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

1. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report in relation to its general observation of 2002 indicating that sexual harassment in employment and occupation is not explicitly addressed in the labour legislation and that there are no specific judicial or administrative procedures on this subject. The Committee requests the Government to envisage the possibility of including a prohibition of sexual harassment in its legislation, taking into consideration the various elements set out in its general observation, as well as adopting specific procedures for the investigation and punishment of these types of offences.

2. The Committee once again notes that the Government’s report does not contain any reply to its previous comments related to the implementation of the Social Development Plan: Policies for Women 1996-2005, the establishment of the Institute for Women and the action undertaken in the context of the Inter-institutional Agreement between the National Council for Women and the Ministry of Labour, of February 1998. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the establishment of the Institute, the implementation of the National System for Women, the action referred to in the section on the economy and poverty of the Social Development Plan: Policies for Women 1996-2005, and on the implementation of the Inter-institutional Agreement between the National Council for Women (CONAMU) and the Ministry of Labour.

3. The Committee notes the indication contained in the Government’s report that the most direct form of eliminating any form of discrimination in access to employment and occupation is through explicit legal provisions on this subject; the widespread, free and representative social participation of the country’s occupational trade unions and professional organizations and associations; and the political support of the national Government. It adds that access to vocational training in the country is free, in accordance with individual needs, inclinations and aspirations, which gives rise to the whole range of equality of opportunity without any exception whatsoever. The Committee reminds the Government that measures such as those described are not always sufficient to ensure the application of the Convention in practice and that in many cases protection and assistance measures are necessary to compensate for inequalities which, based on grounds set forth in Article 1 of the Convention, have nullified or prejudiced equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation.

4. In its previous comment, the Committee noted that, according to the statistical data, there is a higher rate of unemployment among women workers than among men. The Committee once again requests the Government to supply information on the measures that it is taking or envisages taking to promote equality of opportunity in access to employment and to facilitate the greater participation of women in the labour market.