Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Benin (Ratification: 1961)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Gender-based discrimination on the basis of gender. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 2006‑19 of 5 September 2006 against sexual harassment. Section 1 of this Act defines sexual harassment as the action of issuing orders, making threats, exerting pressure or using any other means for the purposes of obtaining favours of a sexual nature from a person. Moreover, the Government indicates that the Penal Code including provisions on sexual harassment is in the process of being adopted by the National Assembly and that the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) Labour Code, which also includes provisions on this subject, will be the subject of re-reading in November 2007. The Committee notes that section 1 of Act No. 2006-19 only prohibits quid pro quo sexual harassment and that the Act does not contain any provisions on sexual harassment which creates a hostile work environment. The Committee reminds the Government of its general observation of 2002, which pointed out that full protection against sexual harassment must include the prohibition of quid pro quo sexual harassment and of hostile environment sexual harassment. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the application in practice of Act No. 2006-19 against sexual harassment. The Committee also requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken in law and in practice to prevent and prohibit sexual harassment which creates a hostile working environment. The Committee also requests the Government to keep it informed of the progress made with regard to the adoption of the Penal Code and the OHADA Labour Code and hopes that the new legislation will prohibit sexual harassment taking full account of the general observation of 2002 on this subject and requests the Government to provide information in this respect.

2. Article 2. National policy. The Committee notes the drawing up of a five-year action plan on gender issues in the workplace formulated with the assistance of various studies, including the one conducted in March 2007 on the current situation concerning gender inequalities in the workplace. The Government also states that studies are under way with a view to the formulation of a national policy on equality. Moreover, as regards the implementation of phase I of the PAMODEC programme, the Government points out that it has undertaken training and awareness-raising workshops for the public authorities, workers’ and employers’ organizations, NGOs and the general public, and that activities are continuing to promote rapid improvements in school attendance for girls. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken in the context of the five-year plan to promote equality in employment and training. It also requests the Government to continue supplying information on the progress made with regard to the adoption of a national policy on equality and on the implementation of the PAMODEC programme and the results achieved therein to promote the principle of the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to send a copy of the study on the current situation concerning gender inequalities in the workplace.

3. Article 2. Promotion of the principle. Other measures. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report to the effect that the Human Rights Department has taken steps to raise the awareness of company heads and business promoters with a view to having them integrate the concept of equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation in their staff recruitment plans. The Committee requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of the activities undertaken by the Human Rights Department with regard to equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and training and the impact thereof.

4. Article 3. Access to education and vocational training. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that although measures had been taken to promote equality in employment and training, it shared the concern expressed by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in its concluding observations (CEDAW/C/BEN/CO/1-3, 7 July 2005, paragraphs 23 and 29) with regard to the low school enrolment rate for girls and the high drop‑out rate for girls due to pregnancy and premature or forced marriage. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report. The Committee welcomes the important steps taken by the Government in order to promote and guarantee equal access to, and participation in, training for women and girls. The Government points out that a national policy document exists on vocational training and that the “School for all girls” campaign has been launched at national level. Moreover, specifically targeted measures have been adopted in areas with low school attendance rates in order to facilitate access to education for girls. These measures include activities intended to reinforce mothers’ capacity for combating forced or premature marriage. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that, between 2006 and 2007, the total number of children attending school was 1,178,501, of which 516,863 were girls. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on the measures taken to promote and guarantee equality of opportunity and treatment for women and girls with respect to education, vocational training and employment, and to keep it informed of the specific results achieved.

5. Article 5. Special protective measures. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to consider the possibility of reviewing the provisions of sections 5–7 of Ministerial Decree No. 132/ MFPTRA/MSP/DC/SGM/DT/SST on the occupations and activities that women are not entitled to perform. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the issue of the revision of the aforementioned Decree will be debated in the National Labour Council in 2008. Moreover, the Committee noted that section 10(d) of Part II of Decree No. 98-189 of 11 May 1998 issuing special regulations for staff engaged in public work on behalf of the State provides that, because of “service constraints”, a certain percentage of posts for specialist workers to be recruited would be reserved for male candidates. In this respect, the Committee reminded the Government that the exception authorized under Article 1, paragraph 2, of the Convention had to be justified by the qualifications required for a specific post, which had to be interpreted strictly in order to avoid undue limitation of the protection provided for by the Convention. The Government explains in its report that certain jobs, especially on building sites and in civil engineering, and also involving the use of heavy machinery, required a certain degree of physical strength on the part of employees which many women lacked. The Committee reminds the Government that measures taken with regard to women on the basis of stereotyped views of their abilities and their role in society violate the principle of the Convention. The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary steps, with the collaboration of the social partners, to revise the provisions of section 10(d) of Part II of the Decree of 1998 and sections 5–7 of Ministerial Decree No. 132/ MFPTRA/MSP/DC/SGM/DT/SST in order to strictly limit protective measures concerning to women to those intended to provide maternity protection.

6. Discrimination on the basis of the other grounds set forth in Article 1(a). The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken to combat direct and indirect discrimination based on all the other grounds set forth in Article 1(a) of the Convention, namely race, colour, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, in order to establish equality not only in law but also in practice.

7. Part V of the report form. Statistics. The Committee notes that the Government has not supplied any statistical information in its report and reminds it of the importance of these statistics for assessing progress made and for enabling better promotion of the principles contained in the Convention. It hopes that the Government will supply recent statistical information in its next report, disaggregated by sex and if possible by race and ethnic origin, on the distribution of the population in the various economic sectors and occupations.