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1. Practical application. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that there is no discrimination on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion or otherwise, in respect of awarding employment and occupation or in education and training. However, in its previous comments, the Committee noted that the majority of cases submitted and handled by the Human Rights Commission have been labour-related complaints concerning discrimination, racial attitudes and practices, and xenophobic tendencies in the workplace. The Committee further notes that in its report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD/C/452/Add.6/Rev.1, 21 March 2005), the Government indicated that although cases have been lodged with the Industrial Relations Court, complainants have failed to prove racial discrimination. The Committee recalls that the absence of complaints concerning discrimination or the lack of judicial or administrative decisions establishing employment discrimination can not necessarily be taken as an indication of the absence of discrimination. The Committee underlines the importance of raising awareness of the principle of non-discrimination among workers and employers, as well as judges and other public officials, and of providing assistance to persons considering themselves victims of discrimination. In this respect, the Committee previously noted that the Commission had made proposals to the Government and the social partners for educational programmes, workshops and seminars for leaders of employers’ and workers’ organizations on human rights standards and on the provisions of the Convention. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether it has acted on any of these proposals and it encourages the Government to continue to provide information on the number, nature and outcome of cases of discrimination in employment and occupation that appear before the Human Rights Commission and the Industrial Relations Court.

2. Sexual harassment. Further to its 2002 general observation, the Committee asks the Government to provide information in its next report on any measures taken or envisaged to prohibit and prevent sexual harassment in employment and occupation.

3. The Committee notes, with regret, that the Government’s report does not reply to any of the other issues raised in the Committee’s previous comments. The Committee is therefore bound to repeat its previous request which raises the following points:

(a)  Article 2 of the Convention. National policy. The Committee notes that the Human Rights Commission has adopted a National Plan of Action for Human Rights (1999-2009) and requests the Government to provide information on the content of the plan in relation to the promotion of the principle of the Convention. The Committee further notes that the Government has adopted a National Gender Policy designed to ensure that both men and women have equal opportunities at all levels of development. It asks the Government to provide information on the development, implementation and impact of all these activities and hopes the Government will also indicate what actions it has taken to address discrimination on the basis of all the grounds of the Convention, other than sex.

(b)  Vocational training. The Committee has expressed on different occasions the importance of the implementation of an adequate system of vocational training that is free of any form of discrimination prohibited in the Convention in order to contribute effectively to equality in employment and occupation. The Committee notes the statistical data sent by the Government on the percentages of men and women who have completed different courses and it reiterates its request that the Government should include in its next report figures indicating how many men and women are in fact enrolled in these courses. The Committee again requests the Government to indicate what measures it has taken or envisages to: (a) establish an information system designed to open a broad range of occupations which can be chosen by girls; and (b) ensure that guidance tests for the choice of a trade or occupation do not perpetuate stereotypes by placing emphasis on social or cultural factors which are not germane to the qualifications required for a particular job.

(c)  Article 3(d). Employment under the control of a national authority. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to promote recruitment, training and promotion of women to ensure their representation at all levels of the public service, including the higher decision-making levels and to include statistics in its next report on the number, grades and posts of women and men currently employed in the public service.

(d)  Article 5. Special measures of protection or assistance. Please provide information on any progress achieved in the examination of national legislation to assess whether it is still necessary to prohibit the access of women to certain occupations (such as underground mining or night work). The Committee hopes the review will be undertaken in consultation with women workers and representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations and in light of up-to-date scientific knowledge and technological changes and social progress with a view to promoting equality of opportunity and treatment. In this regard, reference is made to the 1985 Resolution on Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women in Employment; the Protocol of 1990 to the Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89); the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171); and the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176), and the corresponding Recommendations.

The Committee trusts that the Government will make every effort to provide the information requested in its next report.