Definitive Report - Report No 251, June 1987

Case No 1361 (Nicaragua) - Complaint date: 12-FEB-86 - Closed

1. 95. The complaint submitted by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) dates from 12 February 1986. In the absence of a reply from the Government, the Committee addressed to it an urgent appeal to send its observations on this case and pointed out, at its March 1987 meeting, that, in view of the time which had elapsed since the complaint was presented, it might present a report at its next meeting on the substance of the case even if the Government's observations had not been received.
2. 96. Nicaragua has ratified both the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. The complainant's allegations

1. 97. In its communication of 12 February 1986, transmitted to the Government on 18 February, the IOE points out that, on 16 January, the Communications Board of the Ministry of the Interior banned the daily newspaper La Prensa from publishing, at the request of the Council for Private Enterprise (COSEP), the recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association on Case No. 1317, approved by the Governing Body. This case concerned the ban imposed on the President of COSEP to go to a seminar organised by the ILO in Mexico in December 1984 and the removal of pages from his passport for this purpose.
2. 98. Furthermore, the IOE recalls, regarding its 1981 complaint alleging infringements of freedom of information by the Government (Case No. 1007), that the Committee on Freedom of Association had at the time asserted that "the publication and distribution of news and information of trade union interest constitutes a legitimate trade union activity and the application of measures for their control may involve a serious interference by the administrative authorities" (218th Report). According to the IOE, the Government's repeated interferences illustrate the lack of importance it attaches to freedom of information, which COSEP should enjoy, and to the conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association and the Governing Body.

B. Developments in the case

1. 99. In reply to the Committee's request for observations from the Government on the cases pending, in particular on Case No. 1361, the Government, in a telegram dated 23 September 1986, asked the ILO for details on the various outstanding cases and, in a subsequent telegram dated 21 October 1986, pointed out that it was unaware of the content of the complaint concerning Case No. 1361.
2. 100. The ILO therefore once again communicated the contents of the complaint to the Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the United Nations Office in Geneva on 21 October 1986, 21 January and 8 April 1987. It also sent the contents of the complaint to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Managua, on 8 April 1987.
3. 101. Since that time, the Government has not submitted any further comments.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 102. The Committee deeply regrets that the Government has not communicated its observations in spite of the requests and the urgent appeal made to it for a reply to the allegations made by the complainant organisation.
2. 103. The Committee considers it useful to remind the Government that the purpose of the examination of complaints is to guarantee respect for freedom of association in law and in fact, and that if this procedure protects governments against unreasonable accusations, governments for their part should recognise the importance of submitting detailed replies to such allegations so that there might be an objective examination of them. In this respect, the Committee is of the opinion that the co-operation of governments in shedding light on the issues brought before the Committee by complainants can only serve to strengthen the full respect of freedom of association and the normal development of employers' and workers' organisations.
3. 104. In the present case, the Committee notes that, according to the allegations, the Government banned the daily newspaper La Prensa from publishing, at COSEP's request, the recommendations previously adopted by the Committee on Freedom of Association on Case No. 1317.
4. 105. In the absence of a denial from the Government concerning this allegation and having examined a document issued by the Communications Board of the Ministry of the Interior in Managua on 16 January 1986, and attached to the complaint, in which this Board asks the newspaper La Prensa not to publish the article entitled "The ILO asks for guarantees for workers" in its daily issue, the Committee can only regret this censorship imposed by the Government.
5. 106. The Committee considers it necessary to draw the Government's attention once again to the fact that workers' and employers' organisations can only develop in a system which respects and guarantees basic human rights. Consequently, the Committee urges the Government to take steps to guarantee fully the right of employers' and workers' organisations to publish and distribute their information.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 107. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendation:
   • The Committee urges the Government to respect, in line with the requests made by the International Labour Conference in the 1970 resolution concerning trade union rights and their relation to civil liberties, the right of employers' and workers' organisations to publish and distribute their information.