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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its earlier comments.

Article 1(a), (c) and (d) of the Convention

1. In comments made for a considerable number of years, the Committee has referred to provisions of the Criminal Code, the Newspaper Licensing Decree, 1973, the Merchant Shipping Act, 1963, the Protection of Property (Trade Disputes) Ordinance and the Industrial Relations Act, 1965, under which imprisonment (involving an obligation to perform labour) may be imposed as a punishment for non-observance of restrictions imposed by discretionary decision of the executive on the publication of newspapers and the carrying on of associations, for various breaches of discipline in the merchant marine and for participation in certain forms of strikes. Having requested the Government to adopt the necessary measures in regard to these provisions to ensure that no form of forced or compulsory labour (including compulsory prison labour) might be exacted in circumstances falling within Article 1(a), (c) or (d) of the Convention, the Committee noted the Government’s statement that the National Advisory Committee on Labour was discussing the comments of the Committee of Experts and that it was the wish of the Government to bring the legislation concerned into conformity with the Convention. The Government also indicated in its report received in 1996 that the National Advisory Committee on Labour concluded discussions on the Committee of Experts’ comments and submitted recommendations to the Minister in March 1994 designed to bring domestic legislation into conformity with ILO standards, and the comments of the Committee of Experts had been submitted to the Attorney-General for a closer study and expert comments.

In its reports received in 1999 and 2001, the Government has indicated that the action of the Attorney-General to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention in accordance with the recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Labour has been halted in view of the proposed review and codification of the labour laws. It has also indicated that the tripartite National Forum that includes representatives of the Attorney-General’s Office, the National Advisory Committee on Labour and the employers’ and workers’ organizations, would consider the comments made by the Committee of Experts regarding the application of the Convention.

The Government indicates in its latest report that the National Forum has already codified all the country’s labour laws into a single labour bill, which is being considered by the Cabinet and will be forwarded to Parliament to be passed into law. The Committee expresses firm hope that the necessary action will at last be taken on the various points which are once again recalled in detail in a request addressed directly to the Government.

2. The Committee previously noted the adoption of the Political Parties Law, 1992, the Emergency Powers Act, 1994, and the Public Order Act, 1994, which gave rise to a number of questions under the Convention that are also reiterated in the request addressed directly to the Government.