Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Equality of opportunity and treatment of ethnic minorities. In its previous observation, the Committee had reiterated its earlier request for specific information on the employment situation of those belonging to certain ethnic minority communities, namely the Zulu and the Tonga. The Committee regrets that the Government again merely refers to the Constitution and states that no discrimination of such people takes place. The Committee draws the Government’s attention once again to the importance under the Convention, not only of the absence of discriminatory legal provisions, but also of declaring and implementing a national policy on equality of opportunity and treatment with respect to all the grounds covered in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention and taking concrete measures to implement the policy in accordance with Article 3. The Committee urges the Government to ensure that in the context of the national equality policy, concrete measures are taken to ensure that workers from ethnic minorities, in particular the Zulu and the Tonga, are protected against discrimination in employment and occupation, and requests the Government to provide information in this regard. The Committee also asks the Government to provide specific information on the employment situation of ethnic minorities in the country.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.