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With reference to its previous direct requests, the Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report.

1. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the principle of equality is established in all laws and regulations that relate to the Convention and that there is no discrimination on the grounds set out in the Convention. While noting that the 1992 revised Constitution (Dahir No. 1-92-155 of 9 October 1992) establishes, in general terms, equality before the law (article 5), freedom of opinion (article 9), the right to education and work (article 13) and contains specific provisions ensuring equality of political rights between men and women (article 8) and equal access to public sector jobs and functions (article 12), the Committee notes that no provision of the Constitution, nor of the Dahir of 2 July 1947 on labour legislation, nor of any law or regulation specifically lays down the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation, or prohibits discrimination on all the grounds set out in the Convention and in all sectors of activity.

It notes with interest, however, that the draft Labour Code now being examined has filled this void by establishing expressly the principle of non-discrimination within the meaning of the Convention. The above draft has already been approved by the Government (after more than 25 years of preparation and examination) and Parliament has been debating it since May 1992 with a view to enacting it. The text of the draft has been sent to the ILO.

The Committee urges the Government - as it has done several times since its direct request of 1970 - to keep it informed of developments in the situation, and particularly of difficulties encountered in actually adopting and promulgating the Code and the measures taken or envisaged to overcome them. It notes that the International Labour Office assisted with the preparation of the draft and made its first observations as long ago as 1979, and informs the Government that it is still at its disposal for any additional assistance it might deem necessary.

2. As regards women more particularly, the Committee notes from the statistics supplied by the Government in its report that the percentage of women employed in the public service has increased, from 16.6 per cent in 1979 to 28.5 per cent in 1986 as regards women workers in the urban sector in general, and from 21.9 per cent in 1981 to 28.7 per cent in 1987 for women workers in the education and health sectors. It asks the Government to continue to provide information on specific measures taken to reduce the still substantial differences in the number of men and women workers in several sectors. So that it can ascertain progress made in this area, the Committee would appreciate receiving, in particular, recent statistical information in the next report, concerning the number of women (and their percentage in relation to men) employed in the public administration and public and private enterprises employing a substantial number of women, including in jobs and occupations traditionally held by men, and in management and executive posts.

3. With reference to its previous comments on the Decree of 11 February 1972 regulating secondary education establishments (sections 6 and 10) and the Order of 20 June 1963 establishing an examination for the award of permanent appointments to probationary short-term typists (section 2), the Committee asks the Government to indicate in its next report whether these texts are still in force and, if so, the measures taken - and the results obtained - to eliminate any provisions from the texts, as well as any administrative practices, that are incompatible with the national policy against discrimination, in accordance with Article 3(c) of the Convention.

4. With regard to equal access for men and women to education and vocational training, the Committee notes that the Government encourages the access of all applicants, without any distinction as to sex, to the various courses provided in training establishments, and that there has been an increase in the number and the student capacity of such establishments. The Committee refers to paragraphs 166 to 169 of its 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, in which it explains the concept of "affirmative action programme" as being any measure which sets out to eliminate and make good any de facto inequalities in training and employment which affect the opportunities in particular of women and underprivileged ethnic groups, and once again asks the Government to state in its next report the affirmative measures taken or under consideration to facilitate and encourage the access of women and, if appropriate, disadvantaged ethnic and tribal groups, to training for occupations in which they are still underreperesented and to encourage the diversification of their jobs and their promotion.