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The Committee notes with regret that the Government's report contains no reply to its previous direct request. It hopes that the Government will provide information on the following points which the Committee raised previously.

In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, by virtue of the provisions of section 34, subsection 9, of Legislative Decree No. 1400-73, the Minister of National Defence must, in peacetime, accept applications to resign submitted by officers, though he may delay their departure by three months on account of the exigences of the service. It also noted that, under section 64, subsection 17, an officer who has not completed the period of service made compulsory because of the training he has received cannot be authorised to leave the army. The period during which the officer cannot submit his resignation is three or four times as long as the training he has received. When there have been several successive periods of training, the total duration of the obligation to serve cannot exceed 25 years. The Committee asked the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the obligation to serve can be terminated within a reasonable period.

The Committee noted that, in its report for the period ending 30 June 1988, the Government once again referred to its previous statement that the compulsory retention in the army of officers who have received training during a certain period is due to reasons connected with the requirements of the armed forces in skilled personnel and the obligation of those concerned to work off the participation of the State in the cost of their training.

Referring again to the explanations given in paragraphs 67-73 of its 1979 General Survey on the Abolition of Forced Labour, which relate to restrictions on the freedom of workers to leave their employment, the Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will indicate the measures that have been taken or are contemplated to ensure that the obligation to serve can be terminated within a reasonable period, for example by providing for the possibility of a reimbursement in proportion to the length of the studies in cases of resignation.