Definitive Report - Report No 181, June 1978

1. 106. The Association of Independent Trade Unions of Madagascar (USAM) presented its complaint in a letter dated 20 October 1977. The Government sent its observations in a communication dated 7 April 1978.
2. 107. Madagascar has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), but not the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 108. The USAM referred to the obstacles encountered by Mr. Norbert Rakotomanana, Chairman of the complainant organisation and General Secretary of the National Trust of Malagasy Trade Unions (CARNOSYMA), when he wanted to leave the country to attend trade union meetings. He had been prevented from leaving the country on trade union business four times in six months. The complainants mentioned, in particular, two invitations received in early October 1977 to attend the Congress of the World Confederation of Labour in Belgium and a symposium on the training of workers' representatives for participation in decisions within undertakings, organised in Geneva by the ILO. Mr. Rakotomanana appealed in vain to the Ministry of the Interior and to the Prime Minister himself to obtain the right to leave the country. He was responsible for workers' education in CARNOSYMA and it was thus particularly desirable, stated the complainants, that he should attend meetings and seminars and make other contacts enabling him to improve his knowledge.
2. 109. In its reply the Government states that the issue of exit visas is a matter for its own discretion, such matters being questions of national sovereignty. It further stresses that the USAM and CARNOSYMA enjoy their rights to carry on trade union activities on the national territory.
3. 110. The Committee notes that Mr. Rakotomanana was to attend two different meetings. In the first place, the ILO Governing Body had, at its 203rd Session in May-June 1977, selected a number of trade unionists - whose names were proposed by the Workers' group - to attend a symposium on the training of workers' representatives for participation in decisions within undertakings to be held by the ILO from 10 to 21 October 1977. Mr. Rakotomanana's name had been proposed as a substitute and he was invited to the symposium to replace another participant.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 111. The Committee recently examined another case concerning refusal by a government to authorise one of its officials who was a trade union leader to leave the country to attend a meeting organised by the ILO. The Committee considered that such a decision did not constitute an infringement of the principles of freedom of association, unless it related to the trade union activities or functions of the person concerned. In the present case, Mr. Rakotomanana had been unable to attend the symposium organised by the ILO because he had not obtained the necessary documents from the authorities. The Committee considers that participation as a trade unionist in symposia organised by the ILO is a legitimate trade union activity and that a government should not refuse the necessary exit papers for this reason.
2. 112. Moreover, Article 12 of the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that:
3. 2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.
4. 3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictions except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order, public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights recognised in the present Covenant.
5. 4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.
6. 113. The Committee also wishes to refer to these principles in connection with the refusal of Mr. Rakotomanana's application for a passport to attend the second meeting, the Congress of the World Confederation of Labour, held from 17 to 21 October 1977. Furthermore, according to Article 5 of Convention No. 87, any workers' or employers' organisation, federation or Confederation shall have the right to affiliate with international organisations' of workers or employers. As is clear from the preparatory work on the instrument, this provision merely gives expression to the fact that workers or employers are united by a solidarity of interests, a solidarity which is not limited either to one specific undertaking or even to a particular industry, or even to the national economy, but extends to the whole international economy. Furthermore, the right to organise corresponds to the practice followed by the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation, both of which have formally recognised international organisations of workers and employers by associating them directly with their own activities.
7. 114. The Committee, for its part, has on many occasions pointed out that the principle set forth in Article 5 of Convention No. 87 implies the right for the representatives of national trade unions to maintain contact with the international trade union organisations with which they are affiliated, to participate in the activities of these organisations and to make use of the services and advantages which their membership offers. In particular, the right of national trade unions to send representatives to international trade union congresses is a normal corollary of the right of those national organisations to join international workers' organisations.
8. 115. The Committee has expressed the view that, although the refusal to grant a passport or a visa is a purely domestic matter in each State, such action may, in certain cases, have repercussions on the exercise of trade union rights. In the present case, this refusal had the effect of preventing Mr. Rakotomanana from participating in an international trade union congress. With reference to this aspect of the case, too, the Committee considers that a government should not refuse the necessary exit permit for this reason.

116. The Committee regrets that the Government has not supplied detailed information on the grounds for its refusal to allow Mr. Rakotomanana to leave the country to take part as a trade unionist in meetings abroad and recommends the Governing Body to draw the attention of the Government to the principles set forth in the foregoing paragraphs.