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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government’s report and requests the Government to provide information on the following points.

1. In relation to its previous general observation of 2002 on sexual harassment, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report indicating that, although there is no specific definition of sexual harassment, the behaviour of persons who abuse their authority to commit this type of offence can be investigated and punished in accordance with the existing provisions. The Committee requests the Government to consider the possibility of incorporating a more detailed provision in its legislation taking into account the various elements specified in its general observation. It also requests it to consider the adoption of specific procedures to investigate and punish this type of offence.

2. In its previous comment, the Committee noted a significant increase in the unemployment rate among women. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of Act No. 823 of 2003 issuing provisions respecting equality of opportunity for women, and particularly those related to the formulation of programmes and projects to promote equality of opportunity for women in labour matters, including vocational training courses to eliminate sexist stereotypes; raising public awareness of women’s rights and the corresponding protection mechanisms; examining the situation of rural women workers; maternity and social security provisions; promoting studies on gender and equality of opportunity through the allocation of the appropriate funds; and the collection of statistical data with a gender component. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information in future reports on the activities carried out under the terms of this Act which lead to a reduction in the high rate of unemployment and under-employment among women and an improvement in women’s access to employment and training; as well as on their working and living conditions.

3. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest the creation of the Special Commission for Negro Communities and the adoption of legislation to implement article 55 of the Constitution. The Committee noted in its previous comment that the above constitutional provision recognizes the right of Afro-Colombian communities to own as collective property the undeveloped lands (baldíos) in the rural areas along the rivers near the Pacific coast; their right to pursue economic, social and cultural development in conditions of equality; and respect for their cultural practices. In this respect, the Committee also noted in previous comments the concluding observations of the last report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) with regard to Colombia which states that: (1) the indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities are disproportionately subjected to violations of human rights and international humanitarian standards; (2) the indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities are under-represented in State institutions, including the legislature, the judiciary, governmental ministries, the military and the civil and diplomatic services; (3) the government programmes are not responsive to the needs of many indigenous and Afro-Colombian women who are subjected to multiple forms of discrimination based on their gender and their race or ethnicity, and their displaced status; (4) the media coverage of minority communities, including the continued popularity of the television programmes that promote racial or ethnic stereotypes, CERD noted that such stereotypes serve to reinforce the cycle of violence and marginalization, which has had grave repercussions on the rights of Colombia’s historically disadvantaged communities; and (5) recognizing that many Afro-Colombian persons live in extreme poverty in urban slum areas, CERD recommends that the State take steps to address the de facto racial segregation in urban centres. The Committee, reiterating some of the recommendations made by CERD, trusts that the Government will adopt positive and effective measures to increase training and employment opportunities for minorities and indigenous communities in both the public and private sectors.

4. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not provide any of the information requested in points 1 and 2 of its previous comment on the treatment of the 3,436 complaints of employment discrimination against women, in particular with regard to the number that reached the courts and the number for which decisions were handed down, and with regard to pregnant women. The Committee requests the Government to send the Office a copy of the successive annual reports of the Special Labour Inspection, Supervision and Control Unit with its next report and, where possible, some of the court rulings relating to the complaints of employment discrimination against women, including those related to pregnancy.