Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Guinea (Ratification: 1995)

Article 1(4) of the Convention. Scope. The Committee notes with interest the adoption in Guinea of Act L/2018/021/AN of 15 May 2018 on the protection and promotion of persons with disabilities. The Committee notes that section 4 of this Act provides that its measures cover “all Guinean nationals with disabilities living in the Republic of Guinea”. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the reasons that led to the exclusion of foreign residents with disabilities from the scope of application of the new legislation, as well as the applicable regime for access to employment for foreign nationals living in Guinea.

Articles 2 and 3. National policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee notes that, in accordance with section 5 of the Act of 15 May 2018, “public programmes and policies of the State necessary for the prevention and treatment of disabilities, and the care, rehabilitation, education, vocational training, socio-economic integration and full reintegration into society of persons with disabilities are considered to be national obligations”. Based on information available online, the Committee notes that the Government adopted in 2018 a National Programme for the Inclusion and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PNIAPH), aimed at identifying specific and practical solutions to make the lives of persons with disabilities easier, including through support for vocational training. The Committee also notes that the Government refers in its report to the National Community Rehabilitation Programme (PNRBC), initiated over 20 years ago by the Ministry of Social Affairs, and Promotion of Women and Children. In this regard, the Government refers to: (i) two schools for hard-of-hearing persons, one in Conakry with 181 pupils, and another in Kankan; (ii) one school for persons with a visual impairment in N’zérékoré, with 42 pupils; and (iii) one school for persons with disabilities in Kankan, with 430 pupils. The Government reports that, between 2016 and 2023, 388 persons with disabilities were employed in the public service. With regard to the private sector, the Government indicates that the provisions relating to the employment of persons with disabilities are included in the draft revised Labour Code transmitted to the Office. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the measures implemented within the framework of the National Community Rehabilitation Programme (PNRBC). It also requests the Government to provide a description of the National Programme for the Inclusion and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PNIAPH) and the measures taken as part of it for the vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate how coordination is ensured between the PNRBC and the PNIAPH and how the programmes concerning the vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities are periodically revised. The Committee lastly requests the Government to provide information on the adoption of any new provisions in the Labour Code currently being revised regarding the vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities.

Article 4. Effective equality of opportunity and treatment. The Committee notes that section 2 of the Act of 15 May 2018 provides expressly that it aims to guarantee equality of opportunity for persons with disabilities, and the protection and promotion of their rights against all forms of discrimination. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Act provides for positive special measures, particularly in section 25, which provides for the obligation of all enterprises subject to the Labour Code to reserve at least 2 per cent of their posts for persons with disabilities who have the skills required under the provisions of section 23 of the same Act. The Committee notes that section 23 provides that the disability would not constitute grounds for discriminating and impeding a citizen’s access to employment in the private or public sector in so far as the person concerned has the necessary skills and that his or her disability is not such that it compromises or hampers the normal functioning of the service that he or she would perform. In this regard, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its 2020 concluding observations, expressed its concern that Article 23 of the Act does not explicitly impose a requirement of reasonable accommodation (E/C.12/GIN/CO/1, paragraph 22). The Committee has highlighted that reasonable accommodations are essential for the achievement of substantive equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation for persons with disabilities, so that they may effectively exercise their fundamental right to full participation and integration into social and economic life (2020 General Survey Promoting employment and decent work in a changing landscape; paragraph 691). The Committee recalls that reasonable accommodation includes any change or accommodation to a job or workplace which does not impose an excessive cost on the employer and is not too disruptive to the functioning of the workplace, and that the mere fact that an accommodation may be inconvenient for the employer is not sufficient reason for its rejection (2020 General Survey, paragraphs 711–712). The Committee therefore expresses the hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to clarify employers’ obligations concerning reasonable accommodation and bring national legislation into full conformity with the Convention in this regard. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made to this end. It also requests the Government to provide statistical data, disaggregated by age and sex, on the implementation by enterprises of the quota for posts reserved for persons with disabilities. The Committee also requests the Government to specify the penalties imposed against enterprises that do not observe this quota.

Article 5. Consultations. In the absence of information in this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the representative organizations of employers and workers, as well as the representative organizations of persons with disabilities, are consulted on the implementation and periodic examination of the National policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, particularly within the framework of the National Programme for the Inclusion and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PNIAPH).

Article 7. Services accessible to persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the provisions of the Act of 15 May 2018 relating to access for persons with disabilities to vocational training services. In particular, the Committee notes that section 18 of the Act provides that the Government must establish specialized branches for the vocational training of persons with disabilities in already established training centres and set up specialized training centres for persons with disabilities who, due to the nature or degree of their disability, cannot access the existing centres. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the implementation of the provisions of 15 May 2018 concerning access for persons with disabilities to vocational training services, including the number of vocational training centres with specialized branches for persons with disabilities, the number of specialized vocational training centres for persons with disabilities, the number of persons with disabilities using the services offered by these centres, and the nature and scope of the services provided. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the evaluation methods of the services for vocational guidance, vocational training, placement and employment for persons with disabilities.

Article 8. Services in rural areas and remote communities.In the absence of information in this regard, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the development of vocational rehabilitation and employment services for persons with disabilities in rural areas and remote communities.

Article 9. Qualified staff. The Government indicates that it has appointed qualified staff to the National Orthopaedic Centre in the municipality of Dixinn, a school for hard-of-hearing persons in Boulbinet in the municipality of Kaloum, and small hospital accommodation in the Cité de solidarité in the municipality of Ratoma. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the training given to enable staff to provide services for vocational guidance, vocational training and placement for persons with disabilities.