Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Niger (Ratification: 1962)

1.  The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its brief report, and in particular the statement that, during the period from 9 April to 30 December 1999, the objectives of the transition Government were primarily political, that is, concerning the organization of free and transparent elections. It notes that the programmes and projects undergoing implementation were interrupted by the organization of the elections and that, throughout 1999, ministers dealt only with current affairs. It hopes that in its next report the Government will be able to supply fuller information on the precise application of the principle on which the Convention is based.

2.  In its earlier comments, the Committee requested information on the activities developed by the Ministry for the Social Development of the Population, the Promotion of Women and the Protection of the Child. It also requested information on specific measures designed to promote equality in practice between men and women in employment, requesting the Government to send statistics regarding the training and employment of women. Having noted that, throughout 1999, the Ministries restricted themselves to dealing with current affairs and that, at present, the Government was defining the mandate of each Ministry, the Committee hopes that the information requested in its earlier comments, particularly in respect of the survey of all legal texts relating to women, and also the statistical data available on the training and employment of women, will figure in the Government’s next report. The Committee, having noted that the Government referred previously to the need to overcome obstacles of a social nature in order to promote equality in practice, requests the Government to supply information on the nature and extent of the existing obstacles to the effective application of the principle.

3.  With reference to its earlier comments regarding section 5 of the Labour Code of 1996, which prohibits any discrimination in employment "subject to the explicit provisions of the present Code, or of any other legal text or regulation protecting women and children, and of provisions respecting the situation of foreigners", the Committee notes that the particular provisions which protect women and children are those provided under the new Labour Code (sections 99 and 101) and by Decree No. 67-126 of 7 September 1967 (Chapters 3 and 4). It also notes the Government’s statement that these measures, far from constituting discrimination, are in fact intended to preserve the safety and health of these highly sensitive categories of workers. With reference to the ILO resolution on equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women workers in respect of employment, 1985, and in particular its paragraph 5, the Committee invites the Government to re-examine these provisions in consultation with the social partners and in particular with women workers, with a view to determining whether it is still necessary to forbid women access to certain occupations in the light of the development of scientific knowledge and techniques. It also recalls that both men and women must be protected against risks inherent to their employment and occupation and that, as regards the types of work which have been shown to be particularly harmful to the reproductive function, measures should be taken to ensure special protection for women and men. In this connection the Committee asks the Government to consider the possibility of organizing consultations with the social partners and in particular with women workers, and to supply information on progress achieved.

4.  The Committee requests the Government to indicate how national policy to promote equality of opportunity and of treatment in respect of employment and occupation has been drawn up, as well as the general methods (legal procedures, practical forms of action, etc.) through which this policy is implemented in respect of the body of criteria of discrimination forbidden by the present Convention (race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin) as regards: (a) access to vocational training; (b) access to employment and different occupations; and (c) employment conditions. In this connection, it refers to the explanations provided in its General Survey of 1988 on equality in employment and occupation (paragraphs 196-230). Taking account of paragraphs 7-11 of the conclusions of the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of 10 February 1999 (CERD/C/304/Add.62), the Committee hopes that the report will contain details on the application of this national policy to the various ethnic groups living in Niger, for example to the Toubous.

5.  Finally, the Committee asks the Government to specify how effect is given to Article 3(a) of the Convention, in particular the manner in which it attempts to obtain the collaboration of employers’ and workers’ organizations and other relevant bodies to advance acceptance and application of the national policy of promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment. It also requests the Government to communicate information on all other bodies concerned with the promotion of the principle on which the Convention is based, in particular on the activities of the National Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms (CNDHL) to which it had referred in its earlier comments.