Interim Report - Report No 108, 1969

Case No 560 (Morocco) - Complaint date: 19-JUL-68 - Closed

1. 341. Several complaints were lodged with the I.L.O. during the summer of 1968 containing allegations that Mr. Mohammed Abdelkader Awab, a member of the national executive of the Moroccan Federation of Labour, Workers' delegate from Morocco to the 52nd (1968) Session of the International Labour Conference, had been arrested for having published, in the Moroccan Federation of Labour newspaper, L'Avant-Garde, the text of the speech which he made at the plenary session of the Conference. Subsequently, the complainants indicated that Mr. Awab had been sentenced on 29 October 1968 to one year's imprisonment.

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 342. The complaints lodged are the following: a complaint by the Moroccan Federation of Labour contained in a communication dated 19 July 1968, followed by a communication dated 25 July 1968; a complaint by the International Federation of Chemical and General Workers' Unions contained in a communication dated 23 July 1968; a complaint by the World Federation of Trade Unions contained in a communication dated 26 July 1968; and a complaint by the All-African Trade Union Federation contained in a communication dated 26 July 1968. All of these complaints, which relate to the same allegations, were transmitted to the Government for its observations as they were received.
2. 343. The International Federation of Chemical and General Workers' Unions supplied further information in a communication of 27 August 1968. The Moroccan Federation of Labour, for its part, submitted further information in a communication dated 11 September 1968. This additional information was communicated to the Government for its observations.
3. 344. The Director-General also received 74 communications from trade unions affiliated to the Moroccan Federation of Labour containing the same allegations as those formulated by their federation.
4. 345. When he communicated copies of the complainants' communications to the Government for its observations, the Director-General drew the Government's attention to the fact that, as the allegations involved an individual's liberty, the matter came within the category of cases which the Governing Body, under the procedure in force, has to consider as being urgent. As no reply had been received by 25 October 1968, a telegram of reminder was sent to the Moroccan Government on that date.
5. 346. On receiving the information that Mr. Awab had been sentenced to one year's imprisonment, contained in a telegram dated 30 October 1968 from the Moroccan Federation of Labour, the Director-General sent, on 31 October 1968, a cable to the Government quoting the Moroccan Federation of Labour's telegram and requesting the Government to furnish its observations on the case as a matter of urgency. On 2 November 1968 the Director-General received from the Moroccan Government, in reply, a telegram indicating that Mr. Awab had not " been sentenced for having made a speech at the 52nd Session of the Conference, but for having disseminated in Morocco publications containing statements defamatory of the Moroccan public authorities and also jeopardising law and order ". The sentence had been passed in accordance with the Dahir of 29 June 1935 and the Dahir of 15 November 1958, which constitute the Code of the Press, as amended and supplemented.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

1. 347. From the allegations formulated by the complainants, it would appear that the important question of freedom of speech is involved. In this connection, the Committee wishes first of all to recall that the Declaration of Philadelphia, which is an integral part of the Constitution of the I.L.O., declares that freedom of expression is " essential to sustained progress ".
2. 348. The Committee also wishes to point out that it is established that delegates of workers' and employers' organisations deal in their speeches with questions which are of direct or indirect concern to the Organisation. There would be the risk of the functioning of the Conference being considerably hampered and the freedom of speech of the delegates of workers' and employers' organisations being paralysed if these delegates were to be under the threat of criminal prosecutions based, directly or indirectly, on the contents of their speeches at the Conference.
3. 349. The Committee recalls that article 40 of the Constitution of the Organisation provides that delegates to the Conference shall enjoy " such immunities as are necessary for the independent exercise of their functions in connection with the Organisation ".
4. 350. In addition it recalls that the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialised Agencies, to which Morocco is a party, provides, for its part, that " in order to secure for the representatives of Members of the specialised agencies at meetings convened by them complete freedom of speech and complete independence in the discharge of their duties, the immunity from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in discharging their duties shall continue to be accorded, notwithstanding that the persons concerned are no longer engaged in the discharge of such duties ".
5. 351. Section 17 of Article V, which lays down that these provisions are not applicable in relation to the authorities of a State of which the person is a national or of which he is or has been a representative, does not appear to take account sufficiently of the particular case of Workers' and Employers' representatives at meetings of the International Labour Organisation, and the question arises whether, in the light of the general principle laid down by article 40 of the Constitution, measures should be envisaged to ensure complete protection for these persons.
6. 352. It is true that in its reply the Government denies that Mr. Awab was prosecuted for having made a speech at the 52nd Session of the Conference, but states that the reason was the dissemination in Morocco of publications containing statements defamatory of the Moroccan public authorities and also jeopardising law and order.
7. 353. This reply does not, however, make it clear whether Mr. Awab was prosecuted and sentenced on the basis of the contents of this speech or for the dissemination in Morocco of the speech or of other texts, nor whether the publications in question were of a trade union nature or not. In accordance with normal practice, it would also be necessary for the Committee to be able to have before it a copy of the judgment sentencing Mr. Awab and of the grounds given therefore. The Committee considers that this information would be indispensable in order to enable it to form an opinion on the facts of the case.
8. 354. It wishes to emphasise in this connection that the right of delegates to the Conference to express freely their point of view on questions within the sphere of competence of the Organisation implies that the delegates of employers' and workers' organisations have the right to inform their members in their respective countries of their speeches.
9. 355. Since the questions raised in this case are closely linked with the functioning of the Conference, it might seem appropriate for the whole matter to be brought to the attention of the Conference.
10. 356. However, before deciding whether a recommendation to this effect should be made to the Governing Body, the Committee considers that it would be desirable if the Government of Morocco could supply more detailed information.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 357. In these circumstances the Committee recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to express its serious concern at the arrest and sentencing of Mr. Awab, which, according to the allegations, are the result of the speech which he made at the plenary session of the 52nd Session of the Conference (June 1968), these measures appearing to jeopardise freedom of speech for delegates at the Conference, as well as the immunities which they should enjoy in this connection;
   • (b) to take note of the Government's reply on this matter, but, as it does not contain all the necessary information, to request the Government to be good enough to furnish as soon as possible the information requested in paragraph 353 above and to forward in particular a copy of the sentence passed on 29 October 1968;
   • (c) to take note of this interim report, it being understood that the Committee will submit a further report when it is in possession of the additional information requested from the Government.
     • (Signed) Roberto AGO, Geneva, 7 November 1968. Chairman.