Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Cameroon (Ratification: 1988)

1. The Committee notes the Government’s report. It notes the decision of 17 July 2001 creating a committee to monitor and evaluate the application of ILO Conventions. The Committee also welcomes as a positive development the creation in 1997 of the Ministry for the Status of Women responsible for promoting gender equality.

2. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that section 1(2) of the Labour Code of 1992 prohibits discrimination only on grounds of sex and nationality, and that the Public Service Statute (section 5 of Decree No. 74-138 of 18 February 1974) prohibits discrimination in access to public employment only on grounds of sex. The Committee further notes that section 7 of Act No. 98/004 of 14 April 1998 on education policy in Cameroon refers, inter alia, to the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex, religion, political opinion and social origin, but does not mention the other grounds set out in Article 1, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention, namely race, colour and national extraction. Recalling that importance must be attached to all the sources of discrimination envisaged in Article 1, paragraph 1(a), the Committee wishes to express its concern over the lack of protection against discrimination on all grounds listed in the Convention and requests the Government to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to ensure full conformity of the national legislation with the abovementioned provisions of the Convention.

3. The Committee notes the observations made by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in December 1999 to the effect that the Government had not yet embarked on the necessary law reform to repeal the laws "which maintain the unequal legal status of women, particularly in aspects of the Civil Code and the Commercial Code relating to, inter alia, the right to own property and the laws regarding credit and bankruptcy, which restrict women’s access to the means of production" maintaining them in a position of inferiority (E/C.12/1/Add.40). The Committee on Human Rights, too, noted in its concluding observations of 4 November 1999 (CCPR/C/79/Add.116) the "ability of husbands to seek a court order to prevent wives from engaging in certain occupations". The Committee urges the Government to identify and repeal the existing legal provisions which are contrary to the Convention and to report any progress that has been made in this area.

4. Noting from the Government’s report that the national policy to promote equal opportunities in employment and occupation has not yet been codified but that a document has been drafted on national policy which requires broad tripartite consultation in order to be finalized; noting also that the national labour advisory committee established under section 117 of the Labour Code has resumed work, the Committee hopes that the above draft will expressly provide that effect be given to the principle of non-discrimination. The Committee also asks the Government to keep it informed of any progress regarding the declaration and pursuit of the policy on equal opportunities and treatment in respect of access to vocational training, employment and working conditions, in both the public sector and the private sector.

5. The Committee underscores the importance of special measures and programmes to promote equal opportunities and treatment. In this connection it takes note of the efforts made to disseminate information on combating discrimination against women. It also notes the measures set up to promote equal opportunities and treatment in vocational training, such as recruitment by competition and by paper qualifications in the public service, and the opening of vocational training centres under various ministerial departments. Lastly, it notes the various tasks entrusted to the Training and Vocational Guidance Directorate of the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Welfare in the area of monitoring implementation of the vocational guidance and training policy, assistance to ministries for the recruitment of personnel and the monitoring of the regulations on psychological and technical testing in vocational guidance.

6. The Committee notes that, according to the statistics provided by the Government in its report, women account for approximately one quarter of all public servants and 30 per cent of all the jobseekers placed by the National Employment Fund between its creation in 1990 until 30 June 2001 (the percentage being very close to the proportion of women who applied to the Fund over the same period). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to improve the participation rate of women in employment and vocational training in the public sector and in the private sector. It requests the Government to continue to supply information showing the distribution of employment in the various posts and at the different levels of responsibility, if possible disaggregated by sex and also by national extraction and religion.

7. The Committee notes that section 7 of Act No. 98/004 of 14 April 1998 on education policy in Cameroon provides that "the State shall ensure equality of opportunity for all in access to education without any distinction as to sex (...)". The Committee observes, however, that the above Act does not guarantee free primary education, which considerably reduces access to such education, particularly in the case of girls. The Committee also notes the observations of 26 June 2000 by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (A/55/38), which expresses concern that, despite government efforts in this area, the female literacy rate is low, the school drop-out rate among girls is high and the proportion of girls receiving basic education is small. In this connection, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights noted in its concluded observations of December 1999 (E/C.12/1/Add.40) that the illiteracy rate among women is 49.9 per cent as compared with 30 per cent for men. The Committee would like to receive information on effective measures taken by the Government to encourage access for girls to primary and secondary education establishments and to devise programmes to reduce the female illiteracy rate.