Interim Report - Report No 281, March 1992

1. 295. The Committee has already examined the substance of this case on three previous occasions, each time presenting interim conclusions to the Governing Body, the most recent of which were approved in May-June 1991 (see 278th Report, paras. 347 to 363).
2. 296. The Government supplied certain further information on this case in a communication dated 2 November 1991.
3. 297. Sudan has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); it has ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 298. This case involves serious allegations concerning measures taken by the military authorities after the military coup of 30 June 1989. The complainants originally raised the following infringements of freedom of association: dissolution by military decree of all trade union organisations in the country; imprisonment of a great number of trade union leaders and activists apparently without charges and without trial; confiscation of union assets and property by the military; dismissal and surveillance of named union leaders; and heavy sentences imposed by military tribunals - including the death sentence - on two named trade union leaders. More recent allegations related to the death under torture of a named trade union leader, the continuing detention of several union leaders in extremely poor conditions and the kidnapping and disappearance of another trade union leader.
2. 299. In its replies, the Government announced: the lifting of the sentences imposed on the named union leaders; the release of all detained unionists; the return, by virtue of Decree No. 10 of 1989, of all trade union property; and the resumption of activities of newly formed worker and employer organisations. To the most recent allegation of death under torture, the Government replied that the legal anatomist found that it had been a normal death; it also responded that the trade union leader allegedly kidnapped had been charged, tried and found guilty of participation in a coup d'état and was held in prison in good health, and that certain other persons allegedly detained were not, in fact, unionists.
3. 300. At its May-June 1991 Session, the Governing Body, in the light of the Committee's conclusions, approved the following interim recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee deeply regrets that the Government has merely stated that Dr. Ali Fadul died in prison of a "normal death" without supplying official documentation to refute the allegation that the death was due to torture, and it asks that the results of any inquiry into the alleged ill-treatment be submitted to it, along with a copy of the report of the "legal anatomist" referred to by the Government.
   • (b) While noting the Government's indications concerning the release of several unionists allegedly detained as of mid-October 1990, the Committee must ask the Government to supply more precise details on the present situation of Mr. Al Hag Osman, Mr. Mannalla Abdalla and Mr. Mohamed Faig concerning whom the Government merely denies that they were trade unionists.
   • (c) The Committee also asks the complainants to provide any additional information which may be available in relation to Mr. Al Hag Osman, Mr. Mannalla Abdalla and Mr. Mohamed Faig.
   • (d) The Committee repeats its request already made to the Government at its last examination of this case for a copy of Decree No. 10 of 1989 which the Government claims ensures the return of confiscated union property to its rightful owners.
   • (e) Recalling that military decrees dissolving all workers' and employers' organisations and replacing them by preparatory or steering committees are still in force and that the Government's most recent reply has given no new information on a possible revision of existing labour legislation, the Committee again requests the Government urgently to adopt measures to bring its legislation into conformity with the principles of freedom of association and again suggests that the Government submit any draft to the ILO for its comments prior to adoption.

B. The Government's reply

1. 301. In its letter of 2 November 1991 the Government states that regarding the submission of the legal evidence concerning the death of Dr. Ali Fadul, it unfortunately is not in a position to supply such document. The father of the deceased appealed to the court and the case is before the judicial authorities, including the required document.
2. 302. Regarding the question of other detainees, according to the Government, it is known that no one was detained for union reasons and that all those detained for political reasons were set free by a presidential decree. Apart from this, it has no further information about them.
3. 303. Regarding Decree No. 10 of 1989 relating to the return of confiscated union property to the rightful owners, it encloses a copy of the required decree. From the English translation it appears that:
   • All funds and properties of trade union organisations which were affected by the ruling concerning the dissolution of unions and the confederation, according to the 3rd Constitutional Ordinance, are hereby restored to the preparatory workers' committees and steering committees of unions of employees, professional workers and teachers, established according to Decrees Nos. 77 and 88 of 1989.
4. 304. Regarding the submission of the draft trade union law, it states that the committee which was formed to revise the existing law is tripartite, including representatives of both workers' and employers' organisations. In this connection it gives assurance that the drafting committee is giving full consideration to Sudan's obligations towards the ILO's labour standards. It states that as soon as the draft law is passed by the competent authorities, it will supply a copy of the law.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 305. The Committee notes that the Government has been unable to supply a copy of the autopsy report into the alleged death under torture of Dr. Ali Fadul because that document is required by the judicial authorities in connection with proceedings brought by the deceased's father. The Committee accordingly asks the Government to procure it a copy of the report as soon as it is available and, in the meantime, asks for information on the proceedings in so far as they may throw light on the suspect circumstances of his demise while in custody.
2. 306. The Committee regrets that the Government has no further specific information on those named persons allegedly detained for their union activities apart from stating that no one was detained for union reasons and that all those detained for political reasons have since been freed by presidential decree. The Committee recalls that in general no one should suffer prejudice because of his or her union activities or membership. It notes that the complainants have not responded to the request for further details on these persons and requests them once again to supply this information.
3. 307. With regard to Decree No. 10 of 1989, the Committee notes with concern that it does not in fact "restore" the former unions' property to its rightful owners, but transfers it to those preparatory and steering committees set up to replace workers' and employers' organisations which were dissolved by military decree following the coup of June 1989. This is particularly serious as the Government had stated in a communication of 6 November 1990 (reported in the Committee's 277th Report, para. 349, approved by the Governing Body in February-March 1991) that "Nearly 3,000 orders were made by the Registrar returning property to owners in the General Union and the other unions." The supervisory bodies of the ILO have consistently held that the assets of dissolved trade unions should be temporarily placed in trust and finally distributed among the members of the dissolved organisation or transferred to the organisation which succeeds it, it being understood that this expression means the organisation which continues the aims for which the first organisation was set up and does so in the same spirit (General Survey on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, 1983, para. 234). It considers that the transfer of union property to bodies which, in the present case, manifestly fail to fill the void left by the dissolution of all previous workers' and employers' organisations is contrary to the principles of freedom of association. Indeed, when initially examining the dissolution decrees and Decrees Nos. 77, 78, 79 and 80 creating the preparatory and steering committees, the Committee recalled that occupational organisations should not be subject to administrative dissolution and that in no case does the solution to the economic and social problems besetting a country lie in isolating trade union organisations or maintaining the whole union movement of a country in an irregular legal situation (the Committee's first examination of this case in its 270th Report, paras. 400 and 401, approved by the Governing Body in February 1990).
4. 308. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take the necessary steps to allow workers and employers freely to establish and join unions and organisations of their own choosing. It also requests the Government to ensure that the assets of the former bodies are returned to those organisations which succeed them and pursue the same aims in the same spirit. (See Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 3rd edition, 1985, para. 504.) To this end the 1989 military decrees referred to above, in particular Decree No. 10, should be repealed. It asks the Government to inform it of any progress made in this matter.
5. 309. Lastly, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, a tripartite committee is reviewing a new trade union law, taking into account Sudan's obligations vis-à-vis international labour standards. The Committee is bound to recall in this respect that a tripartite committee can only fulfil its role if the employers' and workers' organisations which are represented on it enjoy full independence, which does not seem to be the case in this instance. The Committee requests the Government to provide details on the composition of the above tripartite committee. It trusts that the Government will keep it informed of developments in the adoption of this text (which was first referred to in a government communication of 24 October 1989) and again suggests that any final text be submitted to the Office for its comments before being tabled for adoption.