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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:

The Committee takes note of State Ordinance AB 1999 No. GT2 with respect to the right to organize and to assemble. Article 1 of the State Ordinance prohibits the holding of any public meeting or speech in open air without prior written authorization from the Minister of General Affairs. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of article 1. In particular, the Committee requests the Government to indicate on which basis the Minister delivers the authorization and according to which specific requirements, if any, and to supply a copy of any relevant rule, regulation, decree or other text in this respect.

Furthermore, section 5(1) of the State Ordinance provides that the right to assembly may be subject to certain conditions specified in a national decree, if public order is disturbed or if there is a serious risk of disturbance of public order. However, section 5(3) states that "[the] provisions of paragraph 1(a) and (b) shall not apply to associations, committees or bodies established by virtue of a legal regulation or to committees, associations or bodies expressly excluded in the national decree". The Committee requests the Government to indicate if, according to section 5(3), the trade unions and other workers’ and employers’ organizations are exempted from the application of section 5(1).