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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report.

1. The Committee notes that the Constituent National Assembly adopted on 5 June 1998 the new Political Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador containing various provisions relating to the subject covered by the Convention. The Committee notes with interest article 23(3) under which "the State shall recognize and guarantee to individuals equality before the law: all persons shall be considered equal and shall enjoy the same rights, freedoms and opportunities, without discrimination on grounds of birth, age, sex, ethnic origin, colour, social origin, language, religion, political affiliation, financial situation, sexual orientation, state of health, disability or difference of any nature". The Committee refers to its General Survey of 1988 on equality in employment and occupation (paragraphs 30 to 74) as regards the measures taken by countries to guarantee equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of certain types of discrimination, the grounds for which are not enumerated in Article 1, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention, which may give rise to a determination that other grounds for discrimination are covered under Article 1, paragraph 1(b), of the Convention. In this respect, the Committee notes that the above-mentioned constitutional provision prohibits discrimination, in addition to the reasons set out in Article 1, paragraph 1(a), on the grounds of sexual orientation, state of health and disability.

2. The Committee notes article 36(2) of the National Constitution which prohibits "any type of labour discrimination against women", and article 34, under which "the State shall guarantee equality of rights and opportunities for women and men in access to productive resources ..." and refers to the comments that it has been making since 1988 on section 17(b) of the regulations issued under the Cooperatives Act, by virtue of which married women require the authorization of their husbands to be members of housing, agricultural and family vegetable garden cooperatives. The Committee has also referred to section 12 of the Commercial Code, under which married women require the authorization of their husbands to enter into commerce, and sections 66, 80 and 105 of the above Code, which prohibit married and single women from entering the stock market, being stockbrokers or public auctioneers. With regard to the above provisions of the Commercial Code, the Government states in its latest report that since 1989 the Court of Constitutional Guarantees has suspended sections 12, 66, 80 and 105 of the Commercial Code with regard to the limitations placed on women (RS.TGC.RO 224:3 July 1989). The Government previously provided registers of stockbrokers which include women as operators. The Committee also notes the amendments to section 11 of the Cooperatives Act, but notes that section 17 of its regulations continues to require the authorization of the husband for married women who are not separated, or whose marriage settlements are not based on the separation of property rights, from being members of the above types of cooperatives.

The Committee takes due note of the above developments. Nevertheless, it emphasizes the importance of bringing the national legislation formally into conformity with the Convention by explicitly repealing or amending the provisions which are not in conformity with it, thereby ensuring that there is no uncertainty as to the legal texts which are in force. In this respect, the Committee recalls the commitment made by the Government to submit legal reforms to the National Congress to bring the national legislation into full compliance with the Convention and the provisions of the Constitution and it requests the Government to take the necessary measures for this purpose.

3. The Committee notes the information contained in the report, dated 1 October 1997, which was submitted by Ecuador to the Human Rights Committee in accordance with article 40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for the period 1990-96 (doc. CCPR/C/84/Add.6). In paragraph 215 of the above report, the Government states that "despite the efforts being made to eradicate the remnants of racial discrimination, such discrimination still exists in practice, affecting the indigenous population and the Afro-Ecuadorian communities". In the same report, it is stated that the indigenous population accounts for between 25 and 40 per cent of the total number of inhabitants of Ecuador and that Afro-Ecuadorians account for between 5 and 10 per cent of the national population (paragraphs 289 and 290) and that "there are few indigenous Ecuadorians holding decision-making posts in the executive and judiciary or in the private sector" (paragraph 292). The Committee notes the Government's statement in the report that government policies for indigenous peoples are designed to take "all measures to prevent the exclusion of the indigenous peoples from the current economic system" and to promote "their integration into the market economy in a creative manner" (paragraph 295). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the action that has been taken or is under way in the framework of the above policies and on any measure which has been taken or is envisaged to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation for indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian groups. The Committee notes that the Government has recently ratified the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169).

4. With reference to paragraphs 178 to 184 of its General Survey of 1988 on equality in employment and occupation, the Committee wishes to reaffirm that a policy of equality of opportunity in training is a means of securing full participation of the entire population, without exception, in economic activity and therefore in employment and occupation; training is the key to promotion of equality of opportunity. In this respect, the Committee notes with interest that, in accordance with article 77 of the Constitution "the State shall guarantee equality of opportunity of access to higher education" and the creation in 1993 of the National Directorate for Bilingual Inter-Cultural Education, specializing in aboriginal cultures and languages, which was set up to provide bilingual teaching (Quechua and Spanish) in the indigenous communities of the highlands, with a view to meeting the educational needs of marginal groups (paragraph 287 of the above report). The Committee also notes with interest the provisions respecting the collective rights of indigenous peoples, Negroes and Afro-Ecuadorians contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador of 1998.