour in Waste Collection and Sorting, to be implemented in Montevideo and Canelones.
Furthermore, the preparation of the Plan of Action to Protect Adolescent Workers began in 2012.
32. Labour inspections conducted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security have been extended to the whole national territory giving due weight to certain risk categories or activities, particularly during harvest time. This reflects the increase in seasonal labour in the departments of Colonia, Canelones, Maldonado and Rocha. In addition, reports of accidents involving persons under 18 years of age have been received from the State Insurance Bank.
33. In 2012, a total of 3,931 work permits (1,971 in the interior of the country and 1,960 in the capital) were granted.
34. Awareness-raising activities on “Protected child and adolescent labour” were conducted in public schools and agricultural schools of the Vocational Technical Education Council in Montevideo, Artigas, Colonia, Flores and Río Negro.
35. At the level of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), a joint initiative entitled “MERCOSUR united against child labour” is being undertaken, involving regional and bilateral activities, particularly in border areas.
36. In 1990, Uruguay ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 2004, it adopted the Code on Children and Adolescents. It also ratified the ILO Minimum Age Convention (No. 138) and the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182).
37. Uruguay is significantly strengthening its comprehensive social policies on children and adolescents. In particular, it is making progress in implementing key initiatives to address the increased vulnerability of child workers, street children and victims of child abuse. Since the development of the National Strategy for Children and Adolescents 2010–
2030 and the introduction of the social reform by the national Government, with the participation of social actors, and involving various policies and special initiatives targeting that group, unprecedented efforts have been made to ensure the full enjoyment of the rights of all children and adolescents.
38. Under the Equity Plan, Act No. 18,227 of 22 December 2007, a family allowance system was established, benefiting some 600,000 children. It has had a significant impact on low-income households and reduced both poverty and extreme poverty. A family capacity-building strategy (“Cercanías”) has also been established to provide assistance to families in extremely vulnerable situations. It is an inter-institutional strategy implemented jointly by the Ministry of Social Development and the Child and Adolescent Institute of Uruguay, with the participation of the health, education and housing authorities and civil society, and which involves outreach activities by field teams and promotes families’ access to services and benefits.
39. The Comprehensive Child and Family Support Centre Plan has made practical provision for children aged between 0 and 3 years, through various methods including early learning, preschool education, nutrition and family support. Other efforts have been made in the public sector, such as the daytime childcare centres of the Child and Adolescent Institute, the centres of the “Nuestros Niños” (Our Children) programme of the Departmental Government of Montevideo and education for 3-year-olds in kindergartens of the National Public Education Administration. Together these services have attained a high level of provision, as a result of the efforts made under the Equity Plan to improve the coverage and quality of early childhood care.
40. Important steps have been taken in the education system to establish compulsory preschool education for 4- to 5-year-olds. Programmes have also been put in place in primary education to meet needs in the various contexts in which the education system operates, including increasing the number of schools offering an extended schoolday or a full schoolday, of which there are now 31. In secondary education, various programmes are in place to encourage adolescents to remain in school.
41. The National Committee to Eradicate Commercial and Non-Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents has facilitated human resources training and awareness-raising activities for specialists and the community at large. The Child and Adolescent Institute of Uruguay promoted the creation of a Programme for the Support of Child and Adolescent Victims of Trafficking or Commercial Sexual Exploitation. The Integrated System for Protection of Children and Adolescents from Violence has broadened its scope, by developing training and awareness-raising activities on, and assistance in, situations of violence affecting children and adolescents, and has incorporated a generational perspective into the proposals developed by the National Council to Combat Domestic Violence, thereby aiding progress within a gender and generational framework.
42. A new form of care has been developed that helps prevent the institutionalization of children and adolescents. Under the Adoption Act, the concepts of “caring family” and
“host centre” were created as alternatives supplementing the system of “carers”, which promotes life in a family environment and shorter placement periods for children aged under 7.
E. Discrimination (recommendations 22, 23, 24 and 36)
43. Between 2010 and 2011, the analysis phase for a National Plan against Racism and Discrimination was carried out. The country is now preparing for public consultations on a draft plan of action.
44. In 2010, a Cross-Cutting Themes Department was established in the Ministry of Social Development to incorporate a human rights perspective into social policies, focusing on equality and non-discrimination.
45. In 2012, issue of the “Social Uruguay” card to the trans (transgender, transvestite and transsexual) population was approved, in recognition of their status as a particularly socially vulnerable group. In order to obtain the card, a person is only required to have been living as trans for two years. In nine months, some 600 cards have been issued throughout the national territory, and the total population is estimated at 1,200.
46. Moreover, the implementation of Act No. 18,620 on changing registered name and sex was promoted. This enables a person, on request, to change the name on their identity card — and thus in all public registers — which is a step forward in the recognition of the right to identity. More than 200 persons have changed their registered name and sex. The sexual/gender identity dimension was also incorporated into the administrative records of
the Ministry of Social Development through the addition of the categories “trans man” and
“trans woman”.
47. The Ministry of Social Development promoted the creation of forums for dialogue and debate with representatives of particularly vulnerable groups, in order to develop common social policy reform agendas. These forums embrace social organizations for sexual diversity, migrant groups, the community of African descent and, from this year, persons living with HIV, as part of the National Dialogue on HIV and Human Rights supported by UNAIDS.
48. On 10 April 2013, the Equal Marriage Act was adopted, amending the Civil Code to define marriage as the permanent union of two persons, regardless of their sex or gender identity. The minimum age for marriage for both sexes is 16 and couples are allowed to choose, by mutual agreement, the order of their children’s surnames, and divorce may be granted at the request of either spouse.
49. The Ministry of the Interior is working on a protocol giving gender-sensitive, discrimination-free guidelines for the formation of selection panels in Ministry recruitment competitions.
50. The Act on Reparation for Discrimination for the Population of African Descent was adopted. It provides, among other things, that 8 per cent of State vacancies are to be filled by persons of African descent and sets training quotas at the National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training and in all student support and grant systems at the national and departmental levels. Furthermore, it reaffirms that the slave trade and trafficking are crimes against humanity, in accordance with international law, and declares that the development, promotion and implementation of public and private affirmative action measures specifically for persons of African descent are in the public interest.
F. Women’s rights and domestic violence (recommendations 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, 50, 72, 73, 74 and 75)
51. The General Labour Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has jurisdiction to monitor equal treatment of men and women in employment, and punish contraventions, and to ensure compliance with labour regulations.
52. The Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security worked together in drafting Act No. 18,868, which prohibits requiring a person to produce a non-pregnancy certificate at any point in the employment relationship, both in the public and private sectors. Since the entry into force of Act No. 18,561 on sexual harassment, all complaints received are investigated and dealt with by the General Labour Inspectorate.
53. Pursuant to Act No. 18,065 on domestic work, which confers equal rights with other paid workers, the working conditions of women domestic workers have improved. More than 9,000 ex officio inspections were carried out in 2011, along with dissemination and awareness-raising of the new regulations, and their sector was incorporated into tripartite collective bargaining arrangements.
54. Women represent 61 per cent of the beneficiaries of Act No. 18,874 on the single social tax of the Ministry of Social Development, an instrument of formalization created by the Working Group on Labour Formalization and Inclusion, coordinated by the General Labour Inspectorate. Gender-specific clauses have been included in tripartite wage board negotiations. A survey was prepared of gender clauses in the various collective agreements resulting from wage board negotiations, and is now being conducted by the Labour Market Observatory of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
55. The Quality with Equity model continues to be implemented. This operates as a certifiable standard which recognizes organizations that promote equity and incorporate it into human resources management in order to gradually eliminate gender gaps, discrimination and inequalities.
56. With regard to the participation of women in decision-making and public policy development, Act No. 18,476, which declares “the equitable participation of persons of both sexes in the legislative branch, municipal government, departmental councils, elected autonomous local boards and Electoral Boards, and as officials in political parties” to be in the public interest, was adopted in 2009. As a pilot project, the requirement to include persons of both sexes in each list of candidates will apply only to the next national and departmental elections (2014–2015). In the 2009 legislative elections, 14.6 per cent of seats were won by women, a relative improvement even though the figure is low for the country.
57. The National Gender Council is drafting a preliminary bill to amend Act No. 18,104 of 2007: “Promoting equal rights and opportunities for men and women in the Eastern Republic of Uruguay”, which incorporates the observations on Uruguay made by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
58. With respect to equality and the full exercise of sexual and reproductive rights, Act No. 18,426, which establishes the obligation of the State to guarantee the enjoyment of these rights and to provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, was adopted in 2013. Act No. 18,987 decriminalizes induced abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
59. The General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and for INTERPOL was established within the Ministry of the Interior to combat organized crime and related offences, including sexual exploitation and trafficking and smuggling of persons. The Directorate subsumes the Uruguay Office of INTERPOL.
60. Regarding support for victims of domestic violence, in 2012, the Security Cabinet presented the document “Strategy for life and living together. Steps to free the country from domestic violence”, prepared by the National Consultative Council on Domestic Violence.
61. As part of the effort to strengthen the police response to domestic violence, the third edition of the Guide to Police Procedure was finalized in July 2011, setting out the steps that must be taken by the police in a case of domestic violence: police attitude; police action; risk assessment; special circumstances surrounding domestic violence complaints;
communication and coordination with the relevant judicial bodies; preventive action; and monitoring and follow-up of the precautionary measures; and also dealing with Special Domestic Violence Units, awareness-raising and training of police personnel by the different Police Training Centres, and the recording of information. There are currently 33 Special Domestic Violence Units, staffed by 380 officials.
62. In the Officer Training School of the National Police Academy, a module on domestic violence was introduced in the third year of the cadet training course, involving 27 contact hours, lectures, workshops and activities attended by 120 cadets, 97 of them men and 23 of them women. All Junior Staff Training Schools in the country provide a module on domestic violence based on the Guide to Police Procedure.
63. Since mid-2012, the Public Security and Management System has been operational at the national level, and includes a special module on domestic violence, which makes it possible to link offences of bodily harm, threats, intimidation, suicide and homicide to domestic violence, thereby improving the registration and receiving of related complaints.
It also provides a management tool to help police look into aspects such as type and frequency of violence, risk factors, and the victim’s family and social network.
64. Act No. 18,850 establishes reparation for victims of violence and a non-contributory pension and a special family allowance for the children of victims of domestic violence.
The beneficiaries must meet some requirements related to age, marital status and availability of adequate resources of their own. The Social Insurance Bank is responsible for administering these benefits.
65. To facilitate access to justice for victims, while preventing stigmatization or revictimization, four special domestic violence courts were established (Act No. 17,514) in the department of Montevideo and provision was made for duty courts for emergency situations throughout the country, thereby strengthening the justice system.
66. Furthermore, under Act No. 17,514 and Act No. 17,726, technologies to track movements and location — ankle tags — are now in use to monitor and check perpetrators’
compliance with protection measures ordered by the court.
67. The National Institute for Women has established public services for women victims of gender-based domestic violence, providing psychological and social support and legal assistance, and representation at trial. There are now 16 offices for women victims of gender-based domestic violence. In 2012, a short-stay shelter was established, providing accommodation, protection and guidance for single women or women with children who are victims of domestic violence and whose lives are at risk.
68. Housing solutions have also been devised for emergency and temporary situations.
In January 2009, an agreement was concluded between the Ministry of Housing, Land Management and the Environment and the Ministry of Social Development to implement the nationwide project “Temporary housing alternatives for women emerging from situations of domestic violence”. Moreover, forums were established to provide local and departmental governments with advice and guidance on housing solutions for women victims of domestic violence.
69. The project “Uruguay, united in putting an end to violence against women, children and adolescents” for the period 2012–2014, was submitted to the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women. Within the United Nations system, UN-Women is the agency leading the project, in cooperation with national institutions. The project is designed to prevent, punish and eliminate gender-based violence and is intended as a contribution to the implementation of the National Strategy.
70. Since 2009, proposals have been submitted to amend the provisions of the Civil Code relating to the marriage of widows and divorced women, but none has been successful thus far.
71. Act 17,938 repeals the extinction of an offence of rape, indecent assault, statutory rape or abduction where the perpetrator marries the victim.
72. Both Chambers of the National Parliament are still considering various bills that cover the points contained in the recommendations received (essentially the bills on the Civil Code, the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure).
G. Prison system and criminal reform (recommendations 39, 40, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61 and 63)
73. The national preventive mechanism against torture is part of the National Human Rights Institution. Pursuant to the Act establishing the Institution, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it will carry out the functions of national preventive mechanism laid down in the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. This Act also requires the National Human Rights Institution to coordinate its functions with other
institutions of a similar nature, e.g., the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Prison System, the community ombudsmen, the Consultative Council on Children’s Rights and the Inspectorate for Psychopaths.
74. Until the National Human Rights Institution exercises its operational independence to establish a special mechanism, the obligation undertaken by ratifying the Optional Protocol is set out in article 83, to be read in conjunction with article 10.
75. The National Human Rights Institution is finalizing its internal mechanisms and considering the establishment of new rapporteurs, advisory services and similar instruments. It has started its work on reception of complaints and investigation, including ex officio investigations, of cases.
76. The first Frente Amplio Government ended decades of neglect and absence of intervention in the prison system. Its starting point was the inaugural address by Dr. Tabaré Vázquez on 1 March 2005, in which he said, “in the light of the serious situation in prisons and the lack of support for victims of an offence, we proclaim, from today, a state of humanitarian emergency across the country”.
77. The Act to Humanize and Modernize the Prison System (Act No. 17,897) clearly marks the beginning of a change for a prison system that has broken down.
78. Similarly, under the second Frente Amplio Government, President José Mujica pledged his commitment to finding comprehensive and permanent solutions for the prison system. The Prison System Emergency Act (No. 18,667), which emerged from the Consensus Document on Public Security, strengthens the strategies outlined with regard to tertiary crime prevention.
79. One of the important elements of the reform is the fight against corruption, which has given rise to prevention, investigation and prosecution mechanisms. The prison system now has strengthened institutions, which guarantee respect for the human rights and dignity of persons deprived of liberty. Any situation that may adversely affect a prisoner can now be addressed through the following channels: (a) the Subdirectorate of the Metropolitan Area, (b) the National Subdirectorate for Security, (c) the technical services (psychologists, social workers, lawyers) of the National Institute of Criminology, (d) the technical subdivision of each Internment Unit responsible for devising a comprehensive treatment plan, (e) the technical personnel of the National Foundation for the Welfare of Prisoners and ex-Prisoners, who can act, at the pre-release stage, (f) the Intersectoral Panel on Women Deprived of Liberty, (g) the Medical Service of the Programme for Assistance to Persons Deprived of Liberty of the Ministry of Public Health, (f) the Prison Medical Service, (h) the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Prison System, (i) civil society institutions (Peace and Justice Service, Uruguayan Institute for Legal and Social Studies), (j) public defenders and private defence counsels, with unlimited access to the system and contact with their clients, (k) the Internal Investigation Division of the Prison System.
H. Combating poverty and social inclusion (recommendations 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 and 82)
80. Sustained economic growth since 2005 and social policies have reduced poverty and extreme poverty to historically low levels. In 2012, the percentage of persons living below the poverty line throughout the country was 12.4 per cent, 10 percentage points below the value recorded in 2008. The impact of poverty measured in households shows a very similar pattern: 8.4 per cent of households were poor in 2012, compared to 16.9 per cent in 2008.
81. Montevideo has the highest proportion of poor people (16.7 per cent), although this has been halved compared to 2008. The most significant decline is observed in rural areas and small communities, with proportions of poor people in 2012 of 2.9 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively.
82. Poverty continues to be higher among women and children.
83. Extreme poverty decreased to very low levels, falling below single digits (0.5 per cent) in 2012. Although children continue to be the age group most affected by extreme poverty, its impact has steadily decreased during the period under review.
84. The proportion of children under the age of 6 living in households below the poverty line decreased from 40 per cent in 2008 to 24.5 per cent in 2012. A similar trend was observed for children aged 6 to 13: in 2008, 39 per cent were poor and in 2012, this figure dropped to 23.3 per cent. Public resources allocated to children and adolescents have increased in the past five years. Public expenditure on children as a percentage of GDP rose from 4.3 per cent to 5.5 per cent, which shows that greater macroeconomic priority is effectively being placed on children.
85. During the implementation of the National Strategy for Children and Adolescents 2010–2030 and based on the results of an ongoing evaluation, the decision was made to strengthen programmes and activities for families with pregnant women, and children aged under 4, taking into consideration that early childhood is a key period in the individuals’
future development.
86. Poverty among women is closely linked to the uneven distribution of time spent on paid and unpaid work. The fact that they devote more time to unpaid work prevents their integration into the labour market on an equal footing. In the under-50 age group, rates of poverty among women are higher than among men, particularly for 18- to 49-year-olds, i.e.
people of working and reproductive age (18- to 24-year-olds – men: 11.4 per cent, women:
14.1 per cent; 30- to 40-year-olds – men: 10.7 per cent, women: 13.2 per cent).
Nevertheless, in recent years, the gap has been narrowing for reasons associated with the increased economic participation of women in the labour market.
87. In order to encourage women’s participation in the labour market, work has been going on since 2010 to establish the National Care System. A national debate has been held in this regard, involving more than 3,000 persons and 1,300 civil society organizations.
This process resulted in a general document on the care system.
88. Work has also been going on to establish the National Training System for Carers in the National Care System.
89. With regard to persons with disabilities, a Plan of Access to Justice and Legal Protection for Persons with Disabilities is being coordinated, which involves inter- institutional work with other State actors concerned. There is also an awareness-raising programme, Commitment to Accessibility, that promotes initiatives to improve conditions for social participation by persons with disabilities, run by the authorities of Montevideo, Canelones and Maldonado, and the National Disability Programme, which the National Institute for Older Persons joined in 2003.
90. An analysis of poverty by ethnic background reveals differences. Although there has been a significant reduction in the percentage of poor people who declare themselves to be of African descent, from 43.1 per cent in 2008 to 27.2 per cent in 2012, the percentage of people of African descent living in poverty is twice as high as among the rest of the population.
91. Poverty indicators such as the poverty gap and poverty severity demonstrate that there has been a steady decrease in the distance separating poor households from the poverty line and in the differences in income between households.
92. The concentration of income shows a reverse trend, with an improved Gini coefficient and better income distribution. In 2012, the average income in the tenth decile was 12 times higher than in the first decile, 7 times less than in 2004.
93. The improved distribution of income and the reduction in poverty and extreme poverty are largely facilitated by the expansion of social benefits. Efforts are being made to better focus on the target population, by increasing the number of staff who carry out visits and applying modern methods to the georeferencing of households. The Integrated Social Sector System, which consists of a shared database of social policy beneficiaries for all State agencies, is now being implemented. This will improve referral management with each programme putting its beneficiaries or applicants in touch with other programmes that might be suitable for them.
I. Education (recommendations 14, 16, 84, 85, 86 and 87)
94. National policy in the area of education is based on the premise that education is a basic human right. It is considered that education must be provided from a very early age in order to ensure that the highest-quality results are achieved in building a fairer society and more responsible citizenry. Emphasis is placed on the importance of quality education for the younger members of the population as a means of reducing school dropout rates and school failure.
95. The General Education Act (Act No. 18,437), which establishes the importance of quality education for all as a lifelong right, was adopted in 2008. It is essential to continue to take steps to address not only the most obvious problems, but also the needs of all sectors and age groups, with an emphasis on the integration of those who have been alienated from the education system.
96. The National Public Education System, established on the basis of this Act, is working to implement programmes and plans for the various formal and non-formal education subsystems.
97. The National Commission for Human Rights Education, composed of representatives from the Ministry of Education and Culture, the University of the Republic, and the National Public Education Administration, has operated regularly since 2009. One of its main objectives is to draw up a National Human Rights Education Plan. The starting point will be a discussion on human rights education, following which, with drafting to be undertaken by educational institutions, a document will be agreed for approval by the Coordinating Committee for the National Public Education System.
98. Budgetary investment in education has significantly increased, rising from 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2004 to 4.6 per cent in 2012. However, between 2004 and 2011, the increase in public expenditure on education based on constant 2006 pesos was 103 per cent, owing to the increase in GDP during that period, which had the effect of multiplying that increase in relation to the percentage of GDP, which was 40.6 per cent.
99. The national strategy to counter the lack of continuity in education and the large numbers falling behind, particularly among vulnerable children, is based on the understanding that the causes of discontinuity or interruption of education cannot be attributed solely to the child’s sociocultural environment. Various other factors, such as a school’s educational provision and the way it meets children’s educational needs, also have an impact. The school should adopt an approach that incorporates the various interventions
carried out, thereby strengthening its educational provision. This is based on the concept of education as a basic human right, which means that it needs to keep pace with the times and of the learning needs and realities of children in all contexts and at every moment. It should help to foster a democratic citizenry by constructing rules for living together out of the experience of values such as freedom, pluralism, justice, solidarity, tolerance, self-esteem and respect.
Plans and programmes implemented
100. A.PR.EN.D.E.R. Schools Programme. This programme focuses on strengthening educational activities with a view to reducing repetition rates, combating absenteeism and improving achievement levels, consolidating teachers’ groups that develop educational projects relating to knowledge management, and enhancing relationships with families through the active participation of key adults and reinforcement of the link between school and community.
101. Evaluation of online learning. This method of evaluation, using the Ceibal Plan (Basic Educational Computing Connectivity for Online Learning), makes class results instantly available to every teacher, school results available to every head teacher, and the overall results of schools within their jurisdiction available to every inspector.
102. Learning Evaluation System. Online evaluation designed by teachers, who suggest tests to obtain information on aspects of learning and to reflect on teaching. The tests are computer-based, and the teacher is instantly provided with the results.
103. Community teachers. Launched in 2005 and implemented jointly by the Preschool and Primary Education Council of the National Public Education Administration and the Ministry of Social Development, this programme aims to devise a set of innovative teaching strategies which, as well as having an impact on pupil learning, will enable the school to operate in other ways, as a group, both in its relationship with the children, their families and the community, and within the educational community.
104. School meal plan. This plan serves 238,000 children throughout the country on a daily basis, that is, 53 per cent of all children enrolled in public schools.
105. Teacher + Teacher Programme. The programme consists in deploying an additional teacher to work in coordination with the classroom teacher. Its aim is to increase teaching time in primary school classes in vulnerable schools, improve the quality of the educational provision, favour the teacher over the timetable, and reduce and eventually eradicate repetition and falling behind.
106. Schools offering a full schoolday. This will involve building classrooms, transforming ordinary schools into full-day schools, outfitting, distributing teaching materials, training teachers in the new educational model and setting up school libraries.
107. Other support programmes being implemented include: strengthening the school- family-community link, acquisition of a second language through partial immersion, and recreational and expressive activities.
108. At the lower, upper and technological secondary education levels, programmes have been designed to meet specific needs within short time frames, which determine their sustainability:
• Secondary Education Completion Programme: this provides for the completion of secondary education for public authority, private and trade union officials;
• Community Classrooms Programme (integration in the formal education system);
• Programmes addressing specific social issues: the Child and Adolescent Institute of Uruguay (Educational Areas) and Education in Confinement, and population groups with disabilities: deaf and hearing-impaired persons, blind and partially sighted persons;
• Face-to-face or tutored self-study adult education for individuals aged over 21 years;
• Uruguay Study Programme: this programme has resulted from inter-institutional coordination and includes financial support grants for students in some cases. It offers different types of courses: completion of primary education, completion of lower secondary education, basic vocational training, tutored self-study adult secondary education, completion of the bachillerato at the Technological University of Uruguay and in secondary education;
• Education for young people aged between 15 and 20 years: continuing education giving the opportunity to complete compulsory schooling;
• Educational commitment: this is an inter-institutional programme, initiated in 2011, designed to enhance the existing range of educational programmes, in order to ensure that adolescents and young people remain in and enhance their educational paths in the public education system and succeed in completing higher secondary education. It consists of three components: peer-based reference (where tertiary- level or university students support and accompany young people in upper secondary education); learning agreements (a written record of the learning objectives set by the pupil, together with the school and the pupil’s family, and joint identification of the processes they will take part in and the commitments that each party will undertake), scholarships (financial support to assist young people to gain access to and remain in secondary education, seen as a component linked to the rest of the strategies).
109. With regard to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the education system and their effective inclusion in society and work, the Commission for the Continuing Education and Social and Professional Activities of Pupils Graduating from Special Schools (for pupils with intellectual disabilities) was set up in 2011. Its aim is to provide young people with disabilities with socio-educational paths that respect their personal characteristics, age and skills.
110. Other inclusion policies for the general population comprise: free travel for secondary-school pupils aged below 18 years; scholarships for low-income pupils who need support to be able to fund the minimum costs associated with attending an educational establishment (704 scholarships totalling 3,373,212 Uruguayan pesos were awarded in 2009, and 2,275 scholarships totalling 20,160,000 Uruguayan pesos — including 180 for pupils of African descent — were awarded in 2012); family allowances; financial benefits for parents of children and adolescents able to certify their attendance at an educational establishment from the preschool stage to completion of lower secondary education;
guaranteeing the number of teaching days and promoting school attendance (in 2012, the level of pupil attendance increased to an average of 162 days, thereby achieving one of the highest figures in primary education and recovering the investment in each child attending public school.
111. Promoting regular school attendance is a sound strategy for ensuring that children learn and achieve better results and have greater opportunities. It should be noted that class attendance improved in overall terms in 2012, for the third consecutive year.
112. For its part, the repetition rate in 2012 decreased by half a percentage point to 5.6 per cent, which is the lowest repetition rate ever recorded (half the rate recorded a decade previously).
113. Until 2007, Uruguay shared a characteristic with many other societies: digital access was segmented, with significant inequalities to the detriment of the lowest socioeconomic groups. Act No. 18,640 created the Ceibal Support Centre for Child and Adolescent Education.
114. The Ceibal Plan emerged in this context, based on the one laptop per child experiment conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This is a technology- based socio-educational project that seeks to offer children and their families, especially in the poorest sectors of the population, the possibility of accessing new technologies, thereby transforming what used to be a privilege into a right for all, particularly children. The distribution of laptops to every child attending a Uruguayan public school and to every teacher has thus begun.
115. Access is now being universalized through the distribution of computers to all school pupils and students in lower secondary education and also through the provision of connections in all educational establishments, covering 99.5 per cent of enrolled pupils.
Progress is being made in the production of teaching materials and the establishment of new platforms such as content management or mathematics platforms. Videoconference rooms have been installed and it is estimated that their numbers will reach 1,200 in 2014, when they will exist in all of the country’s urban centres. Work is under way on the teaching of English through videoconferencing based on content provision from laptop computers and on the management of the process under the responsibility of the class teacher.
J. Trafficking in persons (recommendations 43, 48, 49, 50 and 51)
116. Uruguay has made significant progress in combating trafficking in persons, especially women, children and adolescents. It has adopted Act No. 18,250 on migration, which incorporates the specific punishable offence of trafficking and smuggling of persons.
Act No. 17,815 on sexual violence, whether or not for commercial purposes, committed against children, adolescents or persons with disabilities, defines the offences of pornography, prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation. Work is currently being undertaken to strengthen State policies.
117. The visibility of this offence and its associated problems has been heightened by awareness-raising and training of social workers and public officials, national efforts to combat the offence and the work of the media.
118. The implementation of counselling and legal advice services for victims of trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation has been a crucial step in providing a comprehensive response for those people directly affected, as this has served to strengthen and promote inter-institutional work. These services have become benchmarks for the referral of situations and advice to counselling teams in the interior of the country.
119. The project “Implementation of measures to develop a public policy on trafficking and smuggling of women, children and adolescents for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation” is funded by the European Union. The two-and-a-half year project, national in scope, involved partner organizations of the National Institute for Women (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the NGO Foro Juvenil, in collaboration with the NGOs Casa Abierta and Enjambra).
120. The achievements of the project include:
• Inter-institutional work agreements to address the issue and deal with specific cases:
(a) development of inter-institutional tools: the Procedural Guidelines for Initial Response and the Protocol for Action by Embassies and Consular Offices; (b)
systematization of prosecuted cases; and (c) participation of new members in the Inter-Institutional Forum to Combat Trafficking in Women for the Purposes of Sexual Exploitation;
• Comprehensive support through counselling and legal advice teams: (a) provision of support services for adult women, children and adolescents; (b) strengthening of support service teams through forums and training; (c) development of a case registration form; (d) development of support protocols for women, children and adolescents; and (e) strengthening of the provision at the regional level in a coordinated way;
• Training and Awareness-raising: (a) public officials and NGO representatives; (b) public campaigns; and (c) printing and distribution of publications.
121. When the European Union-funded project comes to a close, the National Institute for Women must ensure the continuation of the service by creating, with State funding, an office for women victims of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
122. The Inter-Institutional Forum to Combat Trafficking in Women for the Purposes of Sexual Exploitation, created in 2008, is composed of seven ministries, the Public Prosecution Service, the Judiciary, the Legislature, the International Organization for Migration and civil society institutions, which makes it the focal point in this field. It is currently developing a clearly defined public policy and an inter-institutional protocol. It includes two working subgroups entrusted with developing a National Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons and a Comprehensive Act.
123. Attention should be drawn to the joint efforts of the Meeting of Ministers and High- Level Authorities on Women’s Affairs of MERCOSUR, which provided the initial national and regional analysis of the situation of trafficking in women for the purposes of sexual exploitation and facilitated progress in the establishment of a regional mechanism to integrate support services, develop a guide for support to women victims of trafficking and design and run an awareness-raising campaign.
124. Between 2010 and 2013, a total of 40 officials from the Ministry of the Interior received training on trafficking in persons at courses provided by the International Law Enforcement Academy.
125. The Ministry of the Interior prepared a publication entitled “Proposal to integrate the gender perspective, sexual and reproductive health and domestic violence into police training”, acknowledging the need to enhance knowledge of these issues in the Officer Training School curricula and examinations.
K. Impunity (recommendations 64, 65 and 66)
126. The State’s right to punitive action was re-established by Act No. 18,831 of 27 October 2011, whereby “the State’s full right to punitive action is re-established in respect of crimes committed in the context of State terrorism up to 1 March 1985 and covered by article 1 of Act No. 15,848 of 22 December 1986”.
127. Although the Supreme Court of Justice ruled unconstitutional the two articles of Act No. 18,831 regarding the non-applicability of statutory limitations to those crimes and their qualification as crimes against humanity, a ruling which may be interpreted as an impediment to the further investigation of pending Criminal Court cases, a considerable number of prosecutors and criminal court judges have decided to pursue the cases using other legal rules and mechanisms.
