Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

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

1. The Committee notes the two reports prepared by the state secretariat responsible for the status of women relating to the national strategy for the promotion of women, one of which focused on "women and self-employment" and the other on "women, education and training", and which were sent by the Government following the Committee's previous comments. It also notes the information provided by the Government on the major role played by women in the country's informal economic activity, in particular in the sectors of agriculture, arts and crafts, commerce and services.

2. As regards the training of women, the Committee observes that at first, given the high level of illiteracy among the population in general, in its action plan the Government decided to highlight education for all by the year 2000 without any special consideration being given to the situation of women. The Committee notes that this expansion strategy for primary and secondary education has benefited girls, even if the advantages have been greater for boys. Vocational training for women provided by centres for the promotion of women (CPF), or by private institutions, is essentially devoted to the learning of activities traditionally considered as being for women (sewing, weaving, crochet, dyeing, embroidery, typing and so on), without taking account of the needs of the market. The Committee therefore expresses satisfaction at the change in the Government's position in relation to its evaluation of the challenge represented by the school attendance of girls in a developing country and of the awareness of the significant handicap represented by a limited number of active female economic operatives, resulting from their lack of training, in relation to their employment and income prospects. According to the reports provided by the Government, studies have clearly shown that an increase in the level of education of girls had a positive impact on the effectiveness of the development activities undertaken both at an economic and social level. The Committee therefore notes with interest that the 1995-2000 Action Plan makes specific provision for the improved access for, and maintenance of, girls in primary and secondary education (acceptance of all girls of 6 years of age who present themselves, gradual elimination of non-annual enrolment in rural areas, more equitable distribution of school infrastructures, introduction of regulations allowing married girls to rejoin school lessons, an increase of 50 per cent in funding up to secondary-school level, recruitment of female primary-school teachers and assistant primary-school teachers and so on). The Committee observes that as regards technical or higher education and vocational training, few women are present in the disciplines most in demand within the employment market (technical education, engineering, management). It notes, however, that a number of girls are entering disciplines which were previously closed to them (motor mechanics, electrical engineering, electrical construction, civil engineering), although the majority of them are still employed in construction design and information technology. The Committee notes that the Government is envisaging the reform of the CPF and requests it to keep it informed of the progress made in the implementation of this restructuring and of the results obtained, in particular from the point of view of the attendance rate of women, the adaptation of training programmes to labour market openings, and the increase in the level of staff qualifications and of the operational budgets allocated by the State. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in order to increase the number of women teachers in the occupational sectors not traditionally considered as being for women.

3. In it previous comments, the Committee noted that the Government had taken specific political and social measures to promote the employment and training of disadvantaged ethnic groups -- in particular the groups which had been exposed to the practice of slavery prior to its abolition. In reply to the Committee's request to obtain statistics on the participation of these groups in the various programmes for the promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment in existence, the Government states that the compilation of statistics relating to a particular social group would be discriminatory. The Committee recognizes that there might be some exceptional circumstances where the gathering of data on one particular group could be perceived as a form of discrimination. However, the Committee has always laid great stress on the importance of governments' obtaining reliable statistics so as to be able to plot trends and assess the impact of their national non-discrimination policy. On the issue of collecting data, the Committee stated in paragraph 248 of its 1988 General Survey on equality in employment and occupation that it is difficult but important to reconcile the need for detailed information so that the best methods of remedying discrimination can be determined, with the need to protect individuals against discriminatory use of such data. The Committee nevertheless requests the Government to indicate how it intends to assess -- without the aid of such data -- the results obtained through its policy for the occupational integration of these population groups, and repeats its request for any details -- even in the form of broad percentages -- on the participation of disadvantaged ethnic groups in the Government's employment and training programmes.