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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Egypt (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee takes note of the Government's reports and the discussion at the 1993 Conference Committee on the matters raised in its previous observation.

1. The Committee notes that, in both its report and the discussion in the Conference Committee, the Government again stated that Presidential Decision No. 214 of 1978 is not inconsistent with Article 1 of the Convention, since it aims to combat all forms of fundamentalism and terrorism, which is allowed by Article 4 of the Convention. The Government refers to its previous replies and indicates that Egyptian legislation authorizes adhesion to any opinion, whether political or religious. What it does punish, the Government states, is the call to deny religions, the call to adhere to certain abherrent opinions which are contrary to the fundamental principles of society, established in the Constitution or to exercise an activity which is prejudicial to the security of the State, and the call to use violent methods. The report specifies that anyone against whom a measure is taken in this respect may have recourse to the judiciary. The Government representative at the Conference also specified that only atheist propanganda and the use of violence are prohibited.

The Committee recalls that Presidential Decision No. 214 respecting the principles of the protection of the home front and social peace provides, amongst other things, that "anyone who is convicted of maintaining principles contrary to, or conflicting with, the divine laws may not hold a senior post in the public administration or the public sector, or publish articles in newspapers or perform work in any organ of information or perform any other work that may influence public opinion". Two laws issued under this text, namely Act No. 33 of 1978 respecting the protection of the home front and social peace and Act No. 95 of 1980 respecting the protection of values, contain similar provisions. The Committee notes that the Government representative at the Conference stated that these provisions were contrary to the Constitution and were not applied in practice. Although it is aware that Egypt has recently had to cope with increasing terrorism, the Committee is bound once again to stress that the above provisions should be brought into conformity with Article 1, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention, as regards both content and implementation, in respect of any exclusion or preference based on religion or the expression of opinions related to moral values. The Committee stresses once again that, in its 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, it recalled in paragraph 127 that "criteria such as political opinion, national extraction and religion may be taken into account in connection with the inherent requirements of certain posts involving special responsibilities, but that if carried beyond certain limits, this practice comes into conflict with the provisions of the Convention". The Committee considers that the provisions of Presidential Decision No. 214 and those of the two Acts mentioned above go beyond what may be deemed to be in conformity with the Convention.

The Committee also refers to paragraph 135 of the above-mentioned General Survey, and recalls that the expression of opinions or religious, philosophical or political beliefs is not, in itself, a sufficient base for the application of the exception set out in Article 4 of the Convention for activities prejudicial to the security of the State, provided that no violent methods are advocated or used.

2. With regard to the inconsistency with the principles of the Convention of section 18 of Act No. 148 of 1980 respecting the power of the press (persons prohibited from exercising their political rights or from forming political parties, persons professing doctrines that reject divine laws and persons convicted by the Court of Moral Values may not publish or participate in the publication of newspapers, or own newspapers) and Act No. 33 mentioned above (which imposes restrictions, enforceable by disciplinary penalties, on members of the journalists' trade union in respect, in particular, of the freedom to publish or disseminate through the press or any other information media articles that are prejudicial to the "democratic socialist regime of the State" or to "the socialist achievements of the workers and peasants"), the Committee notes the Government's indication in its report that these laws do not prohibit any group or person holding political or religious opinions from exercising the profession of journalist or expressing opinions through a journalist. The Government states that section 18 of Act No. 148 applies to persons against whom final decisions have been handed down, and may be considered to be part of the supplementary sanctions which are known in all penal legislation and which aim to ensure the integrity of the press.

The Committee recalls that these legal provisions are contrary to Article 1, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention in that they may give rise to discrimination based on political opinion and have the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation for the persons concerned. The Committee recalls that the Government representative stated in the Conference Committee in 1991 that section 18 of Act No. 148 would be repealed when the law of the press was revised and that, in a letter of 28 January 1992, the Government indicated that it was undertaking the revision of national legislation in order to bring it into conformity with international Conventions. The Committee regrets to note that the report contains no further information on the revision, and asks the Government to inform it of developments.

3. The Committee none the less notes with interest that section 4 of Act No. 33 of 1978 which bans persons who held public sector posts before the revolution of 23 July 1952 from joining a political party or from exercising political rights or activities, was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court on 21 June 1986 (Case No. 56, judicial year VI; decision published in Official Gazette No. 27 of 3 July 1986).

4. With regard to the employment of women, the Committee notes that the Government recalls the provisions of the law which govern the employment of women. It notes the Government's indication in its report that women's participation in economic activity is increasing steadily and has reached over 70 per cent in certain branches of the food, ready-to-wear apparel and pharmaceuticals industries. The Government also points out that women participate regularly in many training courses in certain occupations suited to their skills and tastes, such as spinning and weaving, medical occupations and home economics, but have also entered courses in non-traditional areas such as smelting, electricity and carpentry. In this connection, the Committee again draws the Government's attention to the fact that this situation could be improved through the adoption of appropriate measures to guide girls towards training for jobs which are not so typically or traditionally female in order to promote the principle of equality. The Committee refers to the above-mentioned General Survey of 1988 in which it points out, that archaic attitudes and stereotypes as regards the distribution of "male" and "female" tasks are "at the origin of 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" (paragraphs 38 and 97).

The Committee would also appreciate further information on the Third Five-Year Plan for the Economic Development of Egypt which began on 1 July 1992, and particularly the Ministry's proposals to encourage women to remain at home, and the establishment of secondary schools to train women in household work, home-based production and small-scale projects (see ILO: Social and Labour Bulletin, Vol. 4/92, p. 447). The Committee draws the Government's attention to the potential long-term effects of such a policy. It points out that it considered in the 1988 General Survey that "The use of standards of general education that differentiate between men and women, as is the practice in some countries, very soon leads to discriminatory practices based on sex" (paragraph 78). The Committee again asks the Government to provide in its next report detailed information on specific measures taken to promote, in practice, equality between men and women in employment, for example through education, information and vocational training. In this connection, the Committee asks the Government to provide particulars of the vocational guidance criteria used to assess women's skills and tastes. Noting that the statistics provided by the Government show a male/female ratio of 2:1 in the occupational category called "scientific and technical", the Committee asks the Government to provide specific data on the number of women doctors and labour inspectors.

5. The Committee notes that, since 1990, the Government's reports have referred to the revision of certain laws respecting, in particular, fundamental freedoms, freedom of association and equality of opportunity and treatment in employment, and that the Government representative at the Conference stated that amendment of these aspects of the legislation required more time. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will make the necessary amendments in the near future to Presidential Decision No. 214 of 1978, section 18 of Act No. 148 of 1980 respecting the power of the press, Act No. 33 of 1978 respecting the protection of the home front and social peace and Act No. 95 of 1980 respecting the protection of values, so as to bring national legislation and practice fully into conformity with the Convention.

6. The Committee is addressing a direct request to the Government concerning other points.