Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Uganda (Ratification: 1963)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. 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 matters raised in the previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. In comments made for several years, the Committee has noted that under section 2(1) of the Community Farm Settlement Decree, 1975, any unemployed able-bodied person may be settled on any farm settlement and may be required to render service; that section 15 of the Decree makes it an offence punishable with a fine and imprisonment for any person to fail or refuse to live on any farm settlement or to desert or leave such settlement without consent. The Committee has observed that this legislation provides for the exaction of forced or compulsory labour within the meaning of Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. In this connection the Committee observed that it would seem most appropriate to limit the scope of the Decree to the persons defined in its section 3A(1) inserted by Decree No. 5 of 1977 which corresponds to a normal definition of vagrancy, as well as to reconsider the procedure so as to prescribe that any decision to send a person to compulsory work in a farm settlement in the circumstances defined in section 3A(1) of the Decree be taken by a court of law. The Committee also noted that so far as persons may also be admitted on their own voluntary application to live on a farm settlement under section 3 of the Decree, they should be free to leave such settlement by means of a unilateral decision, subject only to giving notice of reasonable length.

The Committee noted the Government's indication in its report for the period ending 30 June 1988 that an independent Human Rights Commission was hearing evidence on human rights abuse in the country up to January 1986 and that there was a Law Reform Commission charged with review of all legislation. The Government stated that the Community Farm Settlement Decree, 1975, was one of the pieces of legislation to be brought before the Law Reform Commission. Recalling also the Government's earlier indication that it was in the process of re-examining the Community Farm Settlement Decree, 1975, and that the Decree had never been implemented because there had not been a single project farm as envisaged in the Decree, the Committee hopes that the necessary measures will soon be taken to repeal the Decree so as to ensure the observance of the Convention in law as well as in practice.

2. The Committee noted in its previous comment that according to the provisions of section 33 of the Armed Forces (Conditions of Service) (Officers) Regulations, 1969, the Board may permit any officer to resign his commission at any stage during his service. The Committee requested the Government to supply particulars on the criteria applied by the Board in accepting or rejecting a resignation.

The Committee previously also noted that by virtue of the provisions of section 5(2)(a) and (b) of the Armed Forces (Conditions of Service) (Men) Regulations, 1969, the term of service of a person enrolled below the apparent age of 18 years with the consent of his parents, or his guardian or of the District Commissioner, might extend over a period of 12 years beyond the date upon which he attains the age of 18 years. Referring to paragraphs 67 to 73 of its General Survey on the abolition of forced or compulsory labour, the Committee requested the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to permit persons enlisted as minors to request their discharge after the attainment of the age of 18 years or within a reasonable period of time thereafter in order to preserve their right to free choice of employment.

The Committee noted the Government's indication in its report for the period ending 30 June 1988 that the army was undergoing reorganisation and, therefore, the required information would be supplied when the process is completed. The Committee looks forward to examining this information and requests the Government to also include in its next report copies of any newly adopted statutory instruments governing the conditions of service of career military officers and enlisted staff.