Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Mauritania (Ratification: 1963)

With reference to its previous direct requests, the Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its reports.

1. The Committee notes that the Government states that all general state policy contains measures to encourage equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation, and that all necessary measures are taken in law and in practice to eliminate discrimination in access to vocational training (admission is subject to a test), access to employment and particular occupations, and terms and conditions of employment. The Committee recalls, however, that affirmative action must be taken to create conditions for promoting effective equality of opportunity and treatment in employment or occupation and to eliminate discrimination based on race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin.

The Committee refers to paragraphs 166 to 169 of its General Survey of 1988 on Equality in Employment and Occupation, in which it expands on the notion and content of affirmative measures which set out to eliminate and make good any de facto inequalities in training and employment and to promote equality of opportunity of various social groups which are subject to discrimination, particularly women and disadvantaged ethnic groups. It asks the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the affirmative measures taken or envisaged to facilitate and encourage the access of women and disadvantaged ethnic groups (particularly groups that were subjected to slavery before it was abolished) to training (particularly vocational and university training) and employment in all sectors of activity and occupations and at all levels of responsibility.

2. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the statistics of the distribution of workers in the various categories of employment will be sent as soon as possible. It again expresses the hope that the Government will be able to provide detailed information with its next report on the results obtained in implementing the above-mentioned affirmative measures, and the measures mentioned in the report to encourage equality of opportunity and treatment and eliminate all forms of discrimination, together with statistics on the distribution of workers by sex and ethnic group in the various categories of the public administration and the private sector.

3. With regard to vocational training, the Committee notes with interest that, according to the report, several vocational training centres have been opened recently, particularly in the regions of Trarza, Guidimakha, Adrar and Assaba. It also notes that the National Office for Employment and Vocational Training has not yet been established but that Directorates for Employment and Vocational Training have been created and are operating normally. Lastly, it notes from the document of the UNDP/ILO project "Développement des ressources humaines et lutte contre la pauvreté", sous-programme "Emploi et formation professionnelle", that a Directorate of Vocational Training has been set up to prepare and implement a national vocational training strategy and organize the coordination of a number of national and regional centres, particularly the Centre for Vocational Training and Retraining (CFPP), the FP centres of Mahadras, the centres for the advancement of women, and the public service-oriented training schools.

4. It asks the Government to provide detailed information with its next report on the affirmative measures taken, indicating the results obtained, to facilitate and encourage the access of women and disadvantaged ethnic groups (particularly groups that were subjected to slavery before its abolition) to vocational training and university education without discrimination based, in particular, on ethnic origin, religion and sex. Furthermore, the Committee notes from the report that the number of students undergoing training is estimated at 300, and asks the Government to provide more precise statistics of the number of students, broken down by sex and ethnic origin, who are registered in the various branches and classes of the above-mentioned national and regional vocational training centres and in higher education establishments and universities.