Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Workmen's Compensation (Occupational Diseases) Convention, 1925 (No. 18) - Central African Republic (Ratification: 1964)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. List of recognized occupational diseases. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee once again notes with concern that the list of occupational diseases envisaged in section 91 of the Social Security Code of 2006 and section 81 of Decree No. 09-116 of 27 April 2009, on the application of the Social Security Code, has still not been adopted by the Ministers responsible for social security and public health. The Government indicates in this regard that in 2013 a national delegation participated in the work of the technical committee responsible for finalizing the harmonized list of occupational diseases at the Inter-African Conference on Social Insurance (CIPRES) and that the committee responsible for preparing the list has taken up its work once again. The recurrent crises experienced by the country in recent years have however prevented the Government from finalizing the process of the preparation of the list of occupational diseases. The Committee wishes to emphasize that, without a list of occupational diseases, it is impossible to implement not only compensation, but also the prevention of such diseases. The Committee therefore once again expresses the hope that the technical committee responsible for the adoption of the list of occupational diseases will be in a position to complete its work in the very near future and that the Ministries concerned will be able to adopt the schedules of occupational diseases envisaged in the Social Security Code and Decree No. 09-116, taking duly into consideration the Schedule annexed to the Convention. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the List of Occupational Diseases Recommendation, 2002 (No. 194), which contains the most up-to-date list of occupational diseases at the international level.

Recommendations of the Standards Review Mechanism. The Committee notes that, according to the recommendations made by the Tripartite Working Group of the Standards Review Mechanism, as approved by the ILO Governing Body, member States which have ratified the Convention are encouraged to ratify the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 [Schedule I amended in 1980] (No. 121), and/or the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), and accept the obligations in its Part VI, as the most up-to-date instruments in this subject area (GB.328/LILS/2/1). The Committee reminds the Government of the possibility of having recourse to ILO technical assistance in this regard.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.