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Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Kazakhstan (RATIFICATION: 2001)

The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government in its first report on the application of the Convention. It would be grateful if the Government would supply, in its next report, additional information on the following points.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1), of the Convention. Freedom of career military servicemen to leave their service. Please provide information on provisions applicable to professional military officers and other career servicemen as regards their right to leave the service, in time of peace, at their own request, either at certain reasonable intervals or by means of notice of reasonable length.

Article 2(2)(a). Services exacted under compulsory military service laws. The Committee notes that, by virtue of article 36 of the Constitution of Kazakhstan, citizens of Kazakhstan perform military service in accordance with the law. The Committee would appreciate it if the Government would supply copies of laws concerning compulsory military service and, eventually, alternative (non-military) service. As regards compulsory military service, please indicate what guarantees are provided to ensure that services exacted for military purposes are used for purely military ends.

Article 2(2)(c). Prison labour. The Committee notes that penal sanctions of deprivation of freedom and restriction of freedom (provided for in sections 45 and 48 of the Criminal Code) involve compulsory labour under procedures and conditions defined by the Code governing the Execution of Penal Sentences of 1997 (sections 47 and 99); such compulsory labour may be exacted at the enterprises and organizations "of various forms of ownership". The Committee observes that the wording of sections 47 and 99 does not seem to exclude that prisoners may be hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations, contrary to the provision of Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention. As the Committee repeatedly pointed out, work by prisoners for private companies can be held compatible with the explicit prohibition of the Convention only if performed in conditions approximating to a free employment relationship; this necessarily requires the formal consent of the person concerned, as well as further guarantees and safeguards covering the essential elements of a free labour relationship, such as wages and social security, etc. In this connection the Committee, referring also to its general observation on the Convention made in its report to the 87th Session of the International Labour Conference (1999), requests the Government to indicate whether convicted persons serving sentences of deprivation of freedom and restriction of freedom may work in workshops run by private enterprises inside or outside the penitentiary institutions, and if so, on what terms and conditions, supplying copies of relevant texts.

Please also indicate whether convicted persons serving a sentence of compulsory participation in public works (section 42 of the Criminal Code and section 30 of the Code governing the Execution of Penal Sentences) can be placed at the disposal of private companies engaged in the execution of public works.

Noting also the provisions of the Code of Administrative Offences concerning "administrative arrest", which is assigned by a court decision for a term of up to 15 days (section 31) and involves an obligation to perform labour under the supervision and control of local authorities (section 322), the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether convicted persons serving a penalty of "administrative arrest" can be placed at the disposal of private companies (e.g. those engaged in the execution of public works).

Article 2(2)(d). Work exacted in cases of emergency. The Committee notes that article 24 of the Constitution of Kazakhstan excludes from the prohibition of forced labour, work required in the conditions of a state of emergency or war. Please indicate whether any special legislation on the state of emergency has been adopted, and if so, please supply a copy. Please also state what guarantees are provided to ensure that the power to call up labour during a state of emergency is limited to what is strictly required by the exigencies of the situation and that work exacted in case of emergency shall cease as soon as the circumstances that endanger the population or its normal living conditions no longer exist.

Article 25. Penal sanctions. The Committee notes the Criminal Code provisions punishing with sanctions of imprisonment the "illegal deprivation of a person’s freedom" for the purpose of sexual or other exploitation (section 126(3)) and "recruitment of persons for exploitation and trafficking" (section 128, as amended in 2003). It requests the Government to provide information on the application of sections 126(3) and 128 in practice, supplying copies of the relevant court decisions and indicating the penalties imposed.