Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Liberia (Ratification: 1959)

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Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Discrimination on the ground of sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee recalls that both the Decent Work Act of 2015 and the Civil Service Standing Orders of 2012 defines and prohibits both quid pro quo (blackmail) and hostile environment sexual harassment and contains detailed provisions on prevention measures, reporting and complaint processes. In the absence of information on the application in practice of the legal and practical measures available to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment in employment and occupation, the Committee asks the Government to: (i) provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to understand the underlying causes behind the underreporting of sexual harassment cases despite the legal framework in place, such as for example, the difficulty to access complaint mechanisms, the fear of reprisals, or the lack of information on the procedures available to remedy discrimination based on sex and sexual harassment; (ii) continue to take active steps to raise awareness at all levels and in all sectors of the economy among workers, employers and their organizations and among enforcement officials, of the legal and practical measures available to report and address sexual harassment; and (iii) provide information on the number of complaints or cases of sexual harassment dealt with by the competent authorities, including sanctions imposed and remedies granted.

Article 1(1)(b). Additional grounds of discrimination. Discrimination on the basis of real or perceived HIV status. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that it continues to enforce the prohibition of HIV testing in employment related processes. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (i) the activities conducted to raise awareness among workers, employers and their respective organizations, as well as among enforcement officials, on the issue of discrimination on the basis of HIV status in employment and occupation and the remedies available; (ii) the number of cases of discrimination in employment and occupation on the basis of real or perceived HIV status detected by, or brought to the attention of, the authorities (labour inspection, courts, or other relevant enforcement officials), as well as on the outcome of these cases; and (iii) the possible revision of the National HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy, as previously mentioned by the Government.

Article 2. National equality policy. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that it is committed to ensuring equality in the workplace, but that budgetary constraints have hindered the large consultation process that would be required for the preparation of a comprehensive national equality policy. The Government adds that, in the meantime, significant attention has been given to mainstreaming equality in all policies. In that regard, the Committee points out that a national equality policy presupposes the adoption of a range of specific measures, which often consist of a combination of legislative and administrative measures, collective agreements, public policies, affirmative action measures, dispute resolution and enforcement mechanisms, specialized bodies, practical programmes and awareness-raising. It further wishes to draw attention to the fact that often the measures taken to implement the Convention are confined to one ground or only some of the grounds, often sex and increasingly race, colour and national extraction. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any progress achieved in that regard and the steps taken to ensure that such policy covers all the grounds protected under the Convention, and all categories of workers and sectors of the economy. In the meantime, it asks the Government to provide concrete information on how it has been mainstreaming equality in other policies.

Equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that 76 per cent of married women versus 97 per cent of married men are employed. The Government adds that the rate of employment generally increases with age among married women, while for men, by contrast, the employment percentage varies little by age. The Committee notes, from the Demographic and Health Survey 2019–20, published by the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services, that: (1) 32 percent of employed women in Liberia are not paid for the work they do (unpaid domestic work); (2) women engaged in agricultural work are more likely than women performing non-agricultural work to not be paid for their work; and (3) 78 percent of women who worked in the past year are self-employed. The Committee notes the adoption of the Gender Policy Action Plan 2021–25 for the Liberian Ministry of National Defense and the Armed Forces of Liberia which sets a target of 10 per cent of women in the Armed Forced by 2030. The Action Plan also highlights that women in Liberia continue to face discrimination socially, politically and economically because of, among others: (1) strong gender stereotypes, with the dominant view that women belong at home; (2) customary inequalities; and (3) insufficient access to justice. The Committee further notes, from the 2021 Annual Country Gender Equality Profile, published by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality (UN Women), that: (1) unpaid domestic work is an obstacle to women’s greater participation in the formal market; (2) occupational gender segregation prevents the economic progress of Liberian women as well as their personal and professional development; (3) many technical and vocational education and training areas are dominated by male participation; and (4) 41 percent of university-educated women work informally, compared to 24 percent of university-educated men. In this regard, the Committee refers to paragraphs 750 and 783 of its 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012. In light of the above, theCommittee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to proactively tackle gender stereotypes in the workplace (promote awareness-raising on gender bias, in particular unconscious bias; adopt gender neutral terminology, etc.). Noting that the Government’s report is silent on the impact of the National Gender Policy 2018–22, the activities of the Gender Unit of the Ministry of Labour and the measures adopted to promote women’s access to the civil service and the formal labour market, the Committee reiterate its request in this regard.

Women’s access to land and other productive resources. The Government indicates that about a quarter of women and a third of men own their home. The Committee notes, from UN Women Liberia’s 2022 Annual Report that, through UN Women strategic outreach and awareness methods, over 700 rural women smallholder farmers have increased their knowledge of, and ability to act on, their rights around agriculture, land management and other natural resources. In addition, rural women beneficiaries have gained equal access to, and ownership of, land for investing in climate-smart agriculture and agribusiness development. The Committee also observes, from the UN Women Gender Equality Country Profile 2021, that there remain several constraints that inhibit women’s demand for, and ability to use, financial services and products in Liberia. The Gender Equality Country Profile indicates that, even though some policies have been implemented to address gender barriers, there are critical obstacles to accessing commercial banking and mobile banking services. Thus, many women rely on informal financial services and grassroots village associations, limited by intrahousehold decision-making, high levels of illiteracy, societal norms, division of labour, and life cycle needs. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to promote women’s access to secure land tenure, credit and material goods and to provide detailed information on the impact of the measures adopted in this regard, in particular on the specific needs of indigenous women.

National policy on equality with respect to grounds other than sex. Equality of opportunity of indigenous peoples. Noting that the Government does not reply to the Committee’s previous requests, it once again asks the Government to provide: (i) data on the situation of indigenous workers in employment and occupation, disaggregated by sex; and (ii) information on the impact of the Land Rights Act of 2018 to improve the employment situation of indigenous workers, and on any other measures to improve their access to credit and material goods.

Equality of opportunity of persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that it is currently working on evaluating the impact of the National Action Plan for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. The Committee notes the adoption of a new National Action Plan for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities 2023–27, developed with the support of the United Nations Development Programme. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on: (i) the results of the assessment of the National Actional Plan for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities 2018–22, in particular statistical data on the employment situation of workers with disabilities (if possible disaggregated by sex); and (ii) the implementation of the newly adopted National Actional Plan for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities 2023–27.

Enforcement. The Government states that the Decent Work Act 2015 provides for the same mechanisms for filing a discrimination complaint as for any other type of complaint related to the workplace. In the absence of information on the number of cases of discrimination brought to the tribunals or the courts, the Committee wishes to stress that the absence of complaints does not necessary indicate that discrimination does not exist; rather, it is likely to reflect the lack of an appropriate legal framework, the lack of awareness, understanding and recognition of the issue of discrimination among government officials, workers and employers, as well as the lack of access to or the inadequacy of complaints mechanisms. The Committee thus asks again the Government to provide detailed information on: (i) the measures adopted or envisaged to raise awareness on the complaint mechanisms available in cases of discrimination in employment and occupation, among workers, employers, and their respective organizations, as well as information on any training undergone by labour inspectors, court officials or other authorities to identify and address such situations; and (ii) the number of cases of discrimination in employment and occupation brought to, or identified by, the competent authorities and their outcome (that is, namely sanctions imposed and remedies granted).