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03 May 2000
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CESCR
22nd Session
3 April 2000
Morning
A Government delegation from Egypt this morning told the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that women were enjoying a greater role in Egypt's expanding economy and in Egyptian society because of new progressive laws that raised their level of education and granted them new rights.
Sana Khalil, Egypt's Deputy Minister of Justice, and the rest of the Government delegation said illiteracy was the cause of backwardness of women in society because it prevented them from entering the labour market. Thanks to the steps taken in basic education, a noticeable improvement in the progress of women in the work force had been seen. Laws concerning compulsory education had prepared women for leadership jobs in various fields, he continued. Further, Mr. Khalil said, there was no legislation that banned women from work in any field. They were seen in numbers in all fields, including the police force and the armed forces, as well as trade unions and university positions.
Other members of the delegation explained recent changes in Egypt's domestic laws that had granted women the right to a speedy divorce, and Government efforts aimed at eradicating female genital mutilation.
The delegation's comments came as the Committee continued its consideration of the initial report of Egypt on the measures taken by the Government to implement the terms of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Beyond women's rights, the delegation answered questions posed by Committee experts on issues ranging from the rights of refugees to child labour and minimum wage, among others.
As one of the 143 States parties to the International Covenant, Egypt is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee about measures it had taken to implement the provisions of the treaty.
The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. to conclude its review of the Egyptian report.
Discussion
Answering a question from a Committee expert concerning Egypt's policy on refugees, the delegation said Egypt had a long tradition of accepting refugees. There was an ongoing process between the Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to further continue this.
Asked if an international commitment could conceivably be considered unconstitutional, the delegation said it was possible. But it had never been a problem because during the negotiations concerning international treaties and covenants, Parliament and other relative bodies were consulted, and if there was any question of possible unconstitutionality, reservations were raised.
On issues relating to women, the delegation said that according to a new law, there was now total equality concerning the right to divorce. It could take no more than six months. This was an evolution of the situation. Another law dealt with abolishing article 90 of the penal code, which dealt with exonerating a man who raped a woman if he married her. This was a very important development. It had taken place last year. The Minister of Health was directed to eliminate all practice of female genital mutilation. Another element was the fact that there were many new female institutions, including one headed by the First Lady of Egypt.
The delegation said a woman who was divorced had a right to alimony until she remarried. There was a programme with the Nasser Bank, which was a social bank, that ensured her alimony even if the former husband could not pay or could not be located.
The delegation said the question of polygamy was in the Islamic law, although in Islamic law, there was a rule about being fair to all the wives, and it was known that that could not be the case. So polygamy could not be changed because it was part of Islamic law.
Addressing a question about the discrepancy in prison terms for a man who killed his wife because she had committed adultery, and a woman who killed her husband because he had committed adultery, the delegation said that was the topic of several conferences, and was also a work in progress.
SANA KHALIL, Egypt's Deputy Minister of Justice and head of the delegation, said illiteracy was the cause of backwardness of women in society because it prevented them from entering the labour market. Thanks to the steps taken in basic education, a noticeable improvement in the progress of women in the work force had been seen. The presence of women in various leadership positions in different fields was because of compulsory education. There was no legislation that banned women from work in any field whatsoever in Egypt. They went into many different fields, including the armed forces and the police force. Their numbers had been increasing in trade unions and in university positions.
Mr. Khalil, answering a question about Egyptian labour laws, said there was a new bill that was being debated. Trade unions, associations and social organs were all participating to ensure all sides were protected. The Government was making an effort to reduce unemployment by increasing the number of people in employment each year by 600,000. The number of workers from 1994 to 1997 had increased by two million. There were other smaller projects created by the Social Fund. The Government recently had announced it would continue employment opportunities at the same level as in past years.
Concerning the registration of associations, he said a new law abolished the administrative authority for these associations, and transferred those operations to the judiciary. Committees had been created for dispute settlements and resolution of other conflicts.
The delegation said the minimum wage in Egypt, historically, was not fixed. It changed depending on the economic situation. Some years ago, it was sufficient for a decent standard of living. What was happening in Egypt at the moment was that people had a minimum wage, and then two or three other layers of incentives, for example housing or transportation. Basically, an effective collective bargaining process was enough to ensure workers received the benefits they needed.
Asked about trade union and labour rights, the delegation said Egypt had adopted seven conventions of the International Labour Office, and therefore, the country was under scrutiny. It was important to note that the objective of the supervisory mechanism was to point out to Governments where improvements could take place.
In the current law, the delegation said, strikes were not illegal. The right to strike was merely a guarantee for the good functioning of collective bargaining, and that was the objective. It was important to have a well-represented labour force which could be effective on the international stage at a time when globalization was becoming more and more important.
Speaking about child labour, the delegation said it was often a problem faced by developing countries. The problem stemmed from the low standard of living. The Government's position was that there were things that could be done. In order to reduce child labour, education was being stressed. That would help end the poverty problem. The Government last year had formulated a new law which set additional limits to the minimum age for work. After that, Egypt had ratified ILO Convention 138, the basic child labour convention. Egypt was one of the few developing nations in the world that was a party to that convention. It had a good functioning convention also on the worst forms of child labour. In addition, the Government had been formulating an administrative framework that would be capable of enforcing the child labour laws.
On labour inspection, the delegation said the Government was not omnipresent. There needed to be a special programme for labour inspectors to deal with such a problem. There was such a programme between the Government and the ILO, and many inspectors had come to Geneva for training. There were no reliable statistics on the numbers of working children because most of them worked in the informal sector. A few months ago, the Government undertook a project, with the ILO, to gather statistics about child labour. The vast majority of working children in Egypt were not part of the worst forms of child labour, as defined by last year's ILO Convention, which included prostitution and slave-like conditions.
Asked about the unemployment rate in Egypt, which the report stated was 7.4 per cent, the delegation said that was a precise figure if it were taken by the clear definition of unemployment. It would not be precise if it took into account under-employment -- people who were working, but not making a satisfactory living. But the 7.4 per cent figure was reliable in a global context.
Concerning industrial accidents and diseases, the delegation said a list was published by the Government about types of jobs that could be hazardous to one's health. If, for example, the job was in front of a blast furnace, there could be restrictions about how many hours a worker could be there. Or a company could be required to provide protective uniforms or equipment. Labour legislation in this area was very strong and very concrete because of the strength of labour unions in Egypt.
* *** *
22nd Session
3 April 2000
Morning
A Government delegation from Egypt this morning told the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that women were enjoying a greater role in Egypt's expanding economy and in Egyptian society because of new progressive laws that raised their level of education and granted them new rights.
Sana Khalil, Egypt's Deputy Minister of Justice, and the rest of the Government delegation said illiteracy was the cause of backwardness of women in society because it prevented them from entering the labour market. Thanks to the steps taken in basic education, a noticeable improvement in the progress of women in the work force had been seen. Laws concerning compulsory education had prepared women for leadership jobs in various fields, he continued. Further, Mr. Khalil said, there was no legislation that banned women from work in any field. They were seen in numbers in all fields, including the police force and the armed forces, as well as trade unions and university positions.
Other members of the delegation explained recent changes in Egypt's domestic laws that had granted women the right to a speedy divorce, and Government efforts aimed at eradicating female genital mutilation.
The delegation's comments came as the Committee continued its consideration of the initial report of Egypt on the measures taken by the Government to implement the terms of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Beyond women's rights, the delegation answered questions posed by Committee experts on issues ranging from the rights of refugees to child labour and minimum wage, among others.
As one of the 143 States parties to the International Covenant, Egypt is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee about measures it had taken to implement the provisions of the treaty.
The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. to conclude its review of the Egyptian report.
Discussion
Answering a question from a Committee expert concerning Egypt's policy on refugees, the delegation said Egypt had a long tradition of accepting refugees. There was an ongoing process between the Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to further continue this.
Asked if an international commitment could conceivably be considered unconstitutional, the delegation said it was possible. But it had never been a problem because during the negotiations concerning international treaties and covenants, Parliament and other relative bodies were consulted, and if there was any question of possible unconstitutionality, reservations were raised.
On issues relating to women, the delegation said that according to a new law, there was now total equality concerning the right to divorce. It could take no more than six months. This was an evolution of the situation. Another law dealt with abolishing article 90 of the penal code, which dealt with exonerating a man who raped a woman if he married her. This was a very important development. It had taken place last year. The Minister of Health was directed to eliminate all practice of female genital mutilation. Another element was the fact that there were many new female institutions, including one headed by the First Lady of Egypt.
The delegation said a woman who was divorced had a right to alimony until she remarried. There was a programme with the Nasser Bank, which was a social bank, that ensured her alimony even if the former husband could not pay or could not be located.
The delegation said the question of polygamy was in the Islamic law, although in Islamic law, there was a rule about being fair to all the wives, and it was known that that could not be the case. So polygamy could not be changed because it was part of Islamic law.
Addressing a question about the discrepancy in prison terms for a man who killed his wife because she had committed adultery, and a woman who killed her husband because he had committed adultery, the delegation said that was the topic of several conferences, and was also a work in progress.
SANA KHALIL, Egypt's Deputy Minister of Justice and head of the delegation, said illiteracy was the cause of backwardness of women in society because it prevented them from entering the labour market. Thanks to the steps taken in basic education, a noticeable improvement in the progress of women in the work force had been seen. The presence of women in various leadership positions in different fields was because of compulsory education. There was no legislation that banned women from work in any field whatsoever in Egypt. They went into many different fields, including the armed forces and the police force. Their numbers had been increasing in trade unions and in university positions.
Mr. Khalil, answering a question about Egyptian labour laws, said there was a new bill that was being debated. Trade unions, associations and social organs were all participating to ensure all sides were protected. The Government was making an effort to reduce unemployment by increasing the number of people in employment each year by 600,000. The number of workers from 1994 to 1997 had increased by two million. There were other smaller projects created by the Social Fund. The Government recently had announced it would continue employment opportunities at the same level as in past years.
Concerning the registration of associations, he said a new law abolished the administrative authority for these associations, and transferred those operations to the judiciary. Committees had been created for dispute settlements and resolution of other conflicts.
The delegation said the minimum wage in Egypt, historically, was not fixed. It changed depending on the economic situation. Some years ago, it was sufficient for a decent standard of living. What was happening in Egypt at the moment was that people had a minimum wage, and then two or three other layers of incentives, for example housing or transportation. Basically, an effective collective bargaining process was enough to ensure workers received the benefits they needed.
Asked about trade union and labour rights, the delegation said Egypt had adopted seven conventions of the International Labour Office, and therefore, the country was under scrutiny. It was important to note that the objective of the supervisory mechanism was to point out to Governments where improvements could take place.
In the current law, the delegation said, strikes were not illegal. The right to strike was merely a guarantee for the good functioning of collective bargaining, and that was the objective. It was important to have a well-represented labour force which could be effective on the international stage at a time when globalization was becoming more and more important.
Speaking about child labour, the delegation said it was often a problem faced by developing countries. The problem stemmed from the low standard of living. The Government's position was that there were things that could be done. In order to reduce child labour, education was being stressed. That would help end the poverty problem. The Government last year had formulated a new law which set additional limits to the minimum age for work. After that, Egypt had ratified ILO Convention 138, the basic child labour convention. Egypt was one of the few developing nations in the world that was a party to that convention. It had a good functioning convention also on the worst forms of child labour. In addition, the Government had been formulating an administrative framework that would be capable of enforcing the child labour laws.
On labour inspection, the delegation said the Government was not omnipresent. There needed to be a special programme for labour inspectors to deal with such a problem. There was such a programme between the Government and the ILO, and many inspectors had come to Geneva for training. There were no reliable statistics on the numbers of working children because most of them worked in the informal sector. A few months ago, the Government undertook a project, with the ILO, to gather statistics about child labour. The vast majority of working children in Egypt were not part of the worst forms of child labour, as defined by last year's ILO Convention, which included prostitution and slave-like conditions.
Asked about the unemployment rate in Egypt, which the report stated was 7.4 per cent, the delegation said that was a precise figure if it were taken by the clear definition of unemployment. It would not be precise if it took into account under-employment -- people who were working, but not making a satisfactory living. But the 7.4 per cent figure was reliable in a global context.
Concerning industrial accidents and diseases, the delegation said a list was published by the Government about types of jobs that could be hazardous to one's health. If, for example, the job was in front of a blast furnace, there could be restrictions about how many hours a worker could be there. Or a company could be required to provide protective uniforms or equipment. Labour legislation in this area was very strong and very concrete because of the strength of labour unions in Egypt.
* *** *