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Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118) - Central African Republic (RATIFICATION: 1964)

1. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee has taken note of the information supplied by the Government in its report received in May 1991 and of the discussions held in the Conference Committee in June 1991. It notes, however, that no progress has been made with regard to the questions it has been raising since 1968.

In the information supplied to the Conference Committee, the Government emphasised that the difficulties of applying the Convention were linked to the fact that the laws of all the countries of the region were limited in their application to the territories concerned and made the payment of all social benefits conditional upon residence. In the Government's opinion, it was necessary to conclude reciprocity agreements in order to resolve the difficulties arising in connection with the payment of benefits abroad, so as to ensure the effective application of Convention No. 118. The Government referred in that context to the negotiations under way with a view to the conclusion of social security agreements both bilaterally (in particular with the Congo and Zaire) and multilaterally (draft social security convention at the level of the Central African Customs and Economic Union, and possible ratification of the Air Afrique Convention).

The Committee wishes to point out to the Government once again that under the Convention equality of treatment in social security and in particular the payment of long-term benefits in case of residence abroad must be ensured automatically whatever the country of residence, even in the absence of bilateral or multilateral agreements. As to the difficulties mentioned by the Government as likely to occur in making payments abroad (verification of the victim's state of health, the status of dependant, etc.), the Committee considers that these could be resolved through the administrative assistance which States should afford each other under Article 11 of the Convention. However, the Committee has noted with interest from the Government's report that draft texts have been prepared by the Labour Department to bring national law and practice into conformity with the Convention and that the constitutional procedure for the adoption of those texts is in progress. It therefore hopes that these texts will be adopted shortly so as to bring the national law into full conformity with the Convention on the following points:

Article 4 of the Convention (branch g: employment injury benefit). Section 27 of Act No. 65-66 of 24 June 1965 on industrial accident compensation should be supplemented by an express provision that dependants (survivors) of the victim of an occupational injury who was a national of a State bound by the Convention, who were not resident in the Central African Republic at the time of the victim's death and who continue not to be resident therein, may claim survivors' benefit if it is proved that they were actually dependent on the victim at the time of his death.

Article 5 (branch e: old-age benefit). The national law should be supplemented by a provision for the payment of old-age benefit in case of residence abroad both to nationals of the Central African Republic and to nationals of any other member State that has accepted the obligations of the Convention for branch (e) (old-age benefit) (i.e. up to the present date: Barbados, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Mauritania, Mexico, Netherlands, Rwanda, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, Venezuela and Zaire).

The Committee hopes that the Government's next report will contain detailed information on the progress made in that respect. It ventures to suggest to the Government the possibility of having recourse to the expertise of the ILO through its technical cooperation activities.

2. The Committee again asks the Government to supply a copy of the text of Ordinance No. 81/024 of 16 April 1981 establishing the old-age, invalidity and survivors' pension scheme for employees, and of Decree No. 83/340 of 10 August 1982 issued under it.

[The Government is asked to report in detail for the period ending 30 June 1993.]