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1. Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee notes with interest the reactivation of the “Employment and Gender Policies” round table under the management of the National Council for Women (CONAMU), its strategic objectives and its courses of action. It also notes the annual plan of the Gender Equity Unit, the purpose of which is to contribute to the development, implementation and dissemination of employment generation and improvement strategies and programmes launched by the abovementioned round table that help to secure equal opportunities for men and women in Ecuador; and the Gender Equity and Youth Unit created in 2005 under the Directorate of Employment in order to carry out the plan. The Committee requests the Government to report on the progress and results of the activities of the Employment and Gender Policies round table and on the implementation of the annual plan, particularly the activities carried out by the Gender Equity Unit.

2. Article 3(c). Legislation. With reference to its previous comments on the amendment of some provisions of the Commercial Code and the legislation on cooperatives, the Committee notes that the Government has asked the National Cooperatives Directorate to take the necessary steps to repeal section 17(b) of the Regulations to the Cooperatives Act, by virtue of which married women need the authorization of their husbands to be members of housing, agricultural and family vegetable garden cooperatives. The Committee urges the Government to take measures to have the provisions repealed, as the Committee has been requesting for several years. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position to inform it about progress on this matter in its next report.

3. Penal and labour reform. The Committee notes that the Standing Committee for Women, Youth, Children and the Family has been working on the formulation of a number of amendments to penal provisions concerning sexual harassment and to labour law, in the course of harmonizing the Labour Code with the Code on Childhood and Youth. The Committee requests the Government to report on the progress of these reforms.

4. Afro-Ecuatorian peoples. The Committee notes with interest the work done by the Afro-Ecuatorian Peoples’ Council (CODAE) and the national policies to enforce the rights of Afro-Ecuatorian peoples laid down in Ecuador’s National Human Rights Plan. The Committee requests the Government to inform it in its next report of the measures taken or envisaged to eliminate discrimination and promote equality in employment and occupation for Afro-Ecuatorian peoples.

The Committee is addressing a request concerning other matters directly to the Government.