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1. The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 98-55 of 29 December 1998, which establishes the powers, structure and functions of the National Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms (CNDHL). It notes that the CNDHL's tasks include promoting and defending human rights in the Republic of Niger by all appropriate means, as well as investigating on all human rights violations. In this connection, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the CNDHL's activities include the defence and promotion of equal rights in employment. If so, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information in future reports on the activities undertaken by the CNDHL in this area.

2. The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. The Committee notes that section 5 of the Labour Code of 1996 prohibits any discrimination in employment "subject to the explicit provisions of the present Code, or of any other legal text or regulation protecting women and children, and of provisions respecting the situation of foreigners". Article 5 of the Convention provides that special measures of protection or assistance designed to meet the particular requirements of persons shall not be considered to be discrimination. The Committee hopes that the legal provisions and regulations protecting women and children, to which the Government refers in section 5 of Ordinance No. 96-039 above, are in conformity with the principles contained in the Convention and would be grateful if the Government would provide information on all these texts. With regard to provisions respecting the situation of foreigners, the Committee hopes that these are in accordance with the principle of the application of the Convention to all persons, and its objective of the elimination of discrimination in employment or occupation on the grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin for both nationals and non-nationals, and refers on this matter to paragraph 17 of its 1988 General Survey on equality in employment and occupation. It also requests the Government to provide information on this point.

2. The Committee notes that, with regard to the specific measures which have been adopted or are envisaged against obstacles of a social nature to the promotion of equality in practice, the Government states that the Ministry for the Social Development of the Population, the Promotion of Women and the Protection of the Child envisages a number of measures, including a survey of all legal texts relating to women, the repeal of texts with shortcomings for the promotion of women and awareness-raising measures for the population on the reasons why such measures are necessary. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would transmit the results of the survey when it has been undertaken and provide information on the texts that it is planned to repeal.

3. The Committee notes from the statistical data contained in the report supplied by the Government on the application of Convention No. 100 on equal remuneration, relating to the distribution of workers by branches of activity, professional categories and sex, that the percentage of women employees remains very low in all sectors and professional categories. In view of the Government's statement in its report for 1995 that the application of egalitarian principles is prevented principally by constraints of a social nature, it requests the Government to pursue its efforts and to continue transmitting information on specific measures designed to promote equality in practice between men and women in employment, and particularly awareness-raising measures and affirmative action to resolve obstacles of a social nature which impede the access of women to the labour market and to overcome the insufficient level of participation of women in positions of responsibility in the public service. With reference to its general observation on this Convention, it requests the Government to continue supplying statistical data on developments in the access of women to the labour market.

4. The Committee notes that, in the fields of education and training, programmes designed to raise the awareness of the population as to the need to send girls to school for their own development continue to be undertaken by the Ministry of Social Development. It would be grateful if the Government would provide detailed information on these school attendance programmes for girls, as well as statistics on changes in the school attendance rates for girls and boys, so that it can evaluate their results. It also requests the Government to refer to its general observation.

5. The Committee also notes, from the report submitted by the Government to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) (UN doc. CERD/C/299/Add.18), that in its desire to achieve the active participation of all categories of the population in the management of the affairs of State and in the context of the consolidation of peace, the Government undertakes to integrate demobilized members of the Armed Resistance Organization (ORA) into all levels of the public administration, in accordance with the criteria of competence and the needs of the State. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide fuller information on these affirmative integration measures and their results.