Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Rwanda (Ratification: 1981)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows.

1. The Committee notes with interest that a Bill to revise the Labour Code, Act of 28 February 1967, has been prepared and sent to the Office for comments. It notes, however, that the draft text contains no provision prohibiting discrimination on all the grounds set out in the Convention. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on the measures taken, following the Office's advice, to include in the draft Code provisions ensuring the principle of non-discrimination in employment and occupation in line with the Convention, and on the progress made towards adoption of the new Code.

2. Referring to its previous comments concerning women and vulnerable ethnic groups, the Committee again asks the Government to supply information on the concrete measures taken or under consideration to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation and to eliminate any discrimination based on all the grounds listed in the Convention, including ethnicity and sex. It would like to receive information on the measures taken to promote the training and employment of women and vulnerable ethnic groups, particularly the Pygmies (Batwa), and on the results obtained discernible through statistics on the number of women and members of this ethnic group undergoing training, especially vocational and university training, and their access to public and private employment.

3. The Committee notes that, according to the report, the Presidential Order of 26 February 1993 to amend the Presidential Order of 17 April 1978 on the organization of workers' placement services and employment supervision, liberalizes the recruitment of national manpower and removes the obstacles of a legal and regulatory nature from employment mobility and flexibility, which had originated in the numerous formalities for recruitment under the former, above-mentioned Order. The Committee would like to receive information on the effect of this new regulation on the national policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment and to eliminate any discrimination during the recruitment process which might be based on the criteria set out in the Convention, in particular race and sex. In particular, please supply details on the way in which placement services ensure the application of this policy, on the means of action available to them, and the means of redress open to those who use them and believe that they have suffered discrimination following the implementation of the new recruitment procedures.