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1. The Committee takes note of the information communicated by the Committee for Human Rights and the Rights of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities of the Parliament's Chamber of Deputies, on its activities undertaken as part of its functions in the social field. It has noted in particular that this Committee has had 27 individual submissions brought before it in respect of labour law, which it has transmitted to the competent ministries. According to the same Committee these were principally cases of workers affected by the closing down or restructuring of their enterprises, and not allegations of discrimination in employment based on race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on all complaints submitted to the Committee for Human Rights and the Rights of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities alleging discrimination in respect of employment based on one or several of the criteria in the Convention and to indicate the action which may have been taken thereon.

2. The Committee is aware that the Government is traversing a difficult period of political, economic and social change, after the various conflicts -- in particular ethnic conflicts -- through which the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has passed, and that these factors hinder full application of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to promote equality of opportunity and of treatment in employment and occupation (including, for example, launching campaigns to increase awareness of equality of opportunity and of treatment; the adoption of measures aimed at encouraging a spirit of racial tolerance; the adoption of adequate sanctions against acts of discrimination in training, access to employment and employment conditions, etc.) and on the effective impact of these measures on discrimination based on race, national extraction and religion.

3. The Committee notes the Government's reply regarding the establishment of a national mechanism to protect and strengthen the rights of women and promote their participation in decision-taking bodies. The Government in fact explains that the mandate of the Committee on Equality Issues set up in 1996, and composed of the representatives of the relevant ministries, is to promote and supervise observance of government policy on questions of equality. In this connection, the Committee notes that the Committee on Equality Issues has concluded its work on the formulation of a national policy to promote equality and that the text was adopted on 18 December 1997. It noted with interest the contents of this national policy (the text of which was provided by the Government) and the fact that the Government decided immediately to execute an implementation plan in its respect. The Committee observes that this plan includes a series of concrete measures to be taken to attain the various objectives of the national policy to promote equality -- such as increasing the number of women in posts of responsibility, taking account of gender issues in the elaboration and assessment of all new policies, developing teaching on equality of the sexes at all levels (primary, secondary and university), etc. Noting that the action programme includes deadlines for the attainment of certain objectives, it requests the Government to inform it, in its next report, of progress achieved in the implementation of the action programme, of difficulties encountered and results obtained by that date.

4. The Committee notes that non-governmental organizations were heavily involved in the elaboration of the national policy to promote equality of the sexes and that the role foreseen for them in the implementation of this policy is also considerable. Taking account of the role accorded, under Article 3 of the Convention, to employers' and workers' organizations in promoting the acceptance and observance of the national policy of equality of opportunity and treatment, the Committee would like to know whether employers' and workers' organizations were also involved in the formulation process of this policy and recalls, in this connection, that the term "cooperation" used in Article 3 of the Convention evokes the idea of work performed jointly which goes well beyond the requirement of consultation.