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

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1959)

1. The Committee recalls the conclusions reached by the Governing Body at its 267th Session (November 1996) following the recommendations of the committee set up to consider the representation made by the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) and Public Services International (PSI) under article 24 of the Constitution concerning the application of the present Convention and Convention No. 29. It notes that the Government's report does not contain the information requested by the Governing Body on the action taken in relation to its conclusions. In this connection, the Committee hopes the Government will deal in full in its next report with the application of the following points concerning Article 1(a), (b) and (e) of the Convention.

2. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken to ensure that compulsory labour exacted under the guise of service in the so-called Civil Self-Defence Patrols (PACs) and Voluntary Civil Defence Committees (CVDCs) from hundreds of thousands of people is not used as a means of political coercion or education of the indigenous population in particular, or for the purpose of economic development, or as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination.

3. The Committee refers to its previous observations regarding Article 1(a), (c) and (d) of the Convention. For several years the Committee has been referring to the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 9 of 10 April 1963, Act for the Defence of Democratic Institutions (sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6(2) and 7) and to sections 390(2), 396, 419 and 430 of the Penal Code, under which sentences of imprisonment involving, by virtue of section 47 of the Penal Code, the obligation to work, can be imposed as a punishment for expressing certain political opinions, as a measure of labour discipline or for participation in strikes, contrary to the provisions of the Convention. The Government has referred to the precedence of international Conventions over domestic law and indicated that the Committee's comments would be taken into account in the preparation of the new Penal Code. It said that the provisions contained in sections 4(1), (2), (4) and (7), 5(2), 13, 16, 18, 19, and 20 of Legislative Decree No. 9, Act for the Defence of Democratic Institutions had been repealed, but did not send a copy of the repealing legislation. The Committee noted that sections 2, 3, 4(3), (5) and (6), 5(1) and 6(2) were still in force and observed that the partial derogation of the Act on Democratic Institutions had not resulted in completely eradicating the divergency between national legislation and the Convention.

4. The Committee recalls once more that, with a view to bringing the legislation into harmony with the Convention, measures can be taken either to redefine the punishable offences in order to ensure that no one can be punished for having expressed political opinions or indicated their ideological opposition to the established political, social or economic system, or by according a special status to prisoners convicted of certain offences, under which they are free from the obligation to perform compulsory prison labour, although they retain the right to work upon request. The Committee notes that in relation to compulsory prison work the Government refers to the Act on the remission on sentences, indicating that the Penal Code effectively imposes the obligation to work but that the work is paid and leads to remission of the sentence. The Committee again requests the Government to send a copy of the Governmental Agreement of 1984 (No. 975-84), Regulations for Detention Centres, which, according to the Government, specifies the voluntary nature of work for persons convicted.

The Committee again observes that this matter has been a subject of comment for more than ten years and hopes that the Government will take the measures necessary to bring national legislation into conformity with the Convention and will report progress made to this end.