Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Azerbaijan (Ratification: 1992)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous direct request. It notes that there is no provision governing the exaction of work or service (other than compulsory military service or work required in case of emergency) as normal civic obligations of the citizens or as minor communal services, within the meaning of Article 2, paragraph 2(b) and (e), of the Convention, and that such work or service is not exacted in practice. It also notes the text of the Act on Individual Labour Contracts, of 27 July 1996, supplied by the Government with its report. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide, in its next report, additional information on the following points.

1. Article 1, paragraph 1, and Article 2, paragraph 1. In its previous comments the Committee noted that section 215-1 of the Criminal Code provides for penal sanctions for vagrancy, begging and other parasitic ways of life. It notes that under section 1, paragraph 2, and section 3 of the Act on Employment of Population, unemployment cannot serve as grounds for instituting administrative, criminal or other proceedings against jobless persons who are registered in the State Employment Service, looking for a job and ready to work. Please indicate to whom section 215-1 is applied in practice.

2. Article 2, paragraph 2(a). In its previous comments the Committee noted that under section 9(1) of the Act on the Status of Military Personnel, 1991, military servicemen, during the period of their service, may be made to perform work or other tasks not related to military service, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the President of the Azerbaijan Republic. The Government confirms in its report, with reference to the Act on Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan (section 2) and the Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic (articles 95 and 109), that the armed forces may be called upon to fulfil duties which do not relate to their direct obligations, following the decision of Parliament, at the request of the President of the Republic. The Committee recalls that work or service exacted by virtue of compulsory military service laws may only be excluded from the prohibition of forced labour if of a purely military character. It refers to the explanations provided in paragraphs 24-33 and 49-54 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, according to which the use of soldiers for non-military purposes may be permitted only in cases of emergency (such as natural disasters, or insurgency or other threats to national security), and the Convention does not affect the work of military engineers, pioneers or similar which is a part of military training or for the defence of the national territory. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of the above provisions.

3. Article 2, paragraph 2(c). The Committee notes the Government's statement in the report that prison labour in Azerbaijan is performed only in the establishments belonging to the state executive penal system. It would be grateful if the Government would indicate in its next report what guarantees are provided to ensure that convicted prisoners are not hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations.

4. Article 2, paragraph 2(d). In its previous comments the Committee noted that article 35, paragraph V, of the Constitution and section 8, paragraph 2, of the Act on Individual Labour Contracts provide for an exception from the general prohibition of forced labour during a state of emergency or martial law. It has noted the constitutional provisions concerning the declaration of a state of emergency or martial law (articles 111 and 112 of the Constitution). The Committee hopes that the Government will state, in its next report, what guarantees are provided to ensure that the power to call up labour during the state of emergency is limited to what is strictly required by the exigencies of the situation and that work exacted in case of emergency ceases as soon as the circumstances that endanger the population or its normal living conditions cease to exist.

5. Article 25. In its previous comments the Committee noted that section 8, paragraph 1, of the Act on Individual Labour Contracts provides that persons guilty of the forced exaction of labour from a worker are subject to legal responsibility in accordance with the established procedure. The Government refers in its report to section 136 of the Criminal Code which provides for penal sanctions for "substantial violation of labour legislation by an employer" and states that this applies in case of illegal exaction of forced labour. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would in its next report supply information on the application of this provision in practice, in relation to the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour, and on any penalties imposed.