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

Maternity Protection Convention, 1919 (No. 3) - Central African Republic (Ratification: 1964)

Previous comment

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government in its report that, despite the amendments of 2009 to the Labour Code, the General Decree No. 3759 of 25 November 1954, concerning the work of pregnant women, remains in force. The Committee also takes due note that in the context of the ongoing reform of the current Labour Code, innovations have been introduced to the new Chapter III, concerning the protection of pregnancy and maternity of workers. In this context, the Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the new Labour Code, once adopted, and to indicate how its content complies with the provisions of the Convention.

Article 3(c) of the Convention. Free health care. The Committee notes the indication by the Government that measures have been taken, in the context of the new national health development plan, to protect pregnant women, which will be implemented in line with the ongoing national policy to achieve universal health care. The Committee takes note, however, that Central African Republic is estimated to have a very high rate of maternal mortality, with 835 deaths per 100,000 women (see Analytical Fact Sheet, WHO, 2023), and that one in nineteen women in the country is at risk of dying from maternal causes (see Trends in maternal mortality, Annex 4, WHO, 2023). In view of this, the Committee requests the Government once more to provide detailed information on the measures envisaged or adopted to improve health care services afforded to women during prenatal, childbirth and postnatal periods, and to prevent and reduce maternal mortality.