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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Iraq (Ratification: 1959)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no information in response to most of its previous comments. In this regard, it recalls that Governments have a duty to provide information on the application of ratified ILO Conventions in law and in practice. It is on the grounds of that information, that the Committee fulfils its duties of assessment of the effective implementation of the ratified Conventions. Therefore, the Committee encourages the Government to submit a more exhaustive subsequent report which contains information on the matters raised below.

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Discrimination based on race, colour, religion or national extraction. In its previous observation, while recognizing the country’s ongoing process of transition and reconstruction, the Committee drew the Government’s attention to the availability of technical assistance for effectively implementing the conclusions of the ILO Conference Committee on the Application of Standards and fulfilling its obligations under the Convention. The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government merely outlines the existing legislative framework regarding discrimination in employment and occupation without providing the specific information requested in the Committee’s prior observation. Therefore the Committee again urges the Government to submit information on: (i) the measures taken or planned regarding the adoption of the bill on diversity protection and anti-discrimination, as well as the bill on the protection of the rights of religious and ethnic minority groups; and (ii) the strategy it intends to develop to overcome the obstacles to the adoption of these bills. In the meantime, the Committee reiterates its request for the Government to: (i) intensify its efforts and adopt proactive measures to combat discrimination against ethnic and religious minority groups (such as, for example, promoting tolerance and coexistence among religious, ethnic and national minorities, raising awareness of existing anti-discrimination laws, and setting quotas or targets for minority representation); (ii) regularly report on the outcomes of these measures, particularly in increasing access to employment and occupation for these groups; and (iii) provide any available statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on the employment of ethnic minority groups, as well as the sectors and occupations in which they are employed.

Articles 2 and 3. National policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation. The Committee notes that the Government, with the assistance of the ILO, has formulated a national strategy to prevent and reduce inequalities in the workplace for the period 2024–28. It also observes that the Government is currently developing a national policy aimed at eliminating discrimination in employment and occupation, in line with the provisions of the Convention. Additionally, the Ministry has launched a survey to monitor widespread instances of workplace discrimination. The Committee requests the Government to provide updates on the progress achieved in this regard, including on the technical assistance provided by the ILO, a copy of the strategy and the policy once they are adopted, and a summary of the main findings of the survey.

Legal obstacles faced by women. In its previous comment, in view of the legal obstacles faced by women in the labour market, the Committee suggested to the Government to consider launching a gender audit or analysis of its current legal framework, including the civil status of women, to ensure that any gender discrimination is removed. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide information on that suggestion. However, it observes that in a letter addressed to the Government dated 10 September 2024, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences and the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children expressed grave concern about proposed amendments to the Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959, which, if enacted, could undermine the country’s obligation to ensure equal treatment of women and children and seriously erode fundamental human rights and protections of women and children, including girls, in Iraq. They would constitute a serious roll-back of rights in several key areas affecting women and children and would be likely to exacerbate the prevalence and forms of violence against Iraqi women and girls (OL IRQ 4/2024). The Committee notes with concern that the amendments were passed in their second reading by the Parliament of Iraq on 16 September 2024. In light of the above, the Committee asks the Government to: (i) provide a copy of the final version of the Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959, as recently amended; (ii) step up its efforts to address the obstacles to women’s equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation that exist in practice, including cultural and stereotypical barriers; (iii) promote the participation of women in the labour market and decision–making positions on an equal footing with men; and (iii) communicate any available statistics, disaggregated by sex, concerning the participation of men and women in the various sectors of economic activity in both the private and public sectors.

Women migrant workers. The Committee recalls that, in its conclusions, the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards asked the Government to pay particular attention to the situation of women migrant workers in the country as they are particularly vulnerable to prejudices and differences in treatment in the labour market on grounds such as race, colour and national extraction, often intersecting with other grounds such as gender and religion (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 776). The Committee therefore asks the Government to ensure that women migrant workers are protected against all the forms of discrimination prohibited by the Convention not only in law but also in practice, and to provide any information available in this regard.

Article 5. Special protection measures. The Committee recalls that Labour Law No. 37/2015 prohibits women from working in jobs deemed hazardous or arduous (section 85(2)) and also from performing night work (section 86(1)) and that it had asked the Government to take the necessary measures to review these provisions with a view to ensuring that protective measures applicable to women’s employment in certain jobs or industries are not based on stereotypes regarding women’s professional abilities and capabilities and are strictly limited to maternity protection. In the absence of any information in this regard, the Committee reiterates its firm hopethat the Labour Code will be amended in the near future so that the restrictions on employment, under sections 85(2) and 86(1), will be strictly confined to maternity protection. Please provide information on progress made in this respect.

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