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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Iraq (Ratification: 1959)

The Committee notes the Government's report and the information supplied by the Government representative to the Conference Committee in 1993 concerning the points raised in its previous observation, and the subsequent debate on the application of the Convention.

1. The Committee had requested information on the pursuit of a national policy designed to promote equality of opportunity and treatment, as set out in Article 2 of the Convention, in respect of citizens belonging to ethnic and linguistic minorities of the country, such as the Turkoman and Kurdish minorities - a point which was also discussed by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 1988. It notes that the Government representative reiterated the previous statements by the Government concerning the provisions of the Constitution of 1970 and the labour legislation and emphasized that they protected all citizens against discrimination in employment and occupation and guaranteed equality of rights in respect of education, employment and working conditions. The Committee notes that he specified that equality also applied to vocational training and promotion opportunities and stated that working women accounted for 39 per cent of the labour force. With regard to national minorities, such as the Turkoman and Kurdish minorities, according to the Government representative, the legislation makes no distinction on the basis of social origin and Act No. 33 on the self-administration of Kurdish regions established a number of rights for these minority populations which guaranteed them equality of opportunity with other citizens.

While noting that the Conference Committee expressed its deep concern with regard to these minorities and requested the Government to provide information on their situation in practice with regard to equality of opportunity and treatment, the Committee refers to Chapter IV of its 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, and in particular to paragraphs 158 and 159. It draws the Government's attention to the fact that Article 2 of the Convention calls for the declaration and pursuit of a national policy designed to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation and that, in order to give effect to the Convention, the legislative provisions which are in force have to be accompanied by clearly stated practical measures to implement the principles of equality. The Committee once again requests the Government to supply detailed information on the adoption and implementation of a national policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and in particular on its application to the Turkoman and Kurdish minorities.

2. The Committee notes that, in reply to comments which it has been making in direct requests for several years concerning the prohibition of the employment of women in certain positions (section 1 of Resolution No. 480 of 1989), the Government states that no job is prohibited to women by the law and that women enjoy equality of opportunity with men in respect of employment, also as regards managerial positions in state services, in which they account for 34.9 per cent of all staff. The Committee once again requests the Government to supply practical information on the effect given to this Resolution, which governs the employment of graduates in certain sectors and their wages during the one-year compulsory training period for the nursing profession, and to indicate in particular whether the training which is required for nurses is related to the qualifications which have been obtained and the positions to which the women are appointed. Furthermore, the Committee once again asks the Government to specify the number of women holding positions of responsibility in the public sector, their proportion in comparison to men and statistical tables on their grades.

3. Having noted that for several years it has been requesting detailed information on access to vocational training without distinction on the basis of sex, the Committee once again requests the Government to supply in its next report data on the training courses organized by the General Federation of Iraqi Women to integrate women into the labour market (indicating in particular the type of training provided, the number of students and the distribution of men and women) and the corresponding results achieved in practice with regard to the employment of women.