Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Sexual harassment. The Committee would appreciate the Government providing information in its next report, in reply to its 2002 General Observation, on sexual harassment.

2. Articles 1 and 2. Failure to provide information. The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report does not contain a reply to its previous comments. With reference to these previous comments, it is bound to reiterate its requests for information on the following points:

-  detailed information on the inspections conducted relevant to the Convention, the number and type of violations registered action taken and outcomes, in order to ensure the effective application of the provisions of the Convention;

-  detailed information on promoting equal access to training on all grounds listed in the Convention, including study fellowship abroad programmes, and any legislative developments in this field;

-  information on the results obtained by the implementation of the National Plan of Action for the Promotion of Women 1996-2000, prepared by the Institute on the Condition of Women for the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), including copies of any reports, studies and statistics relevant to the promotion of equal opportunities and treatment in vocational training and employment;

-  statistical information concerning the position of men and women, by ethnicity, if possible, on the labour market.

3. Article 2. Equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women. With regard to women’s access to training, and vocational and university training in particular, and their access to particular jobs and occupations including those traditionally reserved for men, the Committee notes from the abovementioned Plan and the statistics it contains, that a certain number of factors continue to hinder significantly the equitable integration of women in the development process in the country: the low level of literacy among women (41.8 per cent are illiterate compared to 27.4 per cent of men); the high rate of unemployment (25 per cent); the concentration of women in socio-occupational categories that are undervalued; their reduced participation in decision-making bodies at the local, regional and national levels; the myth of female vulnerability and paternalism; and the sex-based division of work which maintains the traditional role of women. The Committee also notes, however, that, according to the Government, the integration of women in the development process is progressively being attained at various levels, such as through their participation in income-generating activities; in family-type production or at the level of a wider labour market; their advancement through general education or vocational training; and their access to fields previously considered to be the sole territory of men. In addition, the Government indicates that no specific measure has been taken to facilitate women’s access to vocational or university training since women are able to take such training in exactly the same circumstances as men. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the situation could be improved even more by the adoption of appropriate measures aimed at further encouraging women to consider training which is less traditionally or typically "female" with a view to promoting the principle of equality. In paragraphs 38 and 97 of its 1988 General Survey on equality in employment and occupation, the Committee indicated that archaic attitudes and stereotypes as regards the distribution of "male" and "female" tasks are at the origin of the types of discrimination based on sex and all lead to the same result: the nullification or impairment of equality of opportunity and treatment. Occupational segregation according to sex, which leads to the concentration of men and women in different occupations and sectors of activity, is to a large extent the product of these archaic and stereotyped concepts. The Committee once again requests the Government to supply in its next report information on the affirmative action measures taken, and the results obtained, with a view to improving the situation of women in these areas.