Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

1. Article 2, paragraph 2(c), of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to the provisions of Decree No. 59-121 of 27 October 1959 (amended by a Decree of 6 March 1963) to establish the general organisation of the prison services, under which prison labour may be hired to private undertakings and prison work may be imposed on persons detained pending trial. The Committee noted the Government's statements that the hiring of prison labour to private individuals have been abolished by repeated circulars and that persons awaiting trial are no longer forced to perform prison work, following comments by the Committee of Experts. It also noted that the revision of Decree No. 59-121 was under study.

The Committee notes the indications communicated by the Government in its report, to the effect that Decree No. 59-121 has not yet been amended. It expresses the hope that it will be amended in the near future in order to bring the law into conformity with the Convention on this essential point.

2. In earlier comments, the Committee referred to Act No. 68-018 of 6 December 1968 and to Ordinance No. 78-002 of 16 February 1978 respecting the general principles of national service, which define national service as the compulsory participation of all Malagasies in national defence and in the economic and social development of the country. It also noted the provisions of section 8 of Ordinance No. 78-003 of 6 March 1978 establishing the conditions of service of staff liable to national service obligations on the active and reserve lists, under which members of the armed forces performing their service outside the armed forces are referred to by their functions (teachers, doctors, telegraphists, etc.) followed by the term "national service". Lastly, it noted the various texts that either referred to the powers of the military committee for development with regard to work in support of the local communities, or laid down the procedure for the incorporation in national service of young school-leavers and recruits of a particular age group, or changed the name of the units responsible for development (development forces).

The Committee recalled that under the provisions of Act No. 68-018 and Ordinance No. 78-002, national service is defined as the compulsory participation, imposed for a period of up to two years, of part of the population, namely young Malagasies from 18 to 35 years old, under the threat of various penalties and sanctions, in the activities of national defence and the economic and social development of the country. The Committee referred to Article 2, paragraph 2(a), of the Convention under which compulsory military service, if it is confined to work of a purely military character, does not come within the scope of the Convention. It pointed out that work imposed on recruits under national service, and in particular work relating to the economic and social development of the country, is not of a purely military character.

The Committee notes the Government's statement that national service was established with a view to fostering economic and social development and had helped to reduce illiteracy in certain regions, and that secondary school-leavers joined up voluntarily.

The Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or under consideration to bring the national legislation into line with the provisions of the Convention and with the practice described by the Government, by establishing the voluntary nature of participation in national service programmes.

3. The Committee referred previously to the provisions of Ordinance No. 80-013 of 7 May 1980 respecting the establishment and rules of the Military Office for Agricultural Production (OMIPRA) and of Decree No. 80-102 of 7 May 1980 respecting the organisation of the above Office, under which the functions of the OMIPRA include developing, cultivating and exploiting new land with military and civilian personnel. It noted the information provided by the Government to the effect that, by virtue of Decree No. 83-402 of 23 November 1983, the functions attributed to the Military Office for Agricultural Production are entrusted to the development forces pending the establishment of the structures provided for and defined by Ordinance No. 80-013 of 7 May 1980, and asked the Government, in its future reports, to provide full information on any changes occurring in the establishment of the structures and on the nature of the military staff assigned to the OMIPRA.

The Committee notes that the Government's report contains no information on this point and hopes that it will soon provide the information requested in its next report.