Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 2010, Publication: 99th ILC session (2010)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Iran (Islamic Republic of) (Ratification: 1964)

A Government representative noted at the outset that his statement consisted of a brief summary of a full and extensive report submitted to the Office and he apologized for not submitting the report in time. The Government was striving to ensure the implementation of the fundamental principles and rights at work through positive interaction with the social partners and the International Labour Office. In order to bring existing laws and regulations into conformity with the provisions of the Convention, the Government had reviewed some of the controversial national legislation. With regard to the amendments to existing laws so as to promote freedom of association, the Ministry of Labour, together with the social partners, had reviewed the long disputed provisions in Chapter 6 of the Labour Law concerning workers’ and employers’ organizations, and a bill amending the Labour Law had been submitted for adoption to the Cabinet. The Bill focused on the promotion of free trade union rights and recognized the freedom of workers and employers to form their associations at the workplace or by profession, thereby removing some of the obstacles. With regard to amendments to the laws and regulations in contradiction with the provisions of Convention No. 111, the Ministry of Labour had introduced a bill to the Cabinet aiming to ensure close monitoring of the implementation of the respective ILO provisions by the three branches of Government. The Cabinet had issued a directive by virtue of which the Ministries of Justice and Labour were mandated with presenting to the Cabinet the national laws and regulations that were in contradiction with Convention No. 111. The directive also provided for the establishment of a committee to supervise the proper application of ILO standards.

With regard to the National Equality Policy, the Iranian Judiciary had embarked on a series of actions to counter discrimination and administrative malpractices in the workplace, which included: (1) a joint project with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the promotion of human rights and social justice among religious, racial and ethnic minorities through training workshops for provincial judicial authorities with considerable participation by minorities; (2) the establishment of Special Minority Courts and Dispute Settlement Councils to address the complaints and concerns of minorities in the context of their own religious laws and social values; and (3) the establishment of a Committee on “Women’s Legal Studies and Non-Discrimination”, which would assist in upgrading the skills of women judges, women in judicial positions and in the police force. As a result of holding regular training and empowerment courses for women judges, the contribution of women to the judiciary and its subsidiary organs had increased considerably and he provided a series of statistics on the distribution of women in the judiciary. Women’s participation in political life had also increased considerably. Women were Members of Parliament, occupied the post of Vice-President and Minister of Health and other high posts in numerous ministries, provincial and county administrations, and municipal authorities. The ratio of women involved in political positions in Government during the period ending in the first quarter of 2010 had increased by 3.25 per cent compared with the same period in 2008.

With specific reference to section 1117 of the Civil Code, the Parliament and the Judiciary had officially indicated that it was in effect null and void. On the issue of equal family benefit payments for men and women, he indicated that according to the Iranian Social Security Organization, section 86 of the Social Security Act had now been amended to ensure that both men and women enjoyed equal family benefits, even if a couple worked in the same workplace. In order to improve women’s employment, he noted that of the 1,180,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) projects which had been awarded bank loans and grants, 230,000 projects were SMEs initiated by women entrepreneurs. Based on an agreement between the Government and industry in 2009, over 48,000 women university graduates had been recruited upon completion of their vocational training programmes. The Government had also recently adopted a bill on home-based jobs providing for the access of women to credit and equipment to start home-based businesses. With regard to the protection of civil and citizenry rights, in recent years the Judiciary had attentively identified rules and regulations that expressly or implicitly contradicted such rights and had annulled them. In the years 2008 and 2009, 6,500 complaints concerning the infringement of citizenry rights had been addressed on their merits, in 412 cases of which the judges were found to be at fault.

With reference to the alleged discrimination against racial and native minorities, the Government wished to emphasize that no laws or regulations discriminated against or hindered the access of minorities to high government posts and the Government was ready to receive and examine any substantiated complaints in this regard. He provided the latest statistics demonstrating that high government positions in provinces with the highest number of minorities were always occupied by people from the same minority. Moreover, he informed the Committee that, with regard to the dispute among the Iranian employers’ associations, it had been agreed on 14 April 2010, with the good offices of the Government, to continue negotiations for the establishment of a Confederation of Employers’ Union encompassing all the various employers’ organizations existing in the country. The Government respected fundamental principles and continued to strive to meet the ILO’s recommendations and observations. However, to be successful, the Government’s efforts needed to be supported by ILO technical cooperation.

The Employer members recalled that this case had been discussed 14 times in the past 20 years. On a positive note, they indicated that they had just been advised by the Iranian Confederation of Employers’ Associations that the judiciary and the Government had recognized this organisation as the representative employers’ organization, in conformity with the principles of freedom of association.

They recalled that, while the Committee had noted in 2009 certain improvements in the areas of education, vocational training and employment of women, it had remained concerned about the lack of evidence of real progress regarding the situation of women in the labour market. The Employer members noted with regret that the Government had not submitted its reports in time for the Committee of Experts’ consideration. However, the Government provided a report for the Committee of Experts’ consideration in May 2010, which apparently provided a range of information regarding measures to implement the Convention. From the information provided today by the Government, it should be noted that a bill on the prohibition of discrimination in employment and education has been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for further consideration, a copy of which had been submitted to the ILO. Also, the Charter of Women’s Rights had been replaced by the Family Support Act, which was approved in 2009. Furthermore, a committee had been established in April 2010 which was in charge of identifying all legal regulations that could be in conflict with the Convention. Clearly a great deal of information had been provided by the Government representative before the Committee, which needed to be carefully considered by the Committee of Experts; it was not yet possible to determine whether the Government was making real progress in compliance with Convention No. 111. The Employer members were hopeful that the Government had repealed or amended all legislation restricting women’s employment, including regarding the role of female judges, the obligatory dress code, the right of a husband to object to his wife’s profession, the discriminatory application of social security legislation and the restrictions in law and practice on women being hired after the age of 40. Finally, they welcomed the fact that the Government was willing to accept ILO technical assistance.

The Worker members recalled the Government’s commitment in 2006 to review all relevant legislation that was discriminatory for women within a four year period and stated that it was now time to assess the results of the Government’s action. They also recalled the Committee’s midterm review in 2008 of the Government’s actions, which had noted with disappointment the absence of progress and had urged the Government to take urgent action on all outstanding issues. Against this background, the Worker members considered that having received some written information, though at a very late stage, was an improvement compared to previous years; however, they still regretted that, due to such late reporting, the Committee was not in a position to examine and evaluate the information provided.

While acknowledging that the Government had finally transmitted a copy of the Bill on the comprehensive prohibition of discrimination in employment and education, they observed, first, that they had not had an opportunity to examine the Bill in any detail, and second, that the Bill was said to have been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers, which was exactly where it had been two years ago. In addition, it was difficult to know whether the Charter of Citizenry and other documents requested by the Committee had in fact been communicated to the Office. Similarly, no conclusion could be reached as to whether the replacement of the Charter of Women’s Rights by the Family Support Act meant an improvement in terms of the implementation of Convention No. 111.

With regard to section 1117 of the Civil Code, which permitted a husband to bring a case to court if he objected to his wife taking a job contrary to the interest of the family or to the wife’s prestige, the Government contended that by virtue of section 18 of the Family Protection Law, section 1117 had been automatically abolished and courts were no longer authorized to receive claims under this provision. The Worker members believed, however, that the situation had remained practically unchanged compared to the discussion in 2006 on the same point. The existence of this section continued to have a negative impact on the employment of women. With regard to the dress code, the existence of which the Government continued to deny, the Worker members considered that there had been no new developments.

Referring to the Government’s indication that in April 2010, a Committee was set up to identify all legal regulations potentially in conflict with the Convention, the Worker members had in principle no objection to a Committee studying legal provisions which were inconsistent with the requirements of the Convention. They considered, however, that the announced establishment of the new Committee could not replace actual efforts to amend existing laws and regulations that had already been identified as being in violation of Convention No. 111 for a long time.

Concerning women’s access to the labour market, and whilst it was not known whether the statistical information that the Government had provided showed any improvement regarding the access to the labour market, the Worker members maintained that the overall participation rate of women was still not more than 20 per cent, with women holding the most vulnerable and low paid positions. The legal barrier for women to be employed above the age of 35 – even if it had been increased to 40 – still existed, thus preventing women from working about half of their productive life. With respect to the over-representation of women in precarious and temporary jobs, gender discrimination in social security entitlements and access of working women to childcare facilities, they had hoped that the Government would present new information including measures taken to address these inequalities, and they were deeply disappointed not to have received such information.

Turning to the issue of discrimination of religious minorities, the Worker members expressed the view that the situation for the Baha’i was in fact deteriorating. Apart from the very specific instances previously presented, the Worker members now had a list of more than 30 cases of people being dismissed or being forced to close their shops. In a recent and particularly illustrative instance, in November 2009, officers from the Office of Health in Khomein told the owner of an optical store that he had two weeks to close his shop, following a nationwide order to eventually close all optical shops owned by Baha’i.

As for ethnic minorities, the Worker members shared the concern of the Committee of Experts regarding the employment situation of the Azeries, the Kurds and the Turks. It was noted that those members of ethnic minority groups who criticized the discrimination against them risked losing their jobs, freedom and even their lives. This happened to 35year-old Farzad Kamangar, a Kurdish teacher and trade unionist who was executed one month ago.

Regarding the social dialogue situation in the country, the Worker members deplored that, instead of creating a safe environment for workers in which they could establish trade unions to defend their fundamental rights, the Government was creating an atmosphere of crisis that prevented a dialogue regarding issues related to Convention No. 111. Although they welcomed the recent release of four leaders of the Haft Tapeh Sugar workers’ union, the Worker members remained very concerned about the safety, health and well-being of other trade union leaders who were still imprisoned, including Mansour Osanloo.

In conclusion, the Worker members regretted that the Government’s late written submission could make no contribution to the Committee’s discussion and stated that, based on the little information that was made available, no real progress had been made.

The Employer member of the Islamic Republic of Iran updated the Committee concerning social dialogue in the country, which was referred to in the last paragraph of the observation of the Committee of Experts and on which the Conference Committee had expressed its deep concern in 2009. The Government had ordered the dissolution of the Iranian Confederation of Employers’ Associations (ICEA) in an effort to create a parallel organization of employers, despite the fact that such dissolution would be possible only through a judicial order. The ICEA therefore had taken the case to court for the annulment of the Government’s order. While the Government and the parallel organization had filed their petition, the court ruled that the dissolution order was annulled. She indicated that, despite this positive development, the ICEA was willing to create one inclusive employers’ organization through a nationwide election to be held in July 2010, as agreed during meetings with the Government, which were also attended by the parallel organization. She asked the ILO and the International Organization of Employers (IOE) to provide assistance to ensure a free and fair election. She looked forward to the establishment of an umbrella employers’ organization to defend legitimate rights and interests of all Iranian employers.

The Worker member of the Islamic Republic of Iran expressed the need for ILO cooperation and technical assistance for Iranian workers’ associations who were comprised of different ethnic, religious and tribal groups working in various sectors of the economy, in order to remove all forms of discriminatory practices. Due to the economic and financial crises, many enterprises had gone insolvent. As a result, workers were suffering from low wages, unemployment and underemployment. The country’s financial sector was also experiencing difficulties due to international pressure and sanctions causing the rise in transaction costs and the worsening of the living standards of workers. This resulted in capital shortage affecting the operation of SMEs. He urged the ILO and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to examine closely the situation and for the ILO to provide technical cooperation and assistance. In doing so, he hoped that workers would not face discrimination for their cooperation with the ILO and relevant institutions. He appreciated the recent steps taken by the Government to amend the Labour Law concerning freedom of association. He wished to see further steps taken to amend legal provisions on temporary contracts and to extend the social safety net. He stressed that the workers’ organizations in the Islamic Republic of Iran pursued, by and large, similar objectives and they all deserved to be given legitimacy and opportunities to benefit from the ILO’s technical cooperation.

The Worker member of Zimbabwe expressed his deep concern over the continuing and extensive discrimination against women in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Women continued to face significant barriers in achieving equal access to the labour market and decent work. Although the Government had made some progress in recent years to reduce the gender gap in education, and women now outnumbered men in entering university, these achievements had not been translated into higher rates of female participation in the labour market. When women graduated from university, they were one third less likely to find work compared to men. Only 3.5 million Iranian women were salaried workers, compared to 23.5 million men. Increasing numbers of women were employed on temporary contracts, which meant irregular incomes, little or no job security or income security, and a lack of social protection. Women employed in small enterprises or in export processing zones were exempted from all protections afforded by national labour law. Women were also disproportionately represented in occupations perceived as “women’s work”, such as carpet weaving, teaching and educational assistance, agriculture, clerical work and health care. The UNDP’s Gender Empowerment Measure, which measured the extent to which women take an active part in economic and political life, ranked the Islamic Republic of Iran 103rd out of 109 countries. Despite the repeated requests by the Committee of Experts to provide detailed labour market statistics of women and men in different economic sectors and by level of employment, the Government had failed to provide this information. He urged the Government to provide these statistics, as well as the results of policies to achieve equality at work. The objectives of Convention No. 111 could not be realized without an environment in which workers were free to organize. He called on the Government to respect its obligations under the Convention and as an ILO member State, to guarantee the right of all workers to be free from discrimination and to end the marginalization of women at work.

The Government member of Canada regretted that the Government had not submitted a report on the application of the Convention in 2009. Her Government continued to be concerned with regard to discrimination in employment and occupation against women, and religious and ethnic minorities. National law continued to discriminate against women, and women’s participation in decision making was apparently decreasing. Women’s rights movement activists were harassed and often detained, including organizers of the “million signature campaign” and members of the “Green movement”. Despite international efforts, discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities persisted. Members of the Baha’i faith continued to be denied employment, government benefits and access to higher education. Seven members of the Baha’i leadership remained in detention and eight members of their community were detained in February 2010. For years, the Baha’i community had been subjected to persecution, discrimination and detention. The discussion of this case was marked by the recurrent lack of information requested from the Government. She urged the Government to bring its national legislation and practice into conformity with the Convention and to cooperate fully and respond substantively and in a timely manner to the numerous requests for information made by the supervisory bodies.

The Worker member of Pakistan indicated that upon ratification of the Convention, the Islamic Republic of Iran had taken on the obligation to bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention. The Government had acknowledged in its report that there remained a long way to go to empower women in practice. He noted the constructive dialogue between the Government and the Committee of Experts concerning legislative, administrative and other measures taken. In particular, he shared the view of the Committee of Experts that the principle of equality of opportunity for women in employment, wages and education had to be realized, especially in rural areas. He urged the Government to take measures to implement the recommendations made by the Committee of Experts, as women had a role to play in their families and with their partners, and their economic and social wellbeing was important for society as a whole.

The Government member of Belarus recognized the concrete measures reported by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran with respect to, for example, empowerment of women in their access to education and vocational training and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. He invited the Committee to build on these positive developments and to support the country for its effort made in cooperation with the ILO.

The Worker member of France indicated that the Committee of Experts had recalled the commitments that the Government had made during the 2008 session of the Conference which had not been met to date. In 2006, the Government had committed itself to changing the laws that hindered women’s access to employment, despite their qualifications and academic training, in the fields where the access of women was not prohibited. Only 16 per cent of Iranian women were employed. Section 1117 of the Civil Code still allowed a husband to oppose his wife’s employment. The Government claimed that the section was repealed by section 18 of the Family Protection Law, but did not explain how this alleged abrogation was achieved in practice and failed to provide the requested documents. Women remained in a permanent situation of legal inferiority, and the numerous administrative rules (restrictive criteria of age) limited their right to access to employment or to perform certain functions in the judiciary. In the judiciary they were mostly called upon to be social assistants, or to be a judge on matrimonial cases or cases involving juveniles. He also noted that the Committee of Experts had referred to discrimination against women in the social security legislation. Finally, laws, rules and practices that discriminated against women in employment and occupation had to be effectively abrogated and abolished, and law and practice had to be brought into line with Convention No. 111.

The Worker member of Malaysia noted that regional ethnic groups in the Islamic Republic of Iran were poorer, less educated, less employed and less represented in decision-making positions than Persian citizens. The Government had to address this issue seriously. Many reports had shown that the Government had failed to provide equal economic, cultural and linguistic rights to ethnic and religious groups such as the Balochs, Southern Azerbaijanis, Ahwaz, Turkmen and Kurds. These populations were not minorities within their respective region and represented over 30 per cent of the total population. Failure to provide access to quality education to all ethnic groups resulted in discrimination in accessing decent jobs. Although provided by the Constitution, teaching in “tribal languages” was not carried out in practice. As a result, dropout rates were very high. The provinces of Balochistan and Khuzestan experienced low school enrolment, poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. Every Government should provide equal rights to education for all children and adults regardless of their ethnic or religious background. After the 2005 elections, thousands of ethnic minority civil servants were dismissed. Members of ethnic groups had been arrested and their rights to freedom of expression and assembly had therefore been violated. She regretted that organizations and individuals that aimed to promote the rights and interests of regional ethnic groups were often treated as criminal groups. Iranian teacher unionists had been intimidated and detained, mistreated and even executed after having protested against discrimination of teachers. Recently, the Iranian Kurdish teacher and unionist Farzad Kamangar, who advocated for the rights of Iranian Kurds, had been executed although his case had still not been reviewed by the Supreme Court. Mr Kamangar was a member of the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association affiliated to Education International. His case had been decided in secrecy in two minutes and without his lawyer or himself being able to challenge the allegations. Teachers and all workers advocating for social justice, equal rights to education and employment, and rights for women should be heard, fairly treated and given the opportunity to address problems through proper negotiation channels.

The Government representative wished to clarify that certain statements with regard, in particular, to the geographical location of cited regions were not entirely correct. The national equality policy, which included the prohibition of discrimination based on ethnic origin or religious background, was of paramount importance for the Government, which was abiding by the requirements of ILO Conventions. The Iranian Constitution enshrined equal treatment, and no ethnic, religious or otherwise minority was discriminated against in law or in practice. The Baha’i presently enjoyed the best living conditions since their founding, and the Government assured that no segregation based on religion, ethnic origin or social background was taking place. The non-recognition of the alleged status of the Baha’i as a religious minority did not imply the denial of rights and freedoms. The Baha’i enjoyed full citizenry rights, were free to practice their religion and to conduct high-level educational courses, as confirmed by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.

The equal treatment of women was reflected by the fact that their participation rate in education had increased by 2,200 per cent since 1976 and that today 65 per cent of university students were women. In recognition of certain shortcomings, the Government had put into place empowerment and enabling programmes which had been described before. Social security coverage had been extended to women in rural areas. Forty per cent of the country’s highly specialized physicians were female, and women had established more than 7,000 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Recalling the statement made by the Worker member of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who had indicated that the Minister of Labour had intervened in a dispute, which otherwise could have resulted in its consideration by the Conference Committee, he highlighted the importance that the Minister attributed to the principles of freedom of association and social dialogue. With regard to the imprisonment of union activists, the Government would do its utmost, for example, through the mechanism of pardon or amnesty, to enable their release. As to Farzad Kamangar, he contested the allegations that his case had been considered by the court for two minutes, and assured the Committee that the case had been heard for four years and all legal remedies had been exhausted.

The Employer members emphasized that they remained cautiously hopeful in this serious case, which had been considered for many years by the Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee had repeatedly expressed concerns about non-compliance with the Convention, urging the Government to take immediate action to ensure full application in law and in practice, and expressed regret regarding the lack of progress in this respect. The Employer members expected that the aforementioned issues in relation to the employment of women had already been or would be addressed in the near future, including the repeal of section 1117 of the Civil Code and the abrogation or amendment of legislation restricting the role of female judges, imposing a dress code, instituting discriminatory application of social security provisions and establishing barriers to the employment of women above the age of 40. The equal access of women to the labour market, including senior-level positions, should also be improved. The Employer members noted that the Government had provided detailed information in its report on all the issues raised by the Conference Committee and the Committee of Experts in its recent observation. Being aware of the longstanding difficulties of member States in respect of compliance with this Convention, the Employer members remained cautiously hopeful and would be deeply disappointed if the measures taken or envisaged by the Government did not remove the restrictions on women’s employment. The progress achieved in connection with freedom of association with regard to the recognition of workers’ and employers’ organizations was duly noted and the continuous engagement of the social partners encouraged. In conclusion, the Employer members welcomed the Government’s acceptance of an ILO tripartite technical assistance mission to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Worker members concluded that nothing had changed, four years after the Government’s commitment to bring national law and practice into conformity with the Convention. The information supplied by the Government was not convincing and could have been provided in writing at an earlier stage. The Worker members had little confidence that the Government would indeed revise the labour law so as to guarantee freedom of trade unions fully. They expressed their disappointment with regard to the lack of progress. Access of women and religious and ethnic minorities to the labour market had not improved, and their situation remained deplorable as they faced discrimination. Independent trade unions were unable to function, and their leaders were imprisoned. Despite the lengthy report supplied by the Government after the deadline for submission of reports, the Worker members were still of the view that the Government had not fulfilled its reporting obligations for the past four years and regretted that such demeanour rather illustrated its disrespect for the ILO supervisory mechanism. As regards the Government’s willingness to accept technical assistance in amending legislation and regarding other issues related to the implementation of the Convention, the Worker members believed that, under the current circumstances of restrictions in the functioning of trade unions and the absence of social dialogue, such assistance was not possible and could not be effective. Noting that the Government was prepared to accept a tripartite ILO mission to the country, they requested that its terms of reference should refer to the implementation issues relating to this Convention and that the mission take place in a time frame allowing for the mission report to be discussed at the next Conference. Finally, the Worker members requested that the conclusions of the Committee be included in a special paragraph of the Committee’s report.

Conclusions

The Committee noted the statement provided by the Government representative and the discussion that followed. The Committee noted that it had examined this case on numerous occasions, most recently in 2008 and 2009, and recalled the detailed conclusions it had adopted in this regard. It noted that the Committee of Experts, referring to the Conference conclusions, continued to raise a wide range of concerns, in particular regarding the situation of women in the labour market, discriminatory laws, regulations and practices, the situation of unrecognized religious minorities, in particular the Baha’i, and ethnic minorities, dispute resolution, and the social dialogue situation in the country.

The Committee noted the information provided by the Government on the bills regarding the following: the revision of Chapter 6 of the Labour Law; monitoring of the implementation of ILO provisions; prohibition of discrimination in employment and occupation; and home-based jobs. Information was also provided on the establishment of a Committee mandated to identify national laws and regulations in conflict with the Convention, training of judicial authorities, establishment of special minority courts and dispute settlement councils and the establishment of a Committee on Women and Legal Studies and Non-discrimination. Information, including some statistics, was also provided on women in the judiciary, Parliament and government positions, and women entrepreneurs.

While noting that the Government had recently submitted a report for examination by the Committee of Experts at its 2010 session, it expressed disappointment that this report had not been submitted in time to be examined by the Committee of Experts during its session in 2009. The late submission of this report made it difficult for the Committee to assess whether any real progress had been made. The Committee hoped that the Committee of Experts would be able to find evidence of progress regarding the range of outstanding issues, including evidence based on detailed statistical information.

The Committee, while acknowledging that certain advances appeared to have been made, remained concerned that, despite the commitment made by the Government in 2006 to bring all the relevant legislation and practice into line with the Convention by 2010, many outstanding issues raised by the Committee of Experts remained unanswered. The Committee urged the Government to amend the discriminatory laws and regulations, and to bring the practice into line with the Convention, including regarding the role of female judges, the obligatory dress code, the application of social security regulations, hiring of women over 40, and women’s access to the labour market, in particular to senior-level positions. Noting that article 1117 of the Civil Code had not been expressly repealed, and that there were indications that the provision continued to have a negative effect on women’s employment opportunities, the Committee requested the Government to take steps to repeal the article, and to promote public awareness of the right of women to pursue freely any job or profession. Further, the Committee urged the Government to implement policies aimed at promoting the inclusion of women in the labour market and decent work for women. The Committee also urged the Government to take decisive action to combat discrimination against ethnic and unrecognized religious minorities, in particular the Baha’i.

The Committee noted concerns regarding the imprisonment of trade union officials. The Committee and the Committee of Experts previously raised concerns that in the context of the lack of freedom of workers’ organizations, meaningful social dialogue regarding issues related to the implementation of Convention No. 111 would not be possible.

The Committee urged the Government to accept an ILO high-level mission. It hoped that in the context of that mission, the implementation of Convention No. 111 would be addressed as well as freedom of association principles. The Committee requested the Government to ensure that the Committee of Experts would have full and verifiable information before it to examine at its forthcoming session, and hoped that real progress in the implementation of Convention No. 111 could be recorded in the very near future.