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GB.271/LILS/7
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Committee on Legal Issues and International Labour Standards |
LILS |
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SEVENTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA
General status report on ILO action concerning
discrimination in employment and occupation
Contents
I. Supervision of the application of standards concerning discrimination
II. Office activities to promote equality of opportunity and treatment
VI. Discrimination and indigenous and tribal peoples
VII. Discrimination and workers of the occupied Arab territories
1. Since the last report on this subject,(1) efforts have continued to consolidate and expand ILO activities in the field of discrimination. As is evident from the paper on the ratification and promotion of the fundamental ILO Conventions which is also before the Committee,(2) the ratification of both the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1951 (No. 111) and the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) has continued at a steady pace over the last year. Moreover, a number of governments have either ratified these Conventions, as well as others dealing with equality of opportunity and treatment -- such as the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) and the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) -- or stated that they intend to do so.
I.
Supervision of the application of standards
concerning discrimination
2. At its session in November-December 1997, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations examined the application of these Conventions and addressed a significant number of comments to governments, both in the form of observations and direct requests. It was evident, from the reports submitted by governments, that there is a heightened concern to improve the implementation of these instruments, and an increasing number of governments have indeed sought the assistance of the Office in this respect (see paragraph 4 below).
Constitutional procedures
3. Several representations made under article 24 of the ILO Constitution have been submitted in recent months. These concern a representation made by the National Federation of Workers' Councils alleging non-observance by Hungary of Convention No. 111 and the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122); a representation made by the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) alleging non-observance by Peru of Convention No. 169; a representation made by the Trade Union Delegation, D-III-57, Section XI of the National Trade Union of Education Workers (SNTE), Radio Education, alleging non-observance by Mexico of Convention No. 169; and a representation made by the General Confederation of Labour of Argentina (CGT) alleging non-observance by Spain of Conventions Nos. 111 and 122, as well as the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97). All were declared receivable at the 270th Session of the Governing Body.
II.
Office activities to promote equality of
opportunity and treatment
4. Since the last report, tripartite activities have been conducted in Hungary, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Réunion to promote equality of opportunity and treatment, with a specific view to overcoming barriers to the ratification and implementation of the fundamental ILO Conventions. The events held in Hungary and Réunion were for a number of countries in their respective subregions; the other three were national activities. Reports on these events are available to members of the Committee. A number of governments have requested assistance in connection with the ratification or implementation of one or more of the fundamental Conventions in the course of 1998.(3) The Office intends to do its utmost to provide this assistance as soon as possible, and arrangements are already under way in several cases.
5. The Equality and Human Rights Coordination Branch (EGALITE) has continued to backstop the technical cooperation project funded by Norway on affirmative action in employment in Namibia, which is now in its final phase. The project, which is intended to overcome the lingering effects of apartheid on employment, has included training (including a national tripartite seminar), sensitization and institution-building activities, together with the principal output of an employment equity law, which is in the final stages of preparation before being submitted to Parliament. It has also aimed at facilitating the ratification of Convention No. 111. In a similar vein, the branch has also provided technical assistance to the Government of South Africa on an Employment Equity Bill (published in the Official Gazette in December 1997), which will support the Government's anti-discrimination policy and its implementation of Convention No. 111, ratified in March 1997.
6. Technical advice on equality issues has been provided over the past year on 14 pieces of new or revised legislation (employment and industrial relations legislation, labour codes, equality acts, etc.) submitted to the Office for comment in relation to ratified Conventions and potential new ratifications. In the framework of activities to collaborate with other international agencies to combat discrimination, the Office has continued to provide information on its activities to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and its subsidiary bodies and takes part in discussions relating to a variety of human rights subjects. It also maintains close relations with the "treaty bodies" established to monitor the application of United Nations instruments: periodic reports are requested from the ILO by a number of these bodies, including the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Contributions have also been made regularly to projects designed by the International Training Centre of the ILO, Turin, which have a bearing on equality issues.
7. Forthcoming publications include AIDS and Employment, a book assessing current legislation and enterprise practice in relation to persons with HIV or AIDS; and a manual entitled Outline of Recent Developments concerning Equality Issues in Employment for Labour Court Judges. The latter will be used in a tripartite subregional seminar to be held in Trinidad and Tobago in May 1998.
III. Equality for women
8. In the context of promoting the mainstreaming of gender equality issues in all ILO programmes, a second round of gender training activities was launched in 1997 by the Office of the Special Adviser on Women Workers' Questions (FEMMES). Training courses were organized, based on the proposals received from the Area Offices and multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) in the regions. One prominent feature of the second round of these training activities is that they are tailor-made and combined with the identification of gender issues in sectoral activities. The constant goal is to enhance the capacity of ILO officials to carry out gender analysis and gender planning and integrate gender concerns into all ILO programmes and projects. Some 14 workshops were carried out both at headquarters and in the field in 1997. Similar training activities will take place this year as new senior specialists and associate experts on women and gender questions are appointed in the regions.
9. Additional funds have been allocated to strengthen the ILO's institutional capacity to overcome gender discrimination. Three additional posts of Senior Specialist on Women and Gender Questions were created: one at headquarters, and two in the regions -- one for the Manila MDT and one for the New Delhi MDT. While two of these six posts have been filled, one for Africa and one for the Arab States, four remain vacant. It is hoped that appointments to fill these vacancies will soon be made.
10. In the framework of the project funded by the Government of the Netherlands (INT/94/MO9/NET) on the dissemination of women workers' rights, a monitoring and evaluation meeting of the national project coordinators of the eight countries which were then participating was organized in Geneva in June 1997. All of those countries (China, Egypt, El Salvador, Hungary, India, Suriname, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe) had set up national tripartite steering committees, trained a group of resource persons and trainers from the tripartite partner organizations on gender equality issues, and designed and organized different types of awareness-raising activities in the light of their national priorities. National training materials were developed and, together with the ILO's training package, widely used. The challenge for this year will be to identify and implement organizational follow-up mechanisms which will contribute to the sustainability of the project's outputs, in particular by ensuring continuity of the process of advocating equality and women workers' rights in the countries concerned. Mali has recently become a participating country in the project.
11. Within the Action Programme on Labour Inspection and Equality of Rights of Women -- which aims at increasing the capacity of labour inspectors to contribute effectively to the achievement of greater equality for women in the workplace -- studies were undertaken in Chile, China, France, Ghana and Romania. The findings were used to prepare a guide for labour administrations, which was reviewed by a meeting held in Geneva in December 1997. The guide stresses the need for labour administrations to monitor the design and implementation of action to promote equality of opportunity and treatment within and outside labour administrations, as well as between the various ministries concerned. The guide, which will be published together with the case-studies and the conclusions reached by the experts, will be available in the first half of 1998.
12. A Tripartite Meeting on Breaking through the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management was held in Geneva in December 1997.(4) The conclusions adopted by the meeting recommended several strategies to promote women in management, including regulatory mechanisms and legal frameworks to eliminate discrimination on the ground of sex; affirmative action and guidelines to bring about a genuine change in attitudes, while taking diversity into account; the adoption of appropriate steps by enterprises, institutions and governments to ensure that employees are aware of their obligations and rights; positive action and equal opportunities policies to level the playing field and to ensure equal opportunities and treatment for women in recruitment and promotion; the development of ways to enable both women and men to combine the building of a career and the raising of a family; mentoring for women to provide advice and develop their professional skills; the appointment of corporate officers in the personnel departments of enterprises with responsibility for monitoring and promoting equal opportunities throughout the enterprise; and access of women to the necessary training to help them run their own businesses. The participants also emphasized the importance of employers' and workers' organizations appointing women to top positions in their own structures and the significant role of national tripartite commissions, where they exist, in promoting equal opportunities for women and men. A number of conclusions called on the ILO to promote women in management through the collection and dissemination of data and other information and to organize tripartite meetings on issues relating to women in management in all regions, in particular in Africa and in countries in transition to a market economy.
13. Based on concrete examples gathered during surveys carried out in 15 countries in all regions under the Action Programme on Labour and Social Issues relating to Export Processing Zones (EPZs), findings have confirmed that: (a) EPZs have been one of the main vehicles for the globalization of production; (b) women constitute most of the workforce in EPZs worldwide, and tend to be stereotyped into low-wage, low-skill jobs; and (c) women zone workers are still largely unprotected from unscrupulous employers, landlords, and vendors, and are often left vulnerable to sexual harassment at work and in the community. Proposals are being developed for the improvement of the living and working conditions of women workers in EPZs by the Labour Law and Labour Relations Branch (LEG/REL). In addition, a guide based on best practices collected during the surveys will be published this year.
14. Within the framework of the national multisectoral bodies established in India and Sri Lanka with the support of the Development Policies Department (POLDEV) in 1995, a number of studies and surveys have been conducted to assess and monitor the impact of structural adjustment programmes on women's employment opportunities and job quality. In the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe, tripartite policy dialogue workshops were organized on the same topic, and national plans to promote employment with gender equality in the context of economic reforms have been adopted.
15. As part of the ILO Action Programme on Economic Reform and Structural Change: Promoting Women's Employment and Participation in Social Funds, an overview paper and seven case-studies assessing the gender and employment dimensions of social funds were carried out in Bolivia, Egypt, Honduras, Madagascar, Mexico, Peru and Zambia. In September 1997, a technical workshop was held in Geneva to discuss the research findings and draw lessons which can guide the future orientation of safety net programmes with respect to the integration of a gender perspective. As a result, discussions are under way with the World Bank to develop joint guidelines to enhance the design of social funds taking into account employment and gender perspectives.
16. Building on POLDEV's ten-year programme on home work in South-East Asia, an action-oriented research programme has been launched on the same theme in Latin America (one component in the Andean subregion, three in the Southern Cone and four in Central America). The purpose of this research is: (a) to ascertain the magnitude of home work in mature and leading economic sectors, while assessing the suitability of national employment surveys and statistics to capture this data; (b) to determine the socio-economic profile and needs of homeworkers; and (c) to assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of the existing regulatory framework. Most homeworkers are women, and the way this occupational sector is handled can have a significant impact on equality for women.
17. As a means of enhancing the capacity of ILO constituents to combat poverty and social exclusion from a gender perspective and employment-oriented focus, a capacity-building programme and training package have been developed in collaboration with the International Training Centre of the ILO, Turin. A planning and validation workshop for this package took place in February 1998. In addition, a Training Manual on Rural Women in Micro-enterprise Development was published late in 1996 and disseminated throughout 1997.
18. The International Programme on More and Better Jobs for Women (WOM/EMP) is an initiative to reinforce the ILO's longstanding priority to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment in conditions of equality. It is also the ILO's specific contribution to follow-up on the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the gender dimension of the World Summit for Social Development, and has been helping a number of countries to formulate national action plans to improve the quantity and quality of women's employment and to set up the legal framework and institutional structures and arrangements for implementation. A start is being made with a small number of countries and areas (Burkina Faso, Estonia, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, United Republic of Tanzania, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip) and others have expressed interest in participating in the programme. The ILO is committing its own resources to launch the programme and is also looking for donor support to ensure effective implementation on a sustainable basis in the countries concerned. A number of activities at the international level have also been designed to support and complement national efforts, including the preparation and wide dissemination of manuals and guidelines on policies, programmes and best practices for improving women's employment. One of the first manuals planned involves collaboration with the Women's Committee of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). The manual will deal with how and why it is important to raise the profile of trade unions in activities for the promotion of gender equality, and will cover activities within trade unions, within enterprises and at the community level. Other manuals planned will deal, for example, with "Helping Women Break through the Glass Ceiling" and with "Protection for Vulnerable Female Migrant Workers". It is also important to note that the programme has several other distinguishing features: it aims at assisting efforts to promote the ratification of fundamental ILO Conventions relating to women workers; it aims at demonstrating in practical ways that women's employment should lead to a reduction of child labour; and it aims at establishing links with other important international efforts in the area of gender equality.
IV. Migrant workers
19. The ILO's activities relating to international migration for employment are intended to provide support to migrant-sending and migrant-receiving countries in order to help them deal with current policy concerns, cooperate in the recruitment and return of migrant workers, and improve the protection of migrant workers and members of their families. The promotion of the ILO standards concerning migrant workers is a prominent feature of all activities undertaken. The key concern of these standards is non-discrimination and equality of opportunity and treatment.
20. The Office's activities have contributed significantly to acceptance of the principle of equality of treatment for migrant workers and the elimination of discrimination against them. However, the situation of migrant workers remains a matter of concern, particularly in the countries which have not yet ratified any of the relevant Conventions and where national legislation and practice are often far from consistent with the principles of the ILO.
21. The development of migration for employment is becoming the focus of increased attention by ILO constituents, resulting in an increasing number of requests for technical assistance. Protection, integration and non-discrimination figured prominently in the Programme of Action adopted by the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, September 1994)(5) and the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, March 1995. The Office (through the Migration Programme, Conditions of Work and Welfare Facilities Branch (CONDI/T)) has been entrusted with leading the Working Group on International Migration which was established by the ACC Task Force on Basic Social Services for All. Within the framework of this working group, a Technical Symposium on International Migration and Development will be held in The Hague from 29 June to 3 July 1998. This symposium is intended: (i) to examine salient international migration and development policy issues faced by governments, such as protecting migrants and preventing their economic and social marginalization; (ii) to evaluate, through country case-studies, the effectiveness of existing policies, procedures, measures and mechanisms; and (iii) to suggest to governments ways to foster orderly migration flows and to counteract the economic and social marginalization of migrants.
22. Apart from its ongoing activities related to international migration for employment, the Office has engaged in activities aimed explicitly at promoting the protection of migrant workers and reducing discrimination against these workers. A General Survey on migrant workers will be carried out by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations at its November-December 1998 session for submission to the 87th Session of the International Labour Conference (June 1999). It may be noted that the number of ratifications of the relevant ILO Conventions remains quite low: the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) has been ratified by 40 countries; and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143) has been ratified by only 17 countries, with the last ratification of both dating from 1993. The General Survey is intended, inter alia, to examine the reasons for the small number of ratifications, and to examine whether revision of these instruments is needed. The Office draws attention to the fact that the number of reports so far received remains quite low, impeding efforts to examine obstacles to ratification and the measures that should be taken.
23. An interregional project to combat discrimination against migrant workers and ethnic minorities in the world of work was launched in 1993. This project, which focuses on industrialized migrant-receiving countries, is intended to tackle informal or de facto discrimination. Its research findings have provided evidence that this kind of discrimination is widespread and persistent. Moreover, discrimination in the labour market seriously hampers the integration of migrant workers into society at large. The objective of this project, which is chiefly funded by extra-budgetary resources, is to contribute to the eradication of discrimination by informing policy-makers, employers, workers and persons engaged in anti-discrimination training on how legislative measures and training activities can be rendered more effective, based on an international comparison of the efficacy of such measures and activities. In 1997, a number of national seminars were organized in countries participating in the project, in order to present the research findings to the Organization's constituents and to discuss improvements in policies and practices aimed at combating discrimination. A tripartite interregional seminar on achieving equality for (im)migrant workers will be organized in 1998.
24. In 1996, the Office launched the "Informal network on foreign labour in Central and Eastern Europe". This project aims at strengthening governments' capacity to deal with international migration in the region. Within the framework of this project, issues related to the equal treatment of migrant workers and the position of nationals of the former USSR in its successor States were also considered. The legal status of such persons is often undecided, resulting in a vulnerable position within the respective host societies and socio-economic marginalization.
25. At a broader level, the Office held a Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Future ILO Activities in the Field of Migration, Geneva, 21-25 April 1997. The Meeting reviewed Office proposals on protection issues related to (i) workers engaged under temporary migration schemes, (ii) migrant workers recruited by private agents for employment in another country, and (iii) a new Office instrument aimed at protecting migrant workers who do not fall under Convention-based procedures. The meeting approved a set of guidelines, aimed at the Organization's constituents, on improving the protection of these groups of workers and the procedural rules pertaining to the holding of "Pattern and practice studies on the exploitation of migrant workers not falling under Convention-based procedures". The report of this meeting was approved by the Governing Body at its 270th Session (November 1997).
V. Disabled workers
26. Action to overcome discrimination based on physical or mental disability, and thus to promote employment for persons with disabilities, is an important objective of the ILO. Efforts in this regard require particular attention in an environment characterized by global competition and the deregulation of labour markets. While there has been significant progress concerning the occupational integration of persons with disabilities in both industrialized and developing countries -- achieved largely through the mobilization of non-governmental organizations and through action to intensify consultations with the social partners -- there is a need for the ILO to make a more comprehensive effort to ensure that such progress becomes a more generalized trend worldwide. To this end, the Vocational Rehabilitation Branch (REHAB) has begun intensive consultations with the principal international non-governmental organizations concerned with questions relating to disabled persons. This process of collaboration will also be extended to selected national rehabilitation centres. One of the main objectives of these activities will be to strengthen the way in which disability questions are managed in enterprises.
27. It should be recalled that a General Survey on the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention (No. 159) and Recommendation (No. 168), 1983 was undertaken by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations at its session in November-December 1997, which will be for submission to the 86th Session of the International Labour Conference (June 1998). As follow-up on the General Survey, REHAB plans to prepare an issues paper and a brief guide (referred to as a Tool Box) to promote better access to training, employment and occupation for people with disabilities.
28. Among the different kinds of disability, the incidence of mental disability is increasing most rapidly. REHAB intends to analyse the different forms of mental disability and the reasons for its increase in society and in the working environment, and to elaborate practical solutions concerning the means that might be taken to overcome discrimination arising from this disability. In this area of work, the branch supports the World Health Organization's programme Nations for Mental Health, in order to evaluate the progress of national policies on this subject. REHAB is also intensifying its cooperation with the Council of Europe's Committee of Integration and Vocational Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities in order to develop further strategies to improve access to training, employment and occupation for persons with disabilities.
29. Another important area of REHAB's activities is the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Programme, which has as its objectives: (1) to increase the capacity of ILO member States, and employers' and workers' organizations, as well as enterprises, to formulate policies and implement programmes to prevent and reduce drug and alcohol problems in the workplace; and (2) to increase access by these partners to information and resource material for policy formulation and programme development. For this purpose the Code of Practice on the Management of Alcohol and Drug-related Issues in the Workplace was developed and published in 1996 to provide a framework for the development of the drug and alcohol prevention programme. One of the key concepts of the Code is that drug and alcohol policies and programmes should "apply to all staff, managers and employees and should not discriminate on grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin". The ILO is promoting the Code of Practice through workshops and presentations at international meetings and conferences.
VI. Discrimination and indigenous and tribal peoples
30. The Office continues to pursue its efforts to improve the living and working conditions of indigenous and tribal peoples, and to strengthen the participation of these peoples in the economies of their countries.
31. A technical cooperation project financed by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), aimed at promoting ILO policy on indigenous and tribal peoples within the framework of its standards, namely the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), and, where relevant, the earlier Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957 (No. 107), began operations in 1996 and is expected to continue until 2000. The project has cooperated with governments, trade unions and others to draw attention to the situation of indigenous and tribal peoples. It has recently begun providing more specific assistance, concentrating on the ILO's traditional areas of expertise related to employment and economic activity. Technical assistance to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Highland Peoples' Development of the Government of Cambodia in devising a policy for the development of its highland peoples is under way. This has focused on policy advice, and on strengthening the capacity of the Inter-Ministerial Committee to respond better to the needs of the highland communities in formulating development programmes, with the participation of these peoples. In addition, the specific form of technical assistance to the Government of Viet Nam's Committee on Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas is being finalized.
32. The project has also participated in events organized by the international trade union federations, Education International and Public Service International, to highlight the relationship between trade unions and indigenous and tribal peoples. In cooperation with UNDP, the project organized a workshop on "Information Exchange on Development Experiences with Highland Peoples" in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 17 to 21 November 1997. The workshop focused on the impact of development projects at the community level, with participation from the Governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam, and with the cooperation of the Tribal Research Institute of the Department of Public Welfare, Thailand. A pilot project to assess the impact of development-related displacement on tribal women in India was launched in 1997. The project also undertook assessment missions to southern Africa in order to establish contacts and to evaluate the possibilities for initiating operational activities in the area.
33. Within the context of increasing awareness of ILO standards relevant to indigenous and tribal peoples, a radio programme to explain Convention No. 169 to indigenous communities in Costa Rica was launched, and a Basic Guide to the ILO's Convention No. 169 explaining the provisions and application of Convention No. 169 in a simple, easy-to-understand manner is in the final stage of preparation. Other ILO technical cooperation projects, including the Inter-Regional Programme to Support Self-Reliance of Indigenous and Tribal Communities through Cooperatives and other Self-Help Organizations (INDISCO) which is also externally financed, continues its operations in the Philippines, India and Central America.
34. The current privatization of the energy, oil and mining sectors in many developing countries may jeopardize the employment and development opportunities of indigenous and tribal communities if suitable compensatory and rehabilitation schemes are not put into place. A pilot project was launched in the Philippines, early in 1997, to strengthen legislation and practice concerning prior consultations with indigenous communities on large-scale development projects which affect them, and to enhance the capacity of the latter to participate and negotiate in such consultations. Another objective is to devise just and appropriate compensation and long-term rehabilitation packages. A mission was conducted in Peru to help the Lima MDT devise -- in consultation with the recently created Ministry on Women's Questions and Social Affairs, and other agencies -- mechanisms and measures aimed at redressing social tensions and unrest in the Amazon basin, especially among indigenous peoples, which derive from political violence, narcotics trafficking and oil operations.
35. In collaboration with the Department of Native Studies of the University of Lethbridge of Alberta, Canada, a manual providing guidance on strategies and tactics for effective negotiation by indigenous and tribal peoples in development-related projects was published. In cooperation with the ILO Office and MDT in San José, Costa Rica, POLDEV continues to contribute to the implementation of the Agreement on Identity and Indigenous Rights, included in the global peace accord ("Agreement on a Firm and Lasting Peace") signed by the Government of Guatemala and the rebel movement in December 1996, and which includes the application of Convention No. 169, ratified by Guatemala the same year. To this effect, assistance is being given to capacity building for indigenous organizations in legal and development issues and the promotion of dialogue between those organizations, the Government and other major stakeholders.
36. In cooperation with the Cooperative Branch (COOP), and as a contribution to the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, a research project involving extensive field work and consultations with indigenous communities in the Philippines has been launched to devise a survey method and local-specific indicators of indigenous poverty and well-being.
VII.
Discrimination and workers of the
occupied Arab territories
37. At the 85th Session of the International Labour Conference (1997), the Director-General presented his 20th report on the situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories. Since 1978, through missions sent to Israel and the occupied territories, the ILO has been fulfilling its mandate to monitor the situation of Palestinian workers and has documented how their interests and those of Palestinian employers can be improved by the provision of adequate and appropriate technical assistance.
38. Over the years, the report has outlined the complex and sensitive socio-political context of the occupied Arab territories, and in 1997 -- in the employment context -- it highlighted in particular the continuing closures between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the situation of East Jerusalem, as well as continuing to assess the situation in the Golan Heights. The chapter concerning technical cooperation documented the continuing cooperation in a number of areas such as employment generation, institution building and private sector development. While current ILO projects involve approximately US$9.2 million, the extension of a number of activities by the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin, where activities are currently worth US$2 million, was also noted. The technical cooperation being undertaken in full partnership with the Palestinian authorities and the social partners in these territories, was seen as a means of contributing in a practical and effective way to the development of institutions and of a Palestinian employment policy. While anticipating the continuation of a climate propitious to the ILO's future role in these territories, the Director-General noted that recent tragic violence was a stark reminder of just how fragile and volatile the situation is.
39. The report was based on information collected from a variety of sources (including the Government of Israel and the Palestine Authority, employers' and workers' organizations and various United Nations agencies) during the mission that the Director-General sent to Israel and the occupied Arab territories from 21 February to 5 March 1997, and during a short preparatory mission from 24 to 26 February 1997 to the Syrian Arab Republic for consultations with Syrian government authorities. The report considered the various aspects of equality of opportunity and treatment for workers of the occupied Arab territories with regard to conditions of work, freedom of association (with particular emphasis on the development of the trade union situation) and labour relations, as well as the economy and the labour market, including human resources development and employment prospects and policies. The statistical tables it contains showed that the territories' real GNP per capita was estimated to have declined by 36.2 per cent between 1992 and 1996, and that the closures or near-closures of the borders had increasingly impeded the flow of workers and produce between the territories and Israel. Much, therefore, remained to be done to ensure that Palestinian workers enjoy enhanced employment opportunities, economic security and conditions of work that are consistent with international principles and labour standards.
40. The report concluded that the ILO would do everything "to make its contribution to the peace process, especially by strengthening the ability of the Palestine Authority and the employers' and workers' organizations concerned to meet their most pressing economic and social needs, especially on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip".
41. The Director-General has approached the Israeli authorities with a view to arranging a further mission, which is expected to take place during the 271st Session of the Governing Body.
Geneva, 20 February 1998
3. See GB.271/LILS/6.
5. GB.261/ESP/3/3.