Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) - Afghanistan (Ratification: 1979)

In previous comments the Committee requested the Government to provide information on any regulations, rules or standards issued under section 115 of the Labour Code of 11 June 1987, to prevent occupational hazards due to carcinogenic substances. The Committee noted in 1992 the Government's information that draft regulations applying the provisions of the Convention would be adopted in the near future; and in 1995 it noted the information by the Government that the provisions of the Convention had been incorporated in the 1987 Labour Code and in regulations on main standards for work protection and safety techniques published on 21 July 1988 (Official Gazette No. 670). It also noted that a commission to prepare new draft regulations to protect workers from occupational cancer had been set up. The Committee notes the statement in the Government's latest report that the Labour Code and the regulation have to be amended. It notes that the Government has provided no copy of the regulations published in 1988, as requested by the Committee.

The Committee expresses once more the hope that regulations applying the Convention will be adopted and that they will specifically determine the carcinogenic substances and agents to which occupational exposure is prohibited or made subject to authorization or control in accordance with Article 1 of the Convention and that they will contain provisions on:

-- the substitution of carcinogenic substances by non-carcinogenic or less harmful substances, and the reduction of the number of workers exposed to carcinogenic substances and the duration and degree of exposure, in accordance with Article 2 of the Convention;

-- the protection of workers against risk of exposure to carcinogenic substances or agents and the establishment of an appropriate system of records, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention;

-- measures for providing workers with information on the dangers involved and the measures to be taken when exposed to carcinogenic substances or agents, in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention; and

-- the provision of medical examinations during the period of employment and thereafter, in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention.

The Committee hopes that the Government will not fail to take the measures required by the Convention and that it will indicate in its next report the progress achieved in this connection.