Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

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

With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the discussions that took place at the Conference Committee in June 1992. The Committee also notes a number of legal texts provided by the Government in response to its request, and particularly Ordinance No. 81/024 establishing a workers' old-age, invalidity and survivors' pension scheme, and its implementing Decree, No. 83/340.

In the information supplied to the Conference Committee in 1992, the Government once again states that the difficulties in applying the Convention stem from the fact that there are problems of application in respect of certain countries which have ratified the Convention where the law is applied only within the territory; it refers, in particular, to the problem of the entitlement of pension rights in relation to certain States when the nationals of the Central African Republic who have worked there return home. That is why the Government, knowing that the Convention contains an obligation of reciprocity, still seeks to conclude agreements with these countries to regularize the situation.

It emerges from its statements that the Government is well aware of the fact that equal treatment in respect of social security and more particularly the payment of long-term benefits in the event of residence abroad must be guaranteed automatically regardless of the country of residence, even in the absence of bilateral or multilateral reciprocity agreements. In this connection, the Committee notes with interest the Government's statement that the constitutional procedure for the adoption of the draft text prepared by the Labour Department to bring national law and practice into conformity with the Convention - to which the Government referred in its previous report - has been initiated and is in progress: Ordinance No. 81/024 of 16 April 1981 referred to above and its implementing Decree, No. 83/340, are shortly going to be amended, as is the Act establishing the Central African Social Security Office, to ensure that the spirit of the Convention is observed.

In these circumstances, the Committee again expresses the hope that the legislative measures announced by the Government will be adopted shortly and that they will give full effect to 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 the 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 will not fail to submit a report for examination by the Committee at its next meeting and that it will contain detailed information on progress achieved in this respect. Furthermore, it recalls the suggestion made by the Conference Committee that the Government may wish to seek ILO technical assistance in this area.

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