Cas individuel (CAS) - Discussion : 1993, Publication : 80ème session CIT (1993)

A Government representative indicated that the comments of the Committee of Experts had not reached the Government and had been received only upon arrival at the Conference. He stated that the Constitution of 1970 guaranteed to all citizens equality in employment and occupation without any discrimination on the basis of race, religion, social origin or other motives and provided that employment and work were a right established for all citizens. The Civil Service Act of 1960 guaranteed equality in the public sector, without discrimination on the basis of sex, social origin or religion, and the Labour Code of 1987, in section 2, guaranteed the right to employment without discrimination on the same grounds. Different texts were adopted on the basis of the Constitution and the Labour Code in order to create conditions of equality of opportunity and equity in education, employment and working conditions. This policy received the support of the social partners and the Government had done everything possible to give it practical expression in the world of work. Referring in particular to education and vocational training, he stressed that education was free of charge from the age of six, without discrimination based on sex; vocational training centres were open for all citizens; conditions had been created so that everybody was prepared for employment, irrespective of their origin. There was also equality in promotional opportunities. The policy of equality had borne fruit: the number of working women had risen to 39 per cent of the labour force. He concluded that there was full equality for all citizens irrespective of origin, beliefs or religion.

The Employers' members, referring to the statement of the Government representative that the comments of the Committee of Experts had been received late, recalled that these comments corresponded word for word to those formulated previously, as the Committee of Experts had repeated them again this year because the Government had not supplied the report. They noted, in connection with point 2 of the observation, that the Government had not supplied information on the measures taken or on the results obtained to promote the cultural rights of ethnic and linguistic minorities, such as Turkoman and Kurdish minorities. In relation to point 3 and Article 2 of the Convention, they noted that the Committee of Experts had once again requested the Government to supply information on the measures taken to ensure that, in practice, the members of these minorities were not subjected to any discrimination. Given the very general remarks of the Government, they considered it necessary that the Committee urgently request the Government to communicate a report and to provide all necessary information on the concrete measures adopted to ensure the application of the Convention.

The Workers' members recalled that the Committee of Experts had noted in its observation that the Government "merely cited" the provisions of the Constitution and labour legislation, which the Government representative repeated in his statement. The provisions concerning human rights and non-discrimination were found in many constitutions, yet they still had to be applied in practice. The Workers noticed that the Government representative had not mentioned the Turkoman and Kurdish minorities to whom should be added the Arab minorities in southern Iraq, who were being starved and slaughtered in the most extreme form of discrimination. It was evident that discrimination was taking place against ethnic minorities in Iraq. The Convention did not only prohibit discrimination based exclusively on the grounds of sex, social origin or religion, it equally prohibited discrimination for other motives. The Government should supply the information required by the Committee of Experts, as well as by this Committee, concerning minorities.

The Workers' member of Kuwait supported the declaration of the Workers' members and requested information on the measures taken to respect the rights of the Kurdish, Turkoman, Chiite, Assyrian and other minorities. In the Kurdish zones in the northern part of the country, schools had been closed, depriving a large part of the population of their right to education. The Government did not respect its international obligations. It should submit a report indicating measures taken in practice to respect the rights of minorities.

The Government representative stated that he referred not only to the Constitution but also to the Labour Code and to the Civil Service Act, and to the State Plan adopted in 1970 which was contained in mandatory legislation. The legislation did not permit any discrimination and made no distinction on the basis of national origin; Arabs and all ethnic or religious minorities were treated on an equal basis. The Kurdish population was not treated differently because all populations were dealt with on the basis of equality in employment and all other rights. He mentioned Act No. 33 on self-administration of Kurdish regions which provided, in particular, the following: the language of education was Kurdish; the rights of these populations were protected under the Constitution (article 3); all minorities were represented on a proportional basis in the Parliament of the autonomous region; access to public employment was guaranteed; the Parliament of the autonomous region had the right to take all legislative measures to promote the cultural and social development of the region, as well as national customs and traditions of all citizens, including members of the various minorities (article 10); the Executive Council, composed of Kurds and not Arabs, had the authority to administer various fields, such as employment and education (article 10), and to distribute civil service positions among the various members of the minorities. He concluded by stating that the above-mentioned laws guaranteed equality of opportunity to all citizens, including the Kurds and other national minorities, and respected international obligations.

The Workers' member of Iraq, recalling the mandate of the Committee, stated that he was taking part in the Committee to monitor the application of ILO standards; he was entirely in favour of the application of this Convention. He stated in general terms that governments were slow in revising their legislative texts and adopting measures to implement them. Referring to the situation in his country, he considered that, because of the embargo, all citizens became victims of certain forms of discrimination and that the northern regions were not suffering from exactions but from the consequences of this measure. He supported the requirement to supply reports and to respect Conventions, if his country was given the means to do so.

The Workers' member of the Netherlands stated that he was aware of the difficulties existing in the country, as were other members of the Committee. However, he wanted to know the measures taken by the Government as well as the results achieved.