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1. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report and the attached documentation and statistics. It also notes the reply to the comments from the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) on the application of the Convention, which had been received in October 2002 and forwarded to the Government. In addition, it also notes the discussion in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2003. The Committee notes that much of the information attached to the WCL comment as well as part of the reply of the Government consist of numerous pages of newspaper clippings on issues related to the application of the Convention such as the situation of women on the labour market, employment creation, social security, and women judges. The Committee has reviewed all this documentation as well as the Government’s allegations that the Democratic Union of Iranian Workers, which developed the information contained in the WCL communication, has affiliations to terrorist organisations.

2. Discrimination on the basis of sex. The very lengthy information supplied by the WCL emphasizes the existence of a climate of societal and structural discrimination, which women face in trying to obtain equal opportunity and treatment in both law and practice. According to the information, men are treated as head of the household and women are expected to be under their surveillance and guardianship. Some legal reforms are acknowledged but they are not felt to go far enough to establish substantive equality between men and women. The Government replies with assurances that it is giving priority to the promotion and protection of non-discrimination and that progress has been achieved in the last five years, which the Committee has recognized. The Government also emphasizes that the Islamic Republic of Iran is now a dynamic society, which is facing various challenges and from time to time setbacks, but which overall is moving forward in a very positive direction with the process of reform being irreversible. The Government indicates that review of laws concerning women from the perspective of human rights, international obligations and Islamic values continues and it stresses that in the meantime it is trying to find practical solutions to overcome any cases of violation of fundamental rights including the right to be free from discrimination.

3. Over the years the Committee has been following the positive trend in the level of women’s participation in education and training, though each year it has also been obliged to note the low level of women’s participation in the labour market. The Committee again notes the positive actions taken to improve education and training levels of women, such as designating 30 per cent of all technical and vocational training centres managed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs for female training. The Committee notes that this trend continues with very high participation rates of women in universities, but few job opportunities for graduates and others seeking employment. According to the information from the WCL, statistics published by the Office of the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs for Employment for 2001, indicate that only one out of 12 jobseekers obtained a job. It further indicates that over the same period, women had more difficulty finding jobs with only one out of 22 female jobseekers obtaining a job. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that women’s unemployment level is approximately one-third higher than that of men and that while men’s unemployment dropped from 13 per cent in 2001 to 10.9 per cent in 2002, women’s increased from 19.5 to 19.6 per cent. The Government acknowledges the problems facing jobseekers particularly young persons and women, and details efforts it has been undertaking to speed up privatization and attract foreign capital investment, which it hopes will improve employment opportunities. It specifies the establishment of a comprehensive data-processing system for jobseekers and the development of private placement employment centres as being among the Government’s plans next year. Further, the Committee welcomes the initiative of the ILO and Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to hold a Conference on Women’s Empowerment, Employment and Equality in Tehran in March 2004, with the aim of elaborating an action plan to increase employment opportunities, improve the quality and quantity of women’s employment and entrepreneurship, and promote better application of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the evolution of the position of women in education, training, and access to jobs, on the impact of the government initiatives to promote women’s employment and on the results of this Conference and the implementation of the action plan.

4. With respect to women’s position in the labour market, the Committee thanks the Government for the numerous statistical tables and analysis. It notes from the Government’s report that the trend of women’s participation rate continues to increase very slowly again in 2003, to 12.2 per cent from 11.8 per cent in 2002 and 10.3 per cent in 2001, but that as compared to men it remains very low. As concerns the need to address the vertical and horizontal occupational segregation to which the Committee has been drawing attention, the Committee notes that women’s participation from 1997 to 2001 in services has remained approximately the same, while it has decreased in industries and increased in agriculture. The Committee also notes the increase the number of women in the police, the defence ministry, in university academic boards, and in professions such as pilots. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that a number of measures have been taken to improve the status of women in their economic and social life including the introduction of plans for promoting women into management, establishment of more women’s cooperatives, creation of a "linking network" among women’s rural cooperatives to help empower rural women, formation of a committee and other measures to combat violence against women, issuance of over 300 licences to women to establish advertising centres and publications, increasing the number of women’s NGO’s, and promoting legal literacy concerning women’s rights. The Committee requests the Government to continue to undertake measures and even increase its efforts to improve the status of women on an equal basis with men in economic as well as social spheres in law, as well as in practice, and to continue to provide information on the results achieved.

5. For many years now the Committee has been asking the Government to review, and amend or repeal the following legal and administrative provisions, which are not in conformity with the Convention:

-  The obligatory dress code for women and the imposition of sanctions in accordance with the Act on administrative infringements for violations of the code. It reiterates its concern, inter alia, over the negative impact that such a requirement can have on the employment of non-Islamic women in the public sector.

-  Section 1117 of the Civil Code under which a husband may bring a court action to object to his wife taking up a profession or job contrary to the interest of the family or to his wife’s prestige. As indicated in the past, the extension of the right to women in the 1975 Protection of Family Act does not fully respond to the concerns of the Committee.

-  Decree No. 55080 of 1979 concerning change of judicial status of women to administrative status, which in effect prevented women from being judges with power to issue verdicts.

6. The Committee notes that, while study continues on the issues of officially removing the ban on women issuing verdicts and amending the civil code and civil rights laws regarding women, and proposals are being prepared for relevant authorities on these points, no decisions have been taken yet to repeal the relevant legislation. Nevertheless, the Committee notes that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s first woman judge has been appointed to the bench of the State Retribution Organization in Isfahan province by the Ministry of Justice with authorization to issue verdicts. It also notes that a proposal to amend section 1117 of the Civil Code has been submitted to Cabinet by the Women’s Participation Centre. The Committee welcomes these developments and asks the Government to take the necessary measures to repeal the legislation so that their discriminatory aspects are eliminated in both law and practice, and to indicate the progress made in this respect in its next report.

7. In addition to those regulations listed above, the Committee notes from the information submitted by the WCL a number of administrative regulations that require adherence to the dress code. Among these the Committee’s attention is drawn to the Disciplinary Rules for University and Higher Education Institutes Students, which classifies non-observance of Islamic veil requirements as a political and moral offence, with sanctions including dismissal from university or permanent exclusion from all universities. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether these rules are still in force and, if so, the manner in which they have been applied in practice. The Committee also notes that the information supplied by the WCL includes several administrative rules which restrict the employment of wives of government employees, which in the view of the Committee infers that the employees would only be men and that only women would be restricted. The Committee further notes from the Conference discussion the indication that social security regulations favour the husband over the wife in pension and child benefit provisions when both are working. The Committee asks the Government to revise these laws and administrative regulations to require equal treatment of male and female employees and their spouses, and to ensure that no provisions directly or indirectly infringe on women’s right to equal access and conditions of employment in all government service positions.

8. Discrimination on the basis of religion. With respect to the existence of religious discrimination in employment and occupation, WCL alleges that in the areas of education and employment minorities face major problems. Specific concerns are raised over preferences based on religion in the selection of teachers under the Act on the selection of teachers and employees of the Ministry of Education, which requires applicants to believe in Islam or one of the religions recognized in the Constitution. The Committee has been raising concern over preferences for Muslim over non-Muslim applicants for a number of years. In reply to its previous comment on the measures taken to promote equal access of religious minorities to jobs in public and private sectors, the Government provides a copy of a circular issued by the Vice-President in November 2001 stipulating that equal terms and conditions of employment should be given to all Iranian citizens, that full observation of the recognized religious minorities’ rights including in the fields of employment and recruitment were required, and that this was to be specified in job vacancy advertisements. Further the Government indicates that the Presidential High Screening Board issued an Official Circular, No. 2/47474 in November 2003 to the Interior Ministry in order to call the attention of the governorships country-wide to the necessity of further observance of the recognized religious minorities’ rights, particularly with regard to employment and recruitment. The Committee requests the Government to supply a copy of this Circular. The Government also states that despite the various attempts that have been made over the past few years to eradicate any existing legally based religious and ethnic discrimination, this will not be accomplished in the near future without difficulty. In the meantime, the Government indicates that promotional efforts are being undertaken to combat discrimination. Here again the Committee requests the Government to provide concrete examples of any efforts to combat religious and ethnic based discrimination in law and in practice.

9. In response to the Committee’s request for available statistics on employment of minorities in government service, the Committee notes that in 2001, 520 Christian women, 385 Zoroastrian women and 177 Jewish women were recruited and employed in government service. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that with respect to the employment of religious minorities in the education sector, a number of positions have been allocated to the open recruitment of the religious minorities in the Education Ministry for the academic year 2003-04. The Government also indicates that religious minorities are entitled to receive financial incentives for job-creating investment projects. The Committee requests the Government to indicate details on the number of positions filled in the education ministry and the number of persons receiving financial incentives, including their sex and religion.

10. Further to the Committee’s previous comments on the treatment in education and employment of members of unrecognized minorities, in particular members of the Baha’i faith, the Committee recalls the absence of any protection against discrimination in employment on the basis of religion in the Labour Code. Over the years the Committee has noted discriminatory practices against the members of the Baha’i in education and access to employment, while it has also noted some progress in redressing some of the discriminatory practices. This year the Government provides no new information on the situation of the Baha’i in terms of access to universities and institutes of higher learning or on their situation in the labour market. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to provide such information in its next report so that it may continue to monitor the situation in terms of application of the Convention. At the same time it urges the Government to continue to address the existing discrimination against the Baha’i.

11. Ethnic minorities. In response to the Committee’s request for information on the situation of ethnic minorities, the Committee thanks the Government for the information provided on the employment situation of the Azeries and the Kurds, which are the largest ethnic minority groups in the Iranian population. The Committee asks the Government to continue to supply information on the employment situation of these minorities, as well as other significant minority groups such as the Turks, and on all efforts undertaken to ensure equal access and opportunity to education, employment and occupation for members of these groups.

12. Human rights mechanisms. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Islamic Commission on Human Rights will be trying to expand its activities over the next year and that the emphasis placed on combating discrimination by the Human Rights Advocates Network was considered to be effective. The Committee notes the activities undertaken by the Commission to remove discrimination against unrecognized religious minorities including the holding of meetings aimed at collecting information on experiences and developing approaches and solutions which are to be presented in a comprehensive report on the issue for submission to the President. The Committee requests the Government to provide details on the results of the investigations, and on the proposed actions and how they are implemented. The Committee also notes that the Commission continues to handle cases of employment discrimination, although the numbers appear to be very small - 25 in 2002. It also notes the activities undertaken by the Commission jointly with other human rights institutions such as the conferences jointly held between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Denmark that concerned women’s rights, among other issues. The Committee requests information on the follow up on these meetings and activities including any practical programmes that may have been developed and implemented.

13. Tripartite consultation. The Committee notes the detailed information provided on the various initiatives to improve social dialogue and determine labour dispute settlement procedures. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which the tripartite structure and the representatives of workers and employers specifically undertake to promote and improve the application of the Convention.

14. In conclusion, the Committee must note the very full and detailed information provided by the Government in its reports this year and during the 2003 Conference Committee discussion, in which the willingness of the Government to dialogue was appreciated. It welcomes the taking of administrative initiatives during the past year that improve application of the Convention - in particular in relation to the access to employment of the members of recognized religions and the appointment of the female judge with verdict issuing power. The Committee however must express some concern over the slow pace of the development and implementation of a policy on non-discrimination and equality. It notes that a number of the points it has been raising for many years remain the subject of extensive study though in one case they have been formulated into a concrete recommendation for action. It urges the Government to take all necessary steps to adopt measures that will bring the legislation and regulations into full conformity with the Convention. It also trusts that the noted progress on the position of women in education will show positive results on the labour market and that the Government will make special efforts to ensure that this occurs at an ever accelerating pace so that women of all ethnic groups and religions will be able to enjoy fully equal access and terms and conditions of employment. Finally, the Committee asks the Government to provide in its next report up-to-date information on the education and labour market position of the Baha’i including information that will demonstrate specific efforts towards bringing this situation into conformity with the Convention.