E/C.12/1/Add.14 page 2 5. The Committee wishes to express its gratitude to the United Nations agencies and Peruvian non-governmental organizations which provided it with documents that made a valuable contribution to the dialogue. B. Positive aspects 6. The Committee notes the statement by the State party’s delegation to the effect that the State party has begun a process of social reform involving amendments to legislation, and notes the establishment of new institutions and the implementation of programmes in various spheres. 7. The Committee notes with satisfaction that a number of discriminatory legal provisions that used to exist, particularly relating to women, have been eliminated. 8. The Committee welcomes the establishment of the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and Human Development. 9. The Committee notes with satisfaction the establishment of the National Social Compensation and Development Fund, which carries out assistance projects and projects to encourage the development of medium-sized and small enterprises. 10. The Committee notes with satisfaction the reforms introduced by the Government to improve the educational system and to make it accessible to all sectors of society. It views the literacy and school-building programmes to foster the education of children and adults in rural areas and the comprehensive assistance programme for children as positive steps towards ensuring realization of the right to education. The indigenous-language literacy and education programmes are also of particular importance, as, beyond their practical objectives, they help to preserve indigenous languages and to strengthen the cultural identity of the groups speaking the languages concerned. C. Factors and difficulties impeding the implementation of the Covenant 11. Peru is made up of three distinct societies, living almost independently one of the others, divided along ethnic, economic, social, cultural and linguistic lines. At the bottom of the pyramid live the bulk of the population, namely the indigenous Indians of the Alto Plano or the mountains and the Amazonian Jungle. Most of them do not speak Spanish, but Quechua or Imaru; they are extremely isolated and marginalized. They are thus not in a position to exercise effectively their economic, social and cultural rights. 12. Given the situation described above, the Committee, although aware of the high cost of rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed during many years of internal violence, is of the opinion that the greatest obstacles to the fulfilment of the economic, social and cultural rights are, inter alia: (a) The failure to address the persistent and serious problems of poverty; 60 per cent of Peruvians live beneath the poverty line and do not enjoy proper health and educational facilities;