Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117) - Syrian Arab Republic (Ratification: 1964)

The Committee acknowledges the complexity of the situation prevailing on the ground due to the presence of armed groups and armed conflict in the country.

Parts I and II of the Convention. Improvement of standards of living. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in September 2018 in reply to its direct request of 2016. The Government refers to the commitments that it made under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to sustainable development through combating poverty in the three most recent consecutive five-year plans (the ninth (2001–2005), tenth (2006–2010) and eleventh (2011–2015)), which focus on social justice, regional development, reducing poverty and unemployment and the inclusion of most segments of society (including the private and non-governmental sectors) in economic development. The Government indicates that during the period 2001–2010, substantial progress was made with regard to economic and social development and that the country was close to achieving the MDGs, but that the crisis of 2011 prevented the continuation of this policy and the implementation of the eleventh five-year plan (2011–2015). Nevertheless, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the increase in the average wage by 133 per cent between 2009 and 2015; the creation of 29,000 jobs through programmes targeting young people, jobseekers and entrepreneurs; and increased access to social security and health services through improved coverage, in which regard the Government indicates that the number of beneficiaries increased from 443,000 in 2010 to more than 591,000 in 2015. The Government indicates that various measures were taken to further the application of the Convention during the period 2011–2017. In respect of these measures, the Committee notes with interest the strategic cooperation framework concluded between the Syrian Arab Republic and the United Nations for the period 2016–2019, which focuses on institutional capacity building and support, the restoration and development of essential services and infrastructure and improving people’s livelihoods, including through economic recovery and social inclusion; as well as the cooperation programmes and bilateral plans concluded with international organizations with a presence in the country, in particular the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Labour Office (ILO). These programmes contribute to improving the livelihoods and the economic and social recovery of all social groups throughout the country and to improving the economic and social resilience of Syrians. The Government adds that a national post-crisis development programme is being prepared, the analysis phase having been completed. Structured around major themes (strengthening of institutions, promotion of integrity, growth and development, human development, national dialogue, modernization and development of infrastructure), the programme aims to establish a long-term strategy that encompasses all economic and social development issues and so contribute to the elimination of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Similarly, a plan for the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which constitute a continuation of the MDGs, is being developed and an initial national report on sustainable development 2030 was published. In addition, the Labour Market Observatory is currently carrying out a comprehensive labour market survey in order to provide indicators on the current labour market situation and labour shortages in the different economic sectors, to allow more effective planning and programmatic interventions to stimulate the labour market and identify the measures to be taken to create employment opportunities for returnees. Lastly, the Committee notes that the Government intends to pursue rural development programmes. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report updated and detailed information on the nature and impact of the new measures taken in the context of the national post-crisis development programme and of the plan for the achievement of the SDGs, by improving the living standards of the population within the meaning of Articles 3, 4 and 5 of the Convention, and on the results and lessons learned from the Labour Market Observatory study and on the follow-up measures being considered or that have been taken. The Committee also requests the Government to provide updated information on the results achieved and progress made in reducing regional disparities and improving the living standards of the population.

Part III of the Convention. Provisions concerning migrant workers. The Committee takes note of the introduction of a form for displaced persons who wish to return home, which takes into account their skills, areas of experience and training needs in order to identify existing employment opportunities and relevant vocational training opportunities in their respective regions. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report detailed information on the measures envisaged to give effect to Articles 6, 7 and 9 of the Convention.

Part VI. Education and vocational training. The Committee notes that the Government has taken various initiatives in the field of education and vocational training. These include, on the one hand, the creation of three new vocational guidance and entrepreneurship centres (in northern, central and coastal regions) under the plan of action for 2019, which facilitate the integration of new entrants to the labour market and serve as incubators for entrepreneurial projects. On the other hand, in 2017 the first and fundamental phase of a training programme leading to employment, which aims to provide skilled labour to meet the needs of industrial enterprises and workshops and allow companies that have ceased operations to resume work, made it possible to identify more than 500 opportunities for training leading to employment in the governorates of Damascus, Rif Dimashq and Homs. The Government mentions that the programme was extended in 2018 to other governorates, including the industrial city of Shaykh Najjar in Aleppo, with a view to supplying labour to 500 industrial enterprises. At the same time, a programme to support recent graduates of State universities and colleges involving 4,000 graduates in various disciplines was implemented, with a view to providing practical workplace training in exchange for financial compensation at the level of the minimum wage, including a subsistence allowance. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report, updated information on the continuation and extension of its initiatives and statistical data disaggregated by sex, age and region, on the results achieved, as well as on any new measures relating to education and training within the meaning of Part VI of the Convention.