Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1991, published 78th ILC session (1991)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Syrian Arab Republic (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes the Government's report.

Article 2, paragraph 2(d), of the Convention. 1. In the comments that it has been making since 1964, the Committee has noted that certain provisions of Decree No. 133 of 1952 respecting compulsory labour, and particularly the provisions contained in Chapter I on compulsory labour for medical, cultural or construction purposes, and sections 27 and 28 respecting work related to the national defence, social services and work on highways, permit the requisitioning of inhabitants for periods of up to two months. These sections provide for forms of compulsory labour that go beyond the exceptions authorised by the Convention.

The Committee noted the information supplied by the Government to the effect that the Bill respecting civil defence was to repeal Decree No. 133 of 1952, which, according to the Government, had never been applied in practice. The Committee notes the Government's indication in its last report that information has been requested from the Ministry of Justice and it trusts that the Government will report in the very near future that the Decree in question has been repealed.

The Committee notes that the Government's report does not contain information on the other points raised in its previous requests. It hopes that the Government will report in full on the following points which were raised previously.

Freedom of persons in the service of the State to leave their employment. 2. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that by virtue of section 134 of Act No. 1 of 2 January 1985, to issue the conditions of service of state employees, the competent authority must pronounce on a resignation request by accepting or refusing it within 60 days of the date of its submission, and that by virtue of Legislative Decree No. 11 of 26 February 1986, the decision on the resignation of civil servants or other workers in the service of the State is taken by the Prime Minister. It also noted that under the provisions of the Legislative Decree of 23 July 1974, amending section 364 of the Penal Code, a term of imprisonment of from 3 to 5 years and a fine may be imposed on any person who has left or interrupted his work as a member of the staff of a ministry, a public administration or establishment or other public body, a municipality, a municipal establishment or any authority of the public or mixed sector before the issuing of the document announcing the acceptance of his resignation by the competent authority; the same penalty may be imposed on any person deemed to have resigned by abandoning his work and interrupting it for a period of 15 days. Furthermore, any person evading his obligations to serve the same authorities shall be subject to the same penalty, whether the obligation derives from a mission, a scholarship or study leave. The personal goods and property of the person concerned shall be confiscated.

The Government indicated previously that the acceptance of resignation depends on the necessity of ensuring the continuity of the service and safeguarding the public interest, as it depends on the proper running of the service, and that resignation requests have been refused only in very rare cases and that the persons concerned have been able to appeal to the courts which have ruled in their favour. The Government also stated that missions, scholarships and study leave arise from an agreement freely concluded between the administration and the beneficiary and that the resulting obligations to serve, enforceable by penal sanctions, derive from the penal clauses of the agreement and are the counterpart of the expenses incurred by the State.

With reference to paragraphs 67-73 of its 1979 General Survey on the Abolition of Forced Labour, the Committee once again observes that persons in the service of the State should have the right to leave the service on their own initiative within a reasonable period, either at specified intervals or with previous notice. Persons who have benefited from a mission, a scholarship or study leave, even where this has been granted as the result of a freely concluded agreement, should also have the right to leave the service on their own initiative within a reasonable period that is proportional to the length of the studies financed by the State, or through the reimbursement of the assistance that they have received.

The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate all the measures that have been taken or are contemplated in order to preserve in law and in practice the freedom of persons in the service of the State to leave their employment within a reasonable period. It also requests the Government to supply copies of rulings handed down by administrative tribunals containing decisions on resignation requests that have been refused by the administration.

3. The Committee noted that under Legislative Decree No. 53 of 1962, as amended by Legislative Decree No. 18 of 1983, the resignation of a volunteer member of the armed forces is accepted before the completion of the full duration of the first contract of enagement only by virtue of an order of the Commander General of the army and the other armed forces; that volunteers, after the completion of their contracts, and career members of the armed forces can submit their resignation only with the approval of the competent section of the administration; and that if they have received a scholarship for a period abroad, their resignation can be submitted only after at least ten years' service.

The Government indicated previously that voluntary service in the army is performed under a fixed-term employment contract, which is generally set at five years, and that the Commander General of the army may accept the resignation of a volunteer before the completion of his period of engagement, taking into account the specific situation of the individual. The Committee again requests the Government to indicate the period for which a contract containing an engagement to serve in the army may be concluded when it is not concluded for a five-year period.

The Committee also noted that, according to the Government, the resignation of a member of the armed forces who has received a scholarship can only be accepted after ten years' service under a clause included in the freely concluded contract. The Committee again requests the Government to state whether persons who have received a scholarship are free to leave the service through the reimbursement of the costs incurred by the State.

Legislation on vagrancy. 4. The Committee noted that section 597 of the Penal Code provides for sentences of imprisonment of from one to six months involving the obligation to work for any person who is reduced to seeking public assistance or charity as a result of idleness, drunkenness or gambling.

The Committee once again requests the Government to supply information on the number of sentences and their duration and to furnish a copy of the judgements handed down which define the scope of section 597 of the Penal Code.