Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Repetition

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Sentences of imprisonment involving compulsory labour as a punishment for expressing political views. Over a number of years, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to certain provisions of the Penal Code under which penalties of imprisonment involving compulsory prison labour (pursuant to section 46 of the Penal Code) may be imposed in circumstances falling under Article 1(a) of the Convention, namely:

• – section 198(5) on political offences against the external security of the State;
• – sections 297 and 298 on offences against the prestige of the State and participation in political or social associations of an international nature;
• – section 301(1) on offences against the activities aimed at modifying by illegal means the Constitution of the State.

The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the above provisions, supplying copies of court decisions illustrating their application.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that, in practice, prisoners only perform daily tasks of cleaning on their premises, and therefore no labour is imposed on them. The Government also indicates that the Committee’s requests of court decisions has been forwarded to the competent authorities, and no relevant court decisions on the application of the abovementioned provisions of the Penal Code were available.

The Committee observes that according to section 46 of the Penal Code, persons convicted for offences related to the application of sections 198(5), 297, 298 and 301(1) of the Penal Code are not exempted from the obligation to work. It also notes that the abovementioned provisions of the Penal Code are worded in terms broad enough to lend themselves to application as a means of punishment for the expression of views opposed to the established political, social or economic system. Moreover, any infringement of these provisions may lead to the imposition of a prison sentence under which compulsory prison labour may be required. Referring to its 2012 General Survey on the Fundamental Conventions, the Committee recalls that in the great majority of cases, labour imposed on persons as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law is not incompatible with the Convention, such as in the cases of the exaction of compulsory labour from common offenders convicted, for example, of robbery, kidnapping or other acts of violence or of having endangered the life or health of others, or numerous other offences. However, if a person is required to perform compulsory prison labour following a conviction for the holding or expression of certain political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political and social system, the situation is incompatible with the Convention which prohibits the imposition of compulsory prison labour as a sanction in these circumstances (paragraph 300). The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on any cases of practical application of sections 198(5), 297, 298 and 301(1) of the Penal Code, including copies of relevant court decisions illustrating their application and indicating the penalties imposed, as soon as such information becomes available, in order to enable the Committee to ascertain whether they are applied in a manner compatible with the Convention.