Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

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

Articles 1 to 3 of the Convention. Non-discrimination and equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women in employment and occupation. The Committee notes the absence in the Government’s report of any new information on the measures taken to promote women’s participation in employment and occupation and vocational training, and to address occupational segregation, as well as persisting stereotypes concerning women’s role in society hindering their participation in the labour market. The Committee notes the information in the most recent report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on the impact of the armed conflict on the lives of women and girls, including a rise in the number of women heads of households, who are often the primary caregivers and providers of their families (A/HRC/30/48, of 13 August 2015). It further notes that the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), in its concluding observations, expresses concern at the persistence and exacerbation of deep-rooted attitudes and stereotypes with respect to women’s roles and responsibilities in the family and society, and at the precarious situation of rural women, whose rights to productivity, livelihood and access to land are regularly violated in the conflict. At the same time, CEDAW notes the action taken by the Government to secure salaries and jobs for women employed in governmental institutions and to implement income-generating projects and vocational training programmes for women heads of households affected by the conflict (CEDAW/C/SYR/CO/2, 18 July 2014, paragraphs 21, 41 and 43). While acknowledging the complexity of the situation prevailing on the ground and the presence of armed groups and armed conflict in the country, the Committee notes the impact of the conflict on the lives of women and girls, in particular rural women, and women heads of households, and urges the Government to take all the necessary measures to address discrimination, including harassment and gender-based violence against women, which affect their rights under the Convention. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to address the precarious situation of women heads of households and rural women, including measures to promote their equal access to economic opportunities, as well as their access to land and resources to carry out their occupations.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.