Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2002, publiée 91ème session CIT (2003)

The Committee notes that no report has been received from the Government. 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:

1. The Committee noted in its previous comments that Act No. 63-4 of 17 January 1963 on the use of persons for the purpose of promoting the country’s economic and social development allows the requisitioning of individuals or of groups for the performance of certain tasks which are in the national interest, in accordance with conditions set by decree. The period of conscription may not be longer than two years but may be renewed (sections 2, 4 and 6).

The Committee notes that the Government emphasizes that the above Act applies only in exceptional circumstances. The Government refers expressly to section 1 of implementing Decree No. 63-48 of 9 February 1963 under which "recourse may be had to requisitioning only where recruitment of the necessary personnel through normal channels has proved insufficient, or in the event of exceptional circumstances, in particular when the running of a service essential to the life of the nation is placed in jeopardy". The Committee notes that the circumstances covered by the Decree (section 2) do not amount to cases of force majeure, disaster or, in general, circumstances endangering the whole or part of the population.

Consequently, the Committee considers that this form of labour does not fall within the exceptions provided for in Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee refers to its General Survey of 1979 on the abolition of forced labour, paragraphs 63-66, and asks the Government to indicate the measures it plans to take to harmonize the legislation with the requirements of the Convention, for example by repealing or amending the texts in question or by establishing in the law the principle that people may be requisitioned only in circumstances which endanger or are liable to endanger the lives, existence or well-being of the whole or part of the population.

2. Freedom of workers to leave their employment. The Committee notes that section 38 of Ordinance No. 2000-418 of 3 May 2000 establishing the Police Code stipulates that a member of the police force may resign only with the consent of the appointing authority and at the date set by the latter. Referring to paragraphs 67-73 of its General Survey of 1979 on the abolition of forced labour, the Committee reminds the Government that persons in the service of the State should be entitled to leave the service in peacetime within a reasonable period, either at specified intervals or with previous notice, subject to the conditions which may normally be required to ensure the continuity of the service.

The Committee asks the Government to state whether members of the police force can leave the service within a reasonable period with previous notice, and to indicate the criteria for rejecting or accepting an application to resign.