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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Afghanistan (RATIFICATION: 1969)

1. The Committee recalls its previous observation, in which it stressed the importance of making the Convention an integral part of the ongoing process towards peace, stability and reconstruction. It notes that the Constitutional Commission released a draft Constitution on 3 November 2003 and that a nationwide public consultation process is taking place in which women actively participate. It welcomes the fact that the draft aims at the creation of a civil society free of discrimination, based on the rule of law, social justice, and the protection of human rights and dignity. Section 22 of the draft provides that any kind of discrimination and privilege between citizens of Afghanistan is prohibited and that Afghan citizens have equal rights and duties before the law. Noting that the Draft Constitution soon will be discussed at the Constitutional Loya Jirga, the Committee hopes that the text adopted will take the requirements of the Convention fully into account, providing a constitutional basis for giving effect to the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, and the promotion of equality in employment and occupation. Beyond the constitutional process, the Committee asks the Afghan Transitional Authority and its successors to take all the necessary measures to declare and pursue, in law and in practice, a national policy designed to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation between women and men and among all ethnic groups as envisaged under Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention.

2. With reference to its previous comments on the situation of women and girls in education and employment, the Committee notes with interest that Afghanistan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in March 2003. However, as concerns the situation of women and girls in practice, the Committee notes from the report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women that various factors continue to prevent equal participation of girls in education, including attacks on girls’ schools and discriminatory traditional practices (UN doc. A/58/421, 6 October 2003). It also understands that, despite some progress made, women continue to experience discrimination with regard to access to employment and occupation. The Committee therefore hopes that the Transitional Authority and its successors will make every effort to promote and protect the human rights of women and girls in both rural and urban areas, including in respect of education, training, employment and occupation and considers legal literacy and awareness-raising programmes throughout the country as an important tool for achieving this objective. Finally, the Committee once again urges the Transitional Authority to repeal expressly all existing laws, regulations and instructions that restrict the access of women and girls to education and employment, as they are contrary to the Convention.