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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Referring to its previous observations requesting detailed information on the progress made in bringing Guinea’s domestic legislation into harmony with the 1990 Constitution as well as with the Convention, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Guinean Labour Code is being revised to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to amend its legislation in the very near future and repeats its request that the Government supply copies of the codes (including the Labour Code), decrees, orders and decisions that are revised, once the amendments are approved.

In its previous comments, the Committee had asked the Government to supply with its next report:

(a)   statistics on the distribution of men and women at various levels of responsibility in the public service as a whole and in enterprises employing a large number of women, and on the proportion of girls and boys in the education system, particularly in scientific and technical subjects and vocational training centres, where girls are generally under-represented; and

(b)    the positive measures which have been taken or are envisaged to facilitate and encourage the access of women to qualifications in which they are under-represented and to promote the diversification of jobs held by women, particularly in trades or positions in which men predominate.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there is a lack of reliable statistics or badly maintained statistics in different sectors in Guinea, a situation that the Government attributes to lack of resources. It must observe that improvement in the means available for compiling information on direct and indirect forms of discrimination is indispensable if progress is to be made in the elimination of discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity and treatment. In this regard, the Committee reminds the Government that the Office remains available to provide technical assistance upon request to enable the Government to develop its capacity to gather, compile and analyse the statistical information necessary for an adequate evaluation of the status of the application of the Convention.

In respect of the situation of women and girls in Guinea, the Committee notes the comments made by the United Nations Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights in 1996 that “discrimination against women is on the rise, which is apparent from the adult illiteracy rate, access to education and the school drop-out rate among girls” (E/C.12/1/Add.5, 28 May 1996, paragraph 23). The Committee points out that equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation includes equality in access to vocational training under Article 1(3) of the Convention and is linked to equality in access to general education. Accordingly, the institution of compulsory and free primary education for all is one of the fundamental elements of a policy of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation. The Government is therefore requested to supply detailed information, including statistical data, on all measures taken to secure equal access to and participation in general education for women and girls and vocational training for women.

In respect of Article 3 of the Convention, the report refers to the establishment and operation of the Guinean Agency for Employment Promotion (AGUIPE) and the tripartite National Office of Vocational Training and On-the-Job Training (ONFPP). The Committee would be grateful if the Government could provide information on the activities of the AGUIPE and ONFPP relevant to the application of the national policy of non-discrimination.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the national employment policy is still being studied. Noting the importance of incorporating the principle of non-discrimination in the policy and the targeting of particular groups for special employment initiatives, the Committee requests the Government to supply to the Office a final text of the policy once it is approved.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the Decree of 23 August 1994, which established the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Employment, has been repealed. The Government indicates that Decree No. D/97/077/PRG/SGG of 5 May 1997 established the organizational structure of the Ministry of Employment and of the Public Administration and, inter alia, placed the General Labour Inspectorate under the administration of the Ministry. The Committee again requests the Government to please supply detailed information on the supervisory activities of the labour inspection services in the application of the principle of non-discrimination set forth in the Convention and the results obtained, including the number of violations registered and the action taken.