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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:

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its direct request.

It also notes the outcome of the work of the National Seminar on Occupational Risks related to Benzene and Prevention Strategies, held in Abidjan in 1998, and the respective report of the first “Legislative” Committee, which refers to the Convention and its Recommendation. It also notes the Government’s indication that, in the framework of the decrees issued under Act No. 95-15 issuing the Labour Code, the Decree of 1 March 1995 will be revised in order to bring it into conformity with the following Articles of the Convention: Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Convention (the concentration of benzene in the air of places of employment not to exceed a ceiling value of 25 parts per million (80 mg/m³, or 0.08 g per m³)); and Article 11, paragraph 2 (prohibition upon young persons under 18 years of age from being employed in work processes involving exposure to benzene or products containing benzene, except in the context of education or training).

The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures in the near future to give full effect to the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in this respect.