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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Belgium (RATIFICATION: 1977)

1. The Committee notes the Government’s report, which outlines various legislative measures in the field of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation. With regard to gender equality, the Committee particularly notes the amendment to section 10 of the Constitution providing that equality of women and men is guaranteed, and it notes the creation of a new Institute for Equality of Women and Men with a broad mandate to promote and monitor gender-equality issues regulated in federal legislation, including initiating judicial proceedings concerning gender equality. It also notes the adoption of the Act of 11 June 2002 on the Protection from Violence and Moral or Sexual Harassment, which introduces measures of prevention and protection.

2. With regard to discrimination on the basis of grounds other than sex, the Committee notes the Act of 25 February 2003 on combating discrimination, which modifies the Act of 15 February 1993 establishing a Centre for Equal Opportunities and the Fight Against Racism. The Act prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, inter alia, in employment and occupation, on the basis of supposed race, colour, extraction, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, marital status, birth, property, age, religious or philosophical conviction, actual or future health status, and disability or any physical characteristic. With regard to Article 1(2) of the Convention, the Committee notes with interest that under section 5 of the Act any differential treatment in employment is based on an objective and reasonable justification if, by reason of the nature of the occupation or the conditions under which it is carried out, the characteristic in question constitutes an essential and determining job requirement, provided that the requirement is proportional and there is a legitimate objective. The Committee welcomes this clarification of what constitutes an objective and reasonable justification, which is in accordance with the Convention.

3. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of the new legislation in practice and its impact on the situation of persons falling under the protection of the Convention, including relevant administrative or judicial decisions and the relevant activities undertaken by the Institute for Equality of Women and Men, the Equal Opportunities Council and the Centre for Equal Opportunities and the Fight Against Racism.

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