Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2008, publiée 98ème session CIT (2009)

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 following matters raised in its previous direct request:

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Penal sanctions involving compulsory labour for expressing political views opposed to the established system. In its earlier comments, the Committee referred to sections 5(1) and (2), 6(4) and 8(5) of the Seditious and Undesirable Publications Act, 1968 (No. 16), read in conjunction with section 12(1) of the same Act, which contain provisions making various offences related to seditious acts or publications and prohibited publications punishable by imprisonment (which involves an obligation to perform labour under the Prison Rules).

As the Committee pointed out in paragraph 154 of its General Survey of 2007 on the eradication of forced labour, the Convention does not prohibit punishment by penalties involving compulsory labour of persons who use violence, incite to violence or engage in preparatory acts aimed at violence; but sanctions involving compulsory labour fall within the scope of the Convention where they enforce a prohibition of the expression of views or of opposition to the established political, social or economic system.

The Committee observes that the above provisions of the Seditious and Undesirable Publications Act, 1968, provide for the imposition of penalties involving compulsory labour in circumstances defined in terms which are wide enough to give rise to questions about their conformity to the Convention. Noting also the Government’s statement in the report that no persons have been charged or imprisoned under the 1968 Act, the Committee would appreciate it if the Government would supply, in its future reports, information on any cases of practical application of these provisions, including copies of relevant court decisions defining or illustrating their scope and indicating the penalties imposed, in order to enable the Committee to ascertain whether they are applied in a manner compatible with the Convention.