Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - United Arab Emirates (Ratification: 1997)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous direct request, including copies of various legislative texts.

Article 1(a) of the Convention. 1. In its earlier comments, the Committee noted the Penal Code provisions prohibiting the establishment of an organization or convening a meeting or conference for the purpose of fighting or mistreating the foundations or teachings of the Islamic religion or calling for the observance of another religion, these offences being punishable with imprisonment for a term from five to ten years (sections 317 and 320). It also noted that prisoners of category "c" (those imprisoned for a specified term or for life) are to be employed in tasks specified by the prison’s by-laws and are entitled to receive remuneration (section 24 of the Federal Retributory Establishments Organization Ordinance No. 43 of 1992 on the organization of prison establishments), and that the tasks in which prisoners may be employed are specified in Chapter 3 of Ministerial Decree No. 471 of 1995. The Committee has also noted the provisions of sections 318 and 319 of the Penal Code, which make punishable with imprisonment (involving an obligation to perform labour), any person who is a member of an association specified in section 317 or who fights the foundations or teachings of the Islamic religion or proselytizes another religion, or calls for an idea or ideology which includes any of the above.

The Committee recalls that Article 1(a) prohibits the use of forced or compulsory labour as a punishment for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. It also refers to the explanations contained in paragraphs 133 to 140 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, in which it observed that the Convention does not prohibit punishment by penalties involving compulsory labour of persons who use violence, incite to violence or engage in preparatory acts aimed at violence. Nor does the Convention prohibit judicial imposition of certain restrictions on persons convicted of crimes of that kind. However, sanctions involving compulsory labour fall within the scope of the Convention where they enforce a prohibition of the expression of views or of opposition to the established political, social or economic system, whether such prohibition is imposed by law or by a discretionary administrative decision which is not dependent on the commission of any criminal offence nor subject to the judicial review. The freedom of expression of political or ideological views may be equally restricted by way of prohibition of various kinds of meetings or associations, which is also contrary to the Convention, if such prohibition is enforced by sanctions involving compulsory labour.

The Committee therefore hopes that appropriate measures will be taken to bring sections 317 to 320 of the Penal Code into conformity with the Convention. While noting the Government’s indication in the report that there are no statistics on court decisions on the application of sections 317 and 320 of the Penal Code, the Committee hopes that, pending the adoption of such measures, the Government will provide information on the application of sections 317 to 320 in practice, including copies of any court decisions defining or illustrating their scope.

2. The Committee notes that, under Federal Law No. 15 of 1980 governing publications and publishing, penal sanctions of imprisonment (involving compulsory labour) can be imposed, in accordance with sections 86 and 89 of the Law, for the violation of the following provisions of the Law:

-  section 70 (prohibition to criticize the President of the Republic or the rulers of the Emirates);

-  section 71 (prohibition to publish any material harmful to Islam, or to the Government, or to the country’s interests or the basic systems on which the society is founded);

-  section 76 (prohibition to publish material containing shameful information on the President of an Arab, Muslim country or a country with friendly ties, as well as material which may threaten the ties of the country with Arab, Muslim or friendly countries);

-  section 77 (prohibition to publish material which causes an injustice to Arabs or constitutes a misrepresentation of Arab civilization or heritage); and

-  section 81 (prohibition to publish material which harms the national currency or causes a confusion over the economic situation in a country).

Referring to the explanations contained in paragraphs 133 to 141 of the abovementioned General Survey, the Committee observes that limitations may be imposed by law on individual rights and freedoms in order to ensure respect of the rights and freedoms of others and to meet the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society (such as laws on defamation, sedition and subversion, public order and security). But where the restrictions of these rights and freedoms are formulated in such wide and general terms that they may lead to the imposition of penalties involving compulsory labour as punishment for the expression of political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system, it falls within the scope of the Convention.

The Committee therefore hopes that the above provisions of Federal Law No. 15 of 1980 will be reviewed in the light of these considerations, so that no sanctions involving forced or compulsory labour could be imposed for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. Pending the revision, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of the above provisions in practice, particularly in regard to sentences that have been handed down, and to supply copies of the relevant court decisions. Please also supply copies of decisions and regulations to be issued for the implementation of this Law, to which reference is made in section 107.

3. The Committee notes that, under section 41 of the Federal Law on Non-Profit Organizations, No. 6 of 1974, any violation of the provisions of this Law is punishable with imprisonment (which involves an obligation to perform labour). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of section 41 in practice, supplying copies of court decisions defining or illustrating its scope.

4. Article 1(c). The Committee has noted the provisions of the Federal Law on Merchant Shipping, No. 26 of 1981, under which penalties of imprisonment (involving compulsory labour) may be imposed on seafarers for various breaches of labour discipline, such as violation of service-related orders, neglecting to serve on vessels or in mounting guard, being absent from a vessel without authorization, or any other act that may disrupt order or service on board (section 200(a), (c), (g) and (j)), refusal to observe an order concerning work on board the vessel, repeated acts of disobedience (section 204(d) and (e)), or performance of any acts mentioned in section 204 by more than three persons in agreement (section 205).

The Committee recalls that Article 1(c) prohibits the use of compulsory labour as a means of labour discipline. It also refers to the explanations contained in paragraphs 117 to 119 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, where it pointed out that the Convention does not cover sanctions relating to acts tending to endanger the ship or the life or health of persons (such as sanctions of imprisonment provided for in section 209 of the abovementioned Federal Law on Merchant Shipping punishing acts damaging a vessel and jeopardizing the lives of persons on board); however, as regards sanctions relating more generally to breaches of labour discipline such as desertion, absence without leave or disobedience, such sanctions fall within the scope of the Convention. The Committee therefore hopes that the above provisions of the Federal Law on Merchant Shipping will be either repealed or amended, so as to limit their scope to circumstances in which the ship or the life or health of persons are endangered.

5. Article 1(d). In its earlier comments, the Committee noted that section 231, paragraph 1, of the Penal Code provides for sanctions of imprisonment (which involves an obligation to work) in cases where at least three public officials abandon their job or voluntarily abstain from performing any obligations related thereto, acting in agreement among them or pursuing an illegal objective. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to paragraph 123 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, where it pointed out that it is not incompatible with the Convention to impose penalties (even involving an obligation to perform labour) for participation in strikes in the civil service or other essential services, provided that such provisions are applicable only to essential services in the strict sense of the term (that is, services whose interruption would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population) and that compensatory guarantees in the form of appropriate alternative procedures are provided.

The Government indicates in its report that there are no statistics on any court decisions relating to the application of section 231. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to provide information on the application of this provision in practice, including copies of any court decisions defining or illustrating its scope.