Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

1. The Committee takes note of the Government's detailed report and the attached documentation, as well as of the information (including statistics) supplied by the Government representative to the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in 1996, and the discussion which followed.

2. At the end of that discussion, the Conference Committee's conclusions noted that the Government was ready to accept technical assistance from the Office and proposed that the Government invite a direct contacts mission to visit the country. The Government's report indicates that it wishes to pursue various technical cooperation measures with the Office: any type of cooperation with respect to the strengthening of the national policy on women; a seminar on the requirements of the Convention for national and provincial officials with duties related to its application; measures to strengthen further the national implementation machinery; activities to ensure that the provisions of the Convention are explicitly incorporated in the national labour regulations; and an exchange of views on the requirements of the instrument with members of the Labour Commission of Parliament. Regarding direct contacts, the Government states that it does not believe that the situation calls for such a mission, which is usually undertaken in very special circumstances. It is of this opinion in particular because the Conference Committee, in arriving at this conclusion, had not had time to study the extensive written report submitted by the Government during its meeting and since the present Committee had also not yet had occasion to do so. The Government considers that its substantial reports and, in particular, the information on more recent developments will remove the problem of insufficient information on which the suggestion of direct contacts was based. The Committee notes the Government's approach to using technical assistance to overcome difficulties in applying the Convention. It looks forward to receiving, in the Government's next report, information concerning contacts made with the Office in this regard. It trusts that the activities undertaken by the Government will take into account the comments it has been making on discrimination on the grounds of religion and sex, which are developed in the following paragraphs. The Committee hopes that these technical cooperation activities will lead the Government to reconsider in the future the possibility of a direct contacts mission.

3. In its previous observation, the Committee had noted receipt of a communication from the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) alleging discrimination in the labour market on the bases of sex, religion and political opinion, and stated that it would examine this matter at its next session. The WCL, referring to discrimination on the basis of sex, cites statistics for the period 1976-91 showing that, while the general population had grown, the average number of women active in the labour market had dropped from 15.94 to 10.73 per 100 men. According to a report published by the Iranian Centre of Statistics, in 1994 in industrial enterprises there was an average of only 5.92 women working for every 100 men. The WCL mentions in particular section 1117 of the Civil Code according to which the husband may prevent his wife from taking up a profession or job contrary to the interests of the family or to his wife's or his own prestige. Referring to discrimination on the basis of religion, the WCL states that in an "Islamic Republic" all the laws and regulations concerning individual and collective rights and duties are subject to a religious bias, in particular as regards certain occupations and jobs which are closed to women. Referring to the constitutional recognition of one official religion and certain "recognized" religions, the WCL infers that priority in employment is given only to persons faithful to the official religion. It cites section 8 of the Recruitment Regulations for Employees of the Ministry of Agriculture, of 24 September 1995, awarding higher salaries to the faithful and devoted, a phraseology which it states refers to persons who voluntarily took part in recent wars and thus proved their faithfulness to the regime. It also cites job advertisements in newspapers which call for qualifications such as "belief in Islam", and alleges that recruitment techniques involve ideological tests. With regard to discrimination on the basis of political opinion, the WCL states that the legislation of 5 October 1995 concerning recruitment competitions for teachers and employees in the Education Ministry defines the "moral, religious and political criteria" for recruitment and lists "sympathy towards" illegal political parties and formations as proof of incompetence for recruitment by the Ministry.

4. The Committee notes that the Government replies in detail to most of these points. Regarding alleged discrimination on the basis of religion and political opinion, it responds that, regarding the legislation concerning recruitment of teaching staff of the Ministry of Education, it is important to note that teachers have a special responsibility concerning the education and development of children. The Act in question requires: belief in Islam or any other officially recognized religion (Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism); commitment to Islamic principles for Muslims only (i.e. not for the aforementioned religious minorities); commitment to the Constitution including the provisions concerning the system of government being an Islamic Republic based on the principle of Velayat Faghig (Islamic jurisprudence); not being publicly known for moral corruption; no penal record; no narcotic addiction; and no affiliation with groups which have been declared "illegal" by the competent authorities. The Government points out that employment in the private sector is not bound by any rules specifying religious criteria. However, it does not comment on the reported discrimination appearing in job advertisements. It states that proof of its successful non-discrimination policy lies in the fact that the unemployment rate for religious minorities is lower than the national and provincial average (for example, Zoroastrians in the Province of Yazd and Christians in the Provinces of Isfahan, Tehran and Western Azerbaijan). Other statistical evidence includes the number of new university entrants (in the 1995-96 intake, there were 39,801 male and 21,525 female Muslim and non-declared entrants, compared to 72 males and 47 females listed as "other religions"). Regarding their access to jobs, according to Public Employment Office's statistics, non-Muslims have a higher rate of job placement: in 1995, 97.84 per cent of workers actually finding jobs were Muslim and 2.16 per cent were non-Muslim, whereas of the total population only 0.5 per cent is non-Muslim. Concerning alleged discrimination on the basis of sex, the Government supplies a large amount of recent statistical data pointing to improved access to education and to employment which are referred to below. Regarding the WCL's reference to section 1117 of the Civil Code, the Government states that it should be interpreted in the light of the Constitution, article 28 of which ensures the right of all persons to choose freely an occupation, under equal conditions of access to jobs. It stresses the gender-neutral language used there. According to the Government, section 1117 appears under the part of the Code dealing with rights and obligations based on marriage, and is only mandatory for Muslim couples since sections 6 and 7 of the Civil Code exempt non-Muslims from this part of the Code as they are covered by their own religious codes in the field of marriage. Moreover, under section 18 of the Act on the Protection of the Family, either member of a couple - husband or wife - having a complaint linked to choice of occupation contrary to the interests of the family can take a complaint to the competent court. It stresses that this approach is in line with the phrase "appropriate to national conditions and practice" used in Article 3 of the Convention.

5. Discrimination on the basis of religion. Regarding the Committee's previous comments on the difficulties facing persons of faiths other than Islam gaining access to university education and sitting on Islamic Labour Councils, the Committee notes with interest the Government's explanations, noted in the previous paragraph, concerning non-Muslim university entrants. The Committee also notes the Government's clarification that, under section 178 of the Labour Code, workers have three options when seeking representation: they can establish trade unions, elect workers' representatives or establish Islamic Labour Councils. According to the 1996 statistics in the Government's report, this free choice has led to the establishment of 112 workers' organizations and 1,277 Islamic Labour Councils and the appointment of 537 workers' representatives. It notes, moreover, that the Government representative at the Conference Committee indicated that members of the recognized religious minorities could belong to the Islamic Labour Councils. The Government points out that groups not recognized as religious minorities in the Constitution enjoy all the constitutional rights guaranteed to other citizens, such as article 23 ("It is forbidden to question people about their beliefs and no person may be molested or reprimanded for the mere possession of a certain belief"). The Committee notes, however, that the information supplied by the Government does not throw light on improvements in the situation of the Baha'is who, as noted in observations addressed to the Government for a number of years, have suffered discrimination on the basis of religion in access to education, access to employment and terms and conditions of employment.

6. While the Committee welcomes the fact that the Conference discussion clarified that the 1989 Directive No. M/11/4462 was in fact the document which repealed the previous, discriminatory Directive (concerning access of the Baha'is to the courts), and while the report explains that complaints of employment discrimination under the Labour Code can be made and are settled without any reference to the religion of the complainant, the Committee remains concerned at the situation of this religious minority. Its concern is reinforced by the fact the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the question of religious intolerance (UN document E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.2 dated 9 February 1996), stated, following a December 1995 visit to the country, that the Baha'is whom he met claimed to be strongly discriminated against in the field of employment, especially in access to public service posts. The Committee would point out that while particular religious beliefs may be inherent requirements of certain jobs, this would not appear to be the case in most public service posts. It refers the Government to the comments it made concerning state religions in paragraph 41 of its 1996 Special Survey on equality in employment and occupation. It trusts that the Government will reconsider the situation in practice of the Baha'is, and will keep it informed of improvements in their educational and employment opportunities.

7. Discrimination on the basis of sex. The Committee notes with interest that the amendment to the Act on Appointments to the Judiciary was adopted on 1 May 1995: section 5 now states that "Women holding judicial rank who enjoy the qualifications as appointment as a judge ... can be admitted by the Head of the Judiciary, to the post of Councillor of the Administrative Justice Tribunal, to Special Civil Courts, as Investigating Judge, to the Bureaux of Legal Studies and Legislative Drafting, to the Department of Custody of Minors, and as Councillors of Legal Departments and other departments that have judicial posts". It also notes that, for the first time ever, a woman has been appointed as Deputy Director-General of Tehran Province Judiciary and Head of its Custody Department. According to the Government representative at the Conference Committee, there are currently 97 women serving throughout the country in various judicial positions.

8. The Committee notes the detailed 1995-96 data supplied by the Government indicating that female students are increasingly entering courses that were largely taken by men (19 per cent women in technical and mathematical sciences as against an overall figure of 35 per cent women enrolled in higher education day courses and 31.5 per cent as against 48.6 per cent for women enrolled in evening courses), and showing that the number of women entering the active labour force has steadily grown. It also notes the copy of the list of occupations which are forbidden to women under section 75 of the Labour Code (which had been raised during the Conference Committee discussion), including arduous and harmful jobs involving exposure to factors resulting in, or liable to give rise to effects of, occupational diseases. The Committee also notes the details provided on the national programmes established to promote the conclusions of the Fourth International Conference on Women, many of which will affect the application of the principle of the Convention. Noting that a national committee headed by a woman has been set up in the Bureau for Women's Affairs to implement these strategies, the Committee requests the Government to inform it, in its next report, of the results obtained by the various programmes.

9. During its session, the Committee received a communication from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), dated 29 November 1996, alleging discrimination in employment. The Government has been sent a copy of this communication for any comments that it may wish to make. The Committee looks forward to receiving the Government's comments and will examine this matter at its next session.