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The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report, and the attached documentation. As many of the documents were in Danish, and it was not possible to have them all translated, the following comments are raised on the basis of a preliminary consideration of some of the documents only.

1.  The Committee notes the information regarding Act No. 459 of 1996 which prohibits direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, religion, political opinion, sexual orientation, national extraction or social or ethnic origin. It also notes with interest the judicial decisions brought under the Act relating to discrimination on race, religion and gender (sexual harassment, pregnancy, and equal pay), and that one of the cases also invokes the Convention (Case No. B-2732-97 of 21 October 1998). The Committee further notes that one of the cases involves sexual orientation, a ground covered by Act No. 459 of 1996, and one which the Government indicates is under consideration to be established as a prohibited ground of discrimination under Article 1, paragraph 1(b), of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of the Act, relevant judicial decisions and measures to expand the coverage of the Convention to cover other grounds as provided for under the Act.

2.  The Committee notes that section 6 of Act No. 459 includes an exception to the non-discrimination principle whereby enterprises created for the express objective of promoting a particular political opinion or religious belief have the right to require its employees to share that same political opinion or religion. It also notes that permission of the Ministry of Labour is required for exemption from the Act’s prohibition from discrimination and that the Ministry assesses requests for permission on the "principle of proportionality". The Committee also notes that such exemptions are determined on the basis of the importance of the position to the enterprise, and that the Ministry of Labour strives to ensure a uniform application of the exception. The Committee requests the Government to provide in future reports information on any exemptions granted under this provision of the Act.

3.  The Committee notes from the information provided with the Government’s report that the rate of unemployment for women was consistently higher than that of men during 1993-99, e.g. 7 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively for 1999. It notes also that this is the same for women from ethnic minority communities, in particular among women coming from Africa and Asia. Noting the measures taken to strengthen the participation of women in the labour force, including women from different ethnic backgrounds, the Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on these activities and their impact.

4.  The Committee notes from the Government’s report on Ethnic Discrimination in the Labour Market (Ministry of Labour, July 1997) that "unemployment among foreign nationals is disproportionately high" compared with the rest of the national population, and it notes the statistical information attesting to this fact. It notes with interest the various measures taken and planned to combat ethnic discrimination in the labour market, in particular the action plan drawn up by the "barrier committee" composed of representatives of the social partners, relevant ministries and the Council of Immigrants; the network of ethnic consultants, educational and vocational guidance, language training courses; the inter-ministerial working group on ethnic discrimination in the labour market and the Board for Ethnic Equality. The Committee also notes the measures to increase recruitment of ethnic minorities to the police force and the "ice-breaker scheme" to facilitate the access of persons with higher educational qualifications from different racial backgrounds to the Danish labour market, among other such efforts. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information in its next report on the results of the above measures and any other initiatives to combat ethnic discrimination in the labour market, including relevant statistical information.

5.  The Committee notes that the National Labour Market Authority’s Circular No. 6/98 of 29 October 1998 on guidelines for placement activities for unemployed ethnic minority workers replaces Circular No. 14/95 of 13 November. It also notes that where an employer lists discriminatory requirements in a job order specification sent to the Public Employment Service (PES), and that these requirements are not essential to the performance of the job, then the Public Employment Service has to try and persuade the employer to withdraw the discriminatory requirements. The Committee notes further that if this fails, it must then inform the employer in writing that it can no longer refer any applicants to that specific employer, and that it can also report the employer to the police. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of such notifications, their results and whether this has led to any prosecutions.