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The Committee notes that section 329 of the Penal Code provides a penal sanction of from one to six months' imprisonment for persons convicted of vagrancy.

The Committee refers to paragraphs 45 to 48 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour which specify that only provisions relating to vagrancy and similar offences that are intended to protect society against disturbances of public order and tranquillity by persons who not only refuse to work but are also without any legal means of subsistence are compatible with the Convention.

The Committee requests the Government to supply detailed information on the application in practice of section 329 of the Penal Code.