Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Kazakhstan (Ratification: 2001)

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Article 1(a) of the Convention. Sanctions involving compulsory labour as a punishment for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. 1. Code of Administrative Offences. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes with regret that the Government has not provided information on the provisions governing the sentence of administrative arrest which may be imposed under section 488 of the Code of Administrative Offences of 2014 for the violation of the law on the procedure for organizing and holding peaceful assemblies. The Committee notes that according to section 913(2) of the Code, persons sentenced to administrative arrest shall be detained in custody at the places determined by internal affairs bodies. As per section 913(3) of the Code, the execution of administrative arrest shall be carried out in accordance with the rules established by the national legislation. The Committee requests the Government to indicate any legislative provisions governing the execution of administrative arrest as provided in section 913(3) of the Code of Administrative Offences. Please also indicate whether the sanction of administrative arrest involves an obligation to perform compulsory labour.

2. Criminal Code. The Committee notes with regret that the Government has not replied to the Committee’s previous request to provide information on the application in practice of a number of provisions of the Criminal Code which provide for penalties involving compulsory labour in circumstances that could relate to the expression of political views or views ideologically opposed to the system. It observes however that sections 130 (defamation) and 373 (public insult and other encroachment on the honour and dignity of the First President of Kazakhstan) of the Criminal Code have been repealed by the Act of 26 June 2020 No. 349-VI and the Act of 12 July 2023 No. 23-VIII, leading to the decriminalization of these offences.

The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the following sections of the Criminal Code, indicating the facts pursuant to which the court decisions were handed down and the penalties imposed, in order to enable the Committee to ascertain the scope of these provisions and their compatibility with Article 1(a) of the Convention:

• section 131 (insult);
• section 182 (creation, management of and participation in extremist groups);
• section 372 (desecration of state symbols);
• section 376 (infringement on honour and dignity of the deputy of the Parliament of Kazakhstan);
• section 378 (insult of a representative of authority);
• section 405 (organization of and participation in activities of social or religious associations or other organizations after the prohibition of their activities or their liquidation due to extremism); and
• section 411 (slander against a judge of the Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan, a judge, a juror, a prosecutor, a person conducting a pre-trial investigation, an expert, a bailiff, or a justice officer).

Article 1(c). Sanctions for violations of labour discipline. The Committee notes the Government’s information concerning the application in practice of section 371 of the Criminal Code which provides for penalties involving compulsory labour for a failure to execute or improper execution by an official of his/her duties as the result of unscrupulous or negligent attitude towards service, if this entails infliction of substantial harm to the rights and legitimate interests of citizens or organizations, or legally protected interests of the society or the State. In particular, under section 371 of the Criminal Code, 12 persons were sentenced to deprivation of liberty or restriction of freedom, both involving compulsory labour, in 2020; 15 persons in 2021; and 5 persons during the first five months of 2022.

The Committee recalls that, according to Article 1(c) of the Convention, no sanction involving compulsory labour (including compulsory prison labour, correctional work, or community service) shall be imposed for breaches of labour discipline. The Committee has underlined in this regard that only breaches of labour discipline that impair or are liable to endanger the operation of essential services, or which are committed either in the exercise of functions that are essential to safety or in circumstances where the life or health are in danger are excluded from the scope of the Convention (see the Committee’s 2012 General Survey on the Fundamental Conventions, paragraph 310).

The Committee further notes that under section 371 of the Criminal Code, a failure to execute or improper execution by an official of his/her duties shall entail infliction of “substantial harm”. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the manner in which inflicting “substantial harm” has been interpretated by courts to characterize the offence under section 371 of the Criminal Code and to convict perpetrators, so that the Committee can assess to what extent this section is compatible with the Convention.

Article 1(d). Penalties for participating in strikes. Labour Code. The Committee duly notes the Government’s indication that the sanctions imposed for the organization and conduct of a strike recognized as illegal by a court under section 176 of the Labour Code correspond to the disciplinary sanctions of a remark, a reprimand, a severe reprimand, or dismissal, which do not involve compulsory labour.