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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Bahamas (RATIFICATION: 2001)

Article 1(1)(b). Additional discrimination grounds. The Committee welcomes the adoption, in 2014, of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities) Act in order to provide persons with disabilities with access to equal opportunities in training and employment, thus reinforcing the provisions of sections 6 and 7 (non-discrimination of workers with disabilities) of the Employment Act, and to establish the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities. The Committee asks the Government to provide any information on the establishment and the work of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, specifically as regards equal opportunity and treatment in access to employment and occupation and conditions of work.

Article 2 of the Convention. National policy and measures to promote equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. The Committee notes with concern that an amendment to add “sex” to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination under article 26 of the Constitution was rejected by referendum on 7 June 2016. The Committee notes that, in her report of May 2018 to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, indicated that the national legal framework lacked “appropriate legal provisions prohibiting sex-based discrimination against women and enshrining the principle of gender equality, which thus allow[ed] discrimination against women.” She added that “because of the legal obstacles, coupled with patriarchal norms regarding the role of men, women and girls face[d] structural sex-based discrimination and physical and other forms of gender-based violence”. In this context, she indicated that it was “necessary to bring the national legal framework, including the Constitution, into line with the international framework” on human rights (A/HRC/38/47/Add.2, 25 May 2018, paragraph 69). She recommended, inter alia, that the Government: “embody the principle of equality between women and men in the Constitution or other appropriate law, including by adding sex to the list of prohibited discrimination in article 26 of the Constitution”; “repeal any laws that discriminated against women”; and “strengthen efforts to combat discriminatory gender stereotypes in society, in cooperation with women’s rights organizations” (A/HRC/38/47/Add.2, paragraph 73(d), (e) and (o)). With reference to its observation, the Committee recalls that the Employment Act of 2001 covers the ground of sex although it falls short of covering all seven prohibited grounds of discrimination mentioned in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Recalling that, for the purpose of achieving the objectives of the Convention, it is essential to acknowledge that no society is free from discrimination and that continuous action is required to address it, the Committee asks the Government to take concrete steps in order to declare and pursue actively, by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, a national gender equality policy with a view to eliminating discrimination in conformity with Article 2 of the Convention. This should include not only legislative or administrative measures but also policies and action programmes, awareness-raising initiatives, and the establishment of a body specialized in promoting equality and non-discrimination.