Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Afghanistan (Ratification: 1969)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Legislation. In its previous comments, recalling that the prohibition of discrimination in section 9 of the Labour Law is very general, the Committee urged the Government to take the opportunity of the labour law reform process, including in the context of the Decent Work Country Programme, to amend the law to prohibit direct and indirect discrimination covering all the grounds listed in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, namely race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin, as well as any other grounds determined in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, in accordance with Article 1(1)(b) of the Convention. The Committee recalls that the pillar on economic and social development of the National Action Plan for Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA) 2007–17 contains the strategy to improve women’s economic status, and the strategy to increase the quality of education for women; in this context, the NAPWA also aims at reviewing the labour law to meet international standards. The Committee also recalls that the ILO project “Strengthening Labour Law Governance in Afghanistan” is under way. The Committee asks the Government to ensure that in the process of labour law reform, direct and indirect discrimination is expressly defined and prohibited, covering all the grounds listed in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention, as well as any other grounds determined in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, in accordance with Article 1(1)(b) of the Convention, covering all aspects of employment and occupation. Please provide information on concrete steps taken in this regard, and specific information on the role of the social partners in the labour law reform process.

Civil service. The Committee recalls section 10(2) of the Civil Servants Law of 2008, prohibiting discrimination in recruitment based on the grounds of sex, ethnicity, religion, disability and physical deformity. The Committee recalls that, where legal provisions are adopted to give effect to the principle of the Convention, they should include at least all the grounds of discrimination specified in Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention (General Survey on fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 853). It also recalls that, under Article 1(3) of the Convention, “employment” and “occupation” also include access to vocational training and terms and conditions of employment. The Committee asks the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to provide protection against discrimination for civil servants based on at least all the grounds enumerated in the Convention and in all aspects of employment and occupation. Recalling section 5 of the Labour Law providing for the scope of application, and noting that the Government’s report does not contain information in this regard, the Committee again asks the Government to clarify whether the provisions of the Labour Law are applicable to civil servants covered under the Civil Servants Law and, if so, to specify the interrelationship between section 9 of the Labour Law and section 10(2) of the Civil Servants Law.

Article 5(1). Special measures of protection. Work prohibited for women. The Committee recalls the Government’s previous indication that the list of physically arduous or harmful work prohibited for women to be established under section 120 of the Labour Law was still under preparation. The Committee recalls that protective measures applicable to women’s employment, which are based on stereotypes regarding women’s professional abilities and role in society, violate the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in employment and occupation. Provisions relating to the protection of persons working under hazardous or difficult conditions should be aimed at protecting the health and safety of both men and women at work, while taking account of gender differences with regard to specific risks to their health (General Survey, 2012, paragraph 840). The Committee again urges the Government to ensure that, in the process of the labour law reform, any restrictions on the work that can be done by women are strictly limited to maternity protection.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.