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Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Côte d'Ivoire (RATIFICATION: 1999)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Adoption and periodic review of a national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the Government’s report submitted in reply to the points raised in its direct request of 2011. The Government reports on the adoption of the national policy for persons with disabilities and the formulation of the national strategic plan during a seminar held in November 2012. Moreover, the Government indicates that a workshop took place in July 2013 in order to finalize and validate the plan. The workshop added the definition and validated government action for implementation of the strategic components of the national policy. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the implementation of the national policy for persons with disabilities. It also invites the Government to provide details of vocational rehabilitation and employment programmes and their results, in terms of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. The Committee trusts that the Government will be in a position to provide information in its next report on the application of the Convention in practice, including, for example, statistics disaggregated by sex, extracts from reports, studies and inquiries concerning the matters covered by the Convention (Part V of the report form).

Article 4. Equality of opportunities and treatment. The Committee notes the measures contemplated in the context of the draft decree relating to the employment of persons with disabilities concerning arrangements for facilitating access to the workplace and regarding wage equality. The Committee recalls that “special positive measures”, as defined by Article 4, are primarily intended to enable persons with disabilities to benefit from vocational rehabilitation services in the broad sense, namely including during the performance of their work. The Committee invites the Government to indicate whether special positive measures are envisaged, especially in the private sector, to ensure equality of opportunity between workers with disabilities and other workers. It hopes that the Government will be in a position to indicate how equality of treatment is ensured in practice, particularly regarding wages, for persons with disabilities and other workers.

Article 5. Consultation of the social partners. The Government states that it is planned to establish by decree a technical committee for vocational guidance and reclassification (COTOREP) and an inter-ministerial coordinating committee for adaptation and rehabilitation. In addition, the Committee notes that the Government reports on the participation of technical ministries, organizations of persons with disabilities and all other parties involved in providing care for persons with disabilities during the validation workshop held in July 2013. The Committee invites the Government to specify the representative employers’ and workers’ organizations which participated in the activities designed for implementing the national policy and the strategic plan. It also invites the Government to indicate the composition of the technical committee for vocational guidance and reclassification.

Article 8. Services in rural areas. The Committee notes the Government’s indications concerning the revival of the community rehabilitation programme (RBC) and the formulation and internal validation of the RBC policy document on the basis of new directives from the World Health Organization. The Committee invites the Government to supply information in its next report on the progress made with regard to the revival of the community rehabilitation programme and to specify the measures taken to promote the establishment and development of vocational rehabilitation and employment services for persons with disabilities in rural areas and remote communities.

Article 9. Training of suitably qualified staff. The Government indicates that the national policy for persons with disabilities provides for reinforcement of the numbers and capacities of health and rehabilitation professionals. The Committee invites the Government to supply information on the implementation of the national policy with regard to measures taken to ensure that suitably qualified vocational rehabilitation staff are made available to persons with disabilities.