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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Mauritania (RATIFICATION: 1963)

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Observation

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The Committee notes the observations of the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM), received on 29 August 2023.

Article 1(1) of the Convention. Definition and prohibition of discrimination. Legislation. The Committee notes that the CGTM in its observations takes up the requests made by the Committee in respect of Act No. 2018-023 criminalizing discrimination. However, it notes with regret that the Government’s report does not contain any information in reply to its previous comments. The Committee therefore urges the Government to review the definition of discrimination contained in section 1 of Act No. 2018-023 criminalizing discrimination to ensure that it covers, without restriction, all of the grounds of discrimination set out in Article 1 of the Convention. Furthermore, in order to avoid any legal confusion and clarify the legal framework applicable to discrimination in employment and occupation, it also requests the Government to take measures to amend sections 4 and 20 of the Act respecting prohibited grounds of discrimination with a view to aligning them, as a minimum, with those set out in the Labour Code and Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, specifying the aspects of employment and occupation covered, in accordance with Article 1(3) of the Convention.

Article 1(1)(a). Discrimination on the basis of race, colour, national extraction and social origin. Former slaves and descendants of slaves. The Committee notes with regret that once again the Government’s report does not contain information on this subject. However, it notes that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, who visited Mauritania from 4 to 13 May 2022, found that Mauritania had made important progress, but observed that descent-based slavery continues to persist in certain regions of the country and drew attention to several areas in which slaves and persons who have emerged from slavery and their descendants face social, economic and political exclusion. In this regard, he recommended the Government to take measures with a view to eliminating discrimination in relation to the victims of slavery. He noted in particular that: (1) “[m]any victims of slavery remain economically, socially and culturally dependent on their former enslavers due to a lack of viable alternatives”; and (2) those “who find other work are often limited to jobs characterized by casualization, precariousness, exploitation and abuse due to discrimination, lack of education and documentation, and limited access to productive assets, including land.” The Special Rapporteur emphasized that the Taazour agency primarily works to address poverty through infrastructure projects and cash transfers, which admittedly benefit victims of slavery, but which do not necessarily address the structural barriers that keep victims of slavery in poverty, including deep-rooted discrimination and inequality that prevent them from accessing education, public services and decent work. He considered that “positive measures specifically targeting Haratine and Black Mauritanian communities are necessary to break the cycle of discrimination, poverty and dependence and overcome the centuries-long legacy of slavery” and recommended positive discrimination measures in areas “where victims of slavery are underserved or underrepresented, including access to land, housing, education and vocational training, civil registration, social protection, entrepreneurship support and public employment opportunities” (A/HRC/54/30/Add.2, 21 July 2023, paragraphs 45, 59, 60 and 72). The Committee notes that a new ILO cooperation project, entitled “Empowerment for Resilience: Survivors Combat Slavery and Slavery-based Discrimination in Mauritania and Niger through Sector-based Social Partnerships and Sub-regional Collaboration (2022-26)” is currently being implemented and includes among its objectives enabling victims of descent-based slavery and discrimination on grounds of slavery to develop independent and diversified sources of income in targeted sectors (outcome 3). Noting this information and also referring to its 2022 comments on the application of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), the Committee urges the Government to take specific measures to: (i) eliminate stigmatization and discrimination, and particularly social prejudices, in relation to former slaves and descendants of slaves; (ii) promote equality in employment and occupation without distinction as to race, colour, national extraction or social origin; and (iii) encourage the education, training and employment of persons affected by stigmatization and discrimination based on race, colour, national extraction or social origin. It urges the Government to provide information on: (i) the measures adopted in this regard and the results achieved; and (ii) the implementation of the ILO project referred to above in the country in terms of combating discrimination in employment and occupation.

Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee recalls that: (1) there are still no measures in law or practice to combat sexual harassment; and (2) measures had been envisaged by the Government in the form of a Bill to combat violence, including sexual harassment. It notes the Government’s very general indication that, with a view to reinforcing the protection of women and girls and eliminating any form of discrimination against them, it intends to strengthen the relevant legislative framework as soon as possible. The Committee also notes the preliminary conclusions published on 6 October 2023 by the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, which carried out a 12-day mission to the country, according to which: (1) women are reported to be severely harassed at work at times and compelled to leave their jobs: and (2) sexual harassment and gender-based violence from teachers have also been reported as a concern likely to contribute to the drop-out rates of girls from school. The Committee recalls that, to be effective, protection against sexual harassment must cover: (1) all workers, women and men; (2) not only employment and occupation, but also education and vocational training, access to employment and conditions of employment; (3) all the forms of sexual harassment; and (4) all those committing sexual harassment, including colleagues, clients and third parties. In light of the above, the Committee urges the Government to take effective measures in law and practice to: (i) define, prevent and prohibit sexual harassment in employment and occupation covering not only quid pro quo harassment, but also hostile working environment harassment; and (ii) inform and raise the awareness of workers, employers and their respective organizations, as well as labour inspectors and magistrates, concerning issues related to sexual harassment (prevention, treatment of cases, complaints procedures, assistance to and rights of victims, etc.). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in the legislative work on the Bill on violence against women and girls, to which the Government referred in its previous report, and specific information on its content in relation to sexual harassment in employment and occupation.

Articles 2, 3(a) and 5. Equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women. Positive measures for women. The Committee notes with regret that the Government confines itself in its report to indicating without other information that it is taking effective and positive measures to strengthen equality between women and men in employment and occupation. With reference to action to combat discrimination against women and girls and the promotion of gender equality, the Committee also notes the preliminary conclusions published on 6 October 2023 by the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, which carried out a 12-day mission to the country, according to which: (1) the poverty experienced by women and girls often emanates from blatant systemic failures rooted in gender-based discrimination and exclusion, manifested by the lack of decent work, lack of quality and accessible education, unequal rights to land and housing, and chronic food insecurity; (2) the vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation particularly afflicts women who experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including rural women, migrant and refugee women and girls, women with disabilities and women from certain ethnic groups; (3) access to credit remains a significant challenge for many women which severely curtails their entrepreneurship and their ability to improve their livelihoods; (4) only 6 per cent of women own land (4.2 per cent of women in rural areas); (5) the gender gap in the labour market is stark, with only 26.4 per cent of women participating, compared with 56.6 per cent of men; (6) in 2018, only 11 per cent of enterprises were owned by women, and in 2014 only 5 per cent of Mauritanian enterprises included women in top management; (7) women predominate in the informal and precarious economy (76.5 per cent of them work there, compared with 42.9 per cent of men), which is a reflection of structural discrimination, including the persistence of gender stereotypes and gendered expectations, norms and attitudes; (8) women and girls often bear the majority, if not all, of the burden of unpaid care and household work, often described as a “woman’s job”; and (9) the absence of childcare options offered by the State also significantly hinders women from working outside the home and achieving economic empowerment. The Committee notes the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in which it notes the creation of the National Observatory on the Rights of Women and Girls by Decree No. 2020/140 and refers to the following recommendations, among others: (1) raising awareness of the importance of girls’ and women’s education at all levels as a basis for their empowerment and the development of the country, as well as the promotion of the completion of secondary education by girls and women and their access to tertiary education; (2) increasing the access of women to full-time employment in the formal economy, including by strengthening literacy programmes and vocational training opportunities for women, with special emphasis on disadvantaged groups of women; (3) effectively enforcing labour legislation protecting women’s rights in the workplace by strengthening labour inspections and establishing confidential and independent complaint mechanisms, as well as by raising awareness in the population of women’s equal rights in employment; (4) repealing section 57 of the Personal Status Code (which provides that “married women may, subject to the requirements of the Sharia, exercise any occupation outside the conjugal home”) and eliminating any other restrictions on women’s participation in certain professions or types of work; and (5) ensuring that the unpaid work of women is recognized, reduced and redistributed, including by increasing the availability of affordable childcare facilities and promoting the participation of men in domestic and family responsibilities (CEDAW/C/MRT/CO/4, 2 March 2023, paragraphs 5, 33, 35 and 39). The Committee also notes that, in its observations, the CGTM emphasizes that certain sociological and retrograde perceptions, particularly on gender equality, should be covered by broad training and information campaigns at the national level and in all socio-professional sectors. The Committee urges the Government to establish a real gender equality policy in employment and occupation, in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations, and in particular to take specific measures to: (i) promote the access of women to a broader range of formal jobs, and particularly the jobs traditionally reserved for men and positions of responsibility, as a means of combating the horizontal and vertical occupational segregation of women and men; (ii) improve the access of women to productive resources, and particularly credit and land, and new technologies; (iii) take action to combat actively socio-cultural and gender stereotypes, particularly through awareness-raising campaigns; and (iv) improve the reconciliation of family and work-related responsibilities and the sharing of domestic responsibilities. It requests the Government to provide information on: (i) any measures taken in this regard and the results achieved; (ii) the implementation and results of the National Strategy for Gender Mainstreaming (2015-25); (iii) the activities of the National Observatory on the Rights of Women and Girls in relation to employment and access to productive resources; and (iv) recent statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on the participation of women and men in the private and public sectors (public service and other public employment).

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

[The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2024.]