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

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Egypt (Ratification: 1988)

Articles 1(2) and 2 of the Convention. National policy for the vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the application of the Convention, as well as relevant measures adopted in the context of the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It notes with interest the series of legislative texts and governmental initiatives taken to advance the rights of persons with disabilities, including the 2018 Act on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Act No° 10) and its implementing regulation. In particular, the Committee notes that Act No. 10 of 2018 includes a new category, of persons whose stature is less than 140 centimetres. The Committee also notes the adoption of the 2020 Act on the Establishment of the Support Fund for Persons with Disabilities. Moreover, the Committee takes note of a series of initiatives targeting persons with disabilities, in particular: “Egypt Is More Beautiful With You”, which aims to provide training and rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities and “Your Profession Is Your Future”. These initiatives are being implemented throughout the country on an ongoing basis since 2018. Their objective is to meet the training requirements of persons with disabilities to prepare them to enter the modern labour market. These programmes provide persons with disabilities with suitable job opportunities following their successful completion of the training and either grant them the wherewithal to work in a freelance capacity or assist them in setting up their own enterprises. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the Support Fund created for persons with disabilities, and to indicate the extent and source of the funding allocated to it and the purposes for which funding is used. It also requests the Government to provide detailed updated information, including statistics disaggregated by sex, age and type of disability, on the nature, scope and impact of the legislative and other measures taken to ensure the inclusion in employment of persons with disabilities.

Articles 3 and 4. Promotion of employment for all categories of persons with disabilities based on the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment. The Government indicates that the new measures adopted in relation to vocational rehabilitation and promotion of employment apply to persons with varying types and degrees of disability, regardless of age or sex, or of the qualifications they may or may not possess. It adds that its objective to protect the rights – including the labour rights – of persons with disabilities and to guarantee their full enjoyment of all human rights and basic freedoms on an equal footing with others. In this respect the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the national vocational rehabilitation policy seeks, among other things, to ensure that persons with disabilities are not subject to discrimination in mainstream vocational training programmes and providing reasonable accommodation in the context of the technical and vocational training provided. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information, including statistics disaggregated by sex, age and occupation relating to the nature, scope and impact of the measures adopted to promote access to sustainable employment and decent work for persons with disabilities in the open labour market.

Article 8. Services in rural areas and remote communities. The Committee welcomes the information provided by the Government in relation to the efforts made to reach all persons with disabilities throughout the country. In this context, the Committee takes particular note of the establishment and deployment of 27 mobile training units to access villages and hamlets in rural and remote communities, which make up part of the 72 vocational training centres located throughout the country. The Government indicates that vocational training takes place in 41 different locations. The Committee requests the Government to provide additional updated information on the nature, extent and impact of the services provided by the mobile training units in rural areas and remote communities on the access of persons with disabilities to vocational guidance, education and training and placement services, including statistical data disaggregated by sex, age and occupation.

Article 9. Training of suitably qualified staff. The Government indicates that it endeavours to build the capacities of those who are responsible for all aspects of vocational guidance and training for persons with disabilities, starting with education and the integration of persons with disabilities into schools, especially apprenticeships. The Government adds that the Ministry of Manpower regularly holds courses to train staff responsible for providing vocational services. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed and updated information on the nature and impact of measures taken with a view to ensuring the training and availability of a sufficient quantity of suitably qualified counsellors specialized in providing rehabilitation services and of other qualified staff responsible for ensuring the provision of vocational guidance, training and placement services to persons with disabilities.