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ILCCR: General Observation concerning Haiti. Published: 2007Description:(ILCCR General Observation) Country:(Haiti) Session of the Conference:96 Document:22 Display the document in: French Spanish Document No. (ilolex): 122007HTI I. Observations and Information concerning Reports on ratified Conventions (Articles 22 and 35 of the Constitution) A. Discussion of cases of serious failure by member States to respect their reporting and other standards-related obligations (c) Failure to supply information in reply to comments made by the Committee of Experts A Government representative of Comoros explained that, for the past ten years, her country had been experiencing difficulties, which had largely destabilized governmental institutions. At that time, those institutions were progressively being reestablished in accordance with law, and, thanks to the support of the ILO Office in Addis Ababa as regards training labour administration staff, the governmental services were undertaking to fulfil the standards-related obligations of Comoros. A Government representative of Congo indicated that the reports requested for 2006 and 2007 had already been prepared and were being submitted to the social partners. Concerning the response to the Committee of Experts' comments, Congo had received the relevant observations and direct requests from the Director of the ILO Office in Kinshasa on 8 May 2007. The Government undertook to submit the replies due before 1 September 2007. A Government representative of Djibouti stated that the reports expected had been prepared and submitted to the Office, but it appeared that they did not meet the Committee of Experts' expectations. The Government of Djibouti therefore undertook to review the reports and ensure that, in the future, they were submitted on time and met the Committee of Experts' expectations. A Government representative of France indicated that her Government regretted not having been able to supply the information requested from the Department of Martinique, in order to respond to the Committee of Experts' comments within the prescribed time limits. This was due to a lack of capacity, particularly concerning the officer in charge of Martinique, and to the significant number of reports on the application of ratified Conventions to be submitted to the ILO, including for the non-metropolitan territories. France was committed to its constitutional obligations and undertook to submit the reports due as soon as possible. A Government representative of Jordan expressed his surprise that the reports sent by his Government in 2006 had not been received by the ILO. Jordan had never failed to supply the reports requested. In the meantime, the Government had sent copies of the outstanding reports. In addition, the speaker informed the Committee that an agreement had been made with the ILO regarding training relevant officials. A Government representative of Kiribati recognized that the comments made by the Committee of Experts were of urgent importance. The harmonization of the legal and political situation with Conventions Nos 87 and 98 was ongoing. A Government representative of the Russian Federation stated that his Government was firmly committed to fulfilling its obligations in the context of the supervisory system. Efforts were being made to submit reports in a timely manner. The difficulties in replying to the Committee of Experts' comments were due to technical problems arising out of the recent restructuring of the government units responsible. All missing information would be provided to the ILO before 1 September 2007. A Government representative of San Marino explained that the failure to submit replies to most of the Committee of Experts' comments was linked to the delay accumulated by the Ministry of Labour, the competent body for the preparation of reports due to the Committee of Experts, over the last three years. He indicated, however, that new staff had assumed office in 2006 and were undertaking to eliminate the accumulated delay. The submission of the reports on Conventions Nos 29, 87, 105 and 160 - albeit past the deadline of 1 September 2006 - represented the first fruits of their work. Among those four reports, two also contained responses to the direct requests made by the Committee of Experts. He reiterated that the delay should not be construed as a lack of commitment by San Marino to the obligations of member States or to the supervision of international labour standards. The Committee noted the information and explanations provided by the Government representatives who took the floor. The Committee emphasized the great importance, for the continuation of dialogue, of providing clear and full information in reply to comments made by the Committee of Experts. It reiterated that this formed part of the constitutional obligation to supply reports. In this respect, the Committee expressed its great concern at the high number of cases of failure to supply information in reply to comments made by the Committee of Experts. The Committee recalled that governments could request ILO technical assistance to overcome any difficulties they might face in responding to the comments of the Committee of Experts. The Committee urged the Governments of Albania, Belize, Bolivia, Cambodia, Comoros, Congo, Cyprus, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, France (Martinique), Guinea, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Tajikistan, Togo, Uganda, United Kingdom (Anguilla, Montserrat, St Helena) and Uzbekistan to make every effort to provide the requested information as soon as possible. The Committee decided to mention these cases in the appropriate section of its General Report. ------------------------ II. Submission to the competent authorities of the Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the International Labour Conference (Article 19 of the Constitution)Observations and information (a) Failure to submit instruments to the competent authorities A Government representative of Solomon Islands thanked the ILO for the assistance provided in 2005 concerning the elaboration of a general submission document and reports on ratified Conventions. However, in April 2006 civil unrest following general elections had affected the Government's ability to submit ILO instruments to work-ers' and employers' organizations and the legislature, and to produce reports on ratified Conventions. The speaker emphasized that the failure to report was not due to lack of will, but the result of political instability and financial and material challenges. The Government was pleased to announce that the Cabinet approved on 17 May 2007 the submission documents prepared with the ILO in 2005. The legislature would then discuss the ratification of seven fundamental Conventions which the Solomon Is-lands had not yet ratified. A new chief labour officer re-sponsible for international labour standards had been ap-pointed who was expected to be assisted on reporting is-sues by an ILO standards specialist in July 2007. It was also hoped that the officer would benefit from the next training course on international labour standards offered by the ILO Training Centre in Turin. The Government believed that it would soon be in a position to fulfil its submission and reporting obligations. A Government representative of Somalia recalled that the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia had been struggling since its establishment in December 2004 to restore peace throughout the country. That goal had not yet been achieved. As a result of a long period of instabil-ity, the Government had no records for reference purposes and the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources Devel-opment lacked the technical capacity to perform all func-tions of labour administration. ILO assistance on report-ing was received in 2005. More recently, an official com-pleted a 2007 training programme on international labour standards at the ILO Training Centre in Turin, which would enable the Ministry to fulfil its reporting obliga-tions. It was hoped that ILO assistance would continue to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry and the workers' and employers' organizations on matters such as needs assessment and labour law review, as well as submission and reporting. The Committee noted the information and explanations provided by the Government representatives who took the floor. It also took note of the specific difficulties experienced in complying with this obligation mentioned by various speakers. Finally, it took note of the promises made by cer-tain government delegations to comply with their constitu-tional obligations to submit Conventions, Recommendations and Protocols to the competent authorities in the shortest time possible. The Committee expressed its great concern regarding the delays and failures to submit, and the rise in the number of such cases, as this concerned obligations aris-ing from the Constitution and which were essential for the efficacy of standards-related activities. In this respect, the Committee affirmed that the ILO could offer technical assis-tance to contribute to the fulfilment of this obligation. The Committee expressed the firm hope that the countries men-tioned, in particular Haiti, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, would supply their reports in the near future, containing information relevant to the submission of Conventions, Recommendations and Protocols to the competent authorities. The Committee de-cided to mention these cases in the appropriate section of its General Report. |
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