Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Ethiopia (Ratification: 1966)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the attached legislation and requests the Government to provide information on the following points.

1. Further to its observation, the Committee notes that section 13(1) of the Federal Civil Servants Proclamation No. 262/2002 provides that "there shall be no discrimination among jobseekers or civil servants in filling vacancies because of their ethnic origin, sex, religion, political outlook or any other ground". Recalling that when legislative expression is given to the principle of the Convention, all grounds listed in Article 1(1)(a) should be legislated, the Committee requests the Government to consider the possibility of amending section 13(1) to include the grounds of social origin and national extraction. In the meantime, the Government is asked to provide information on the manner in which non-discrimination and equality in the civil service with respect to all grounds listed in the Convention is ensured in practice, including with regard to promotion and training.

2. The Committee notes with interest that section 13(3) of the Federal Civil Servants Proclamation provides for preferential recruitment of female candidates and members of nationalities comparatively less represented in the civil service, under the condition that these candidates have scores equal or close to those of others. The Committee also notes from the statistical information provided by the Government that at the federal government level, some 42 per cent of the permanent civil servants are women (30 per cent at the regional level), but that the number of women with higher educational qualifications in the civil service is very low. The Government is therefore requested to provide information on the application and impact of section 13(3) of the Federal Civil Servants Proclamation, including statistical information on the gender and ethnic distribution of the civil service. Please indicate also the number of women and members of the various ethnic groups at the various levels of the civil service, and provide the directives of the Federal Civil Service Commission referred to in the report regarding measures to ensure equal rights of women, as soon as they are issued.

3. Recalling its comments concerning the application of the Convention in the private sector, the Committee notes that the Government is still preparing a national employment policy, which will contain policies on education, training and employment opportunities for women, including in management and decision-making positions. The Government is asked to provide a copy of the policy as soon as it is finalized. Please also provide information on the application of the Convention in state-owned enterprises.

4. With reference to its previous comments on the equal access of women and girls to education and training, the Committee thanks the Government for providing detailed statistical information on the participation of girls and boys at the various levels of schooling. The Committee notes that steady progress has been made in recent with regard to increasing the level of women’s and girl’s participation in education and training at all levels. It also notes that girls continue to be much more under-represented at the primary school level than at the secondary level and that there remains a high gender gap regarding higher education. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide similar statistical information as well as information on the measures taken or envisaged to promote female education at all levels, including the participation in technical and vocational schools.

5. Recalling the provisions of the Constitution safeguarding the right of the country’s nations, nationalities and peoples to self-determination, including self-government, and to preserving their own cultures (article 39), the Committee reiterates its previous request to the Government to provide information on the measures being taken or contemplated to enable the practical enjoyment of these rights by the groups involved.

6. With reference to its previous comments on the enforcement of equality legislation, the Committee notes the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission Establishment Proclamation No. 210/2000 and the Institution of the Ombudsman Establishment Proclamation No. 211/2000, which set out the mandate and procedures of these institutions. The Government is requested to provide information on the work of both these institutions relevant to the application of the Convention, including the number, nature and outcome of cases involving non-discrimination and equality in employment and occupation. Noting the Government’s indication that the Federal Civil Service Commission is currently preparing a directive concerning the handling of complaints brought by civil servants, the Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of this directive as soon as adopted.