Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 1996, publiée 85ème session CIT (1997)

Convention (n° 29) sur le travail forcé, 1930 - Tunisie (Ratification: 1962)

1. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, by virtue of section 3 of Act No. 89-51 of 14 March 1989 concerning national service, conscripts may, at the end of basic military training and once the requirements of the units of the armed forces have been satisfied, be assigned either collectively to the internal security forces and to development units, or individually to the public administration, to enterprises or to technical cooperation activities. Citizens who are not subject to national service obligations may be called up individually as civilian conscripts, except in cases of total physical incapacity, to work in the administrative, economic, social and cultural services, if the need arises.

The Committee referred to paragraphs 24 to 33 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, where it observed that compulsory military service is only excluded from the scope of the Convention if the conscript is assigned to work of a purely military character, and requested the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the Convention is respected on this point.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government to the effect that the general concept of national defence does not allow for a distinction to be made between purely military tasks and operations and other duties related to defence and national security, deriving from article 15 of the Constitution, which provides that: "the defence of the country and the integrity of its territory is a sacred duty of every citizen". According to the Government, collective assignment can be explained by the fact that the national Ministry of Defence participates in the economic development of the country, in addition to its fundamental role of preparing the armed forces. The Government also states that this collective and individual assignment amounts only to a continuation of the statutory period of national service following basic military training.

As concerns conscription, the Government indicates that it can take place only in cases of extreme need, such as war or serious disaster.

The Committee takes due note of the information provided; it observes, however, that in regard to the conscription of persons, section 1(3) of Act No. 89-51 provides that: "Citizens who are not subject to national service obligations may be called up individually as civilian conscripts, except in the case of total physical incapacity, to work in the administrative, economic, social and cultural services, if the need arises". Such a provision does not appear to limit the power of conscription to the cases of extreme need.

The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 1(3) of Act No. 89-51 so as to limit recourse to conscription strictly to cases of emergency, as provided for by the Convention.

As concerns development work assigned to recruits, in the context of compulsory military service, the Committee recalls the explanations made in paragraph 24 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, where it referred to the discussions which had taken place in the Conference during the examination of the draft Convention. On that occasion, it was stressed that the reason and justification for compulsory military service was the need to ensure national defence, but that no such reason or justification existed for imposing compulsory service obligations for the execution of public works. The Committee recalls that the Conference decided that compulsory military service should be excluded from the scope of the Convention only if it was effected for purely military work.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the Convention is respected in this regard.

The Committee requested the Government to furnish information on the practical application of Decree No. 1232 of 1 August 1990, fixing the procedures for the detachment of national service conscripts, and in particular on the extent of the total strength made available for two types of assignment (for public and private employers) each year by the Minister of National Defence (section 4 of the Decree).

The Committee notes that this information will be communicated once it is available. It hopes that the Government will furnish this information in its next report.

2. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to the provisions concerning resignation, contained in the following texts:

- section 77 of Act No. 83-112 of 12 December 1983 to issue the general conditions of service of employees of the State, of local communities and of public administrative establishments, under which the resignation of a public servant only comes into effect when it has been accepted; and Prime Minister's Circular No. 3 of 31 January 1984 respecting the procedure for applying the provisions of the above Act, under which the absence of a reply from the department regarding a resignation request amounts to an implied rejection of the resignation;

- section 45 of Act No. 67-29 of 14 July 1967 concerning the organization of the judiciary, under which a resignation will only come into effect when it is accepted by the President of the Republic;

- section 27 of Act No. 67-20 of 31 May 1967 issuing the general conditions of service of members of the armed forces, under which resignation has to be approved by the Minister of National Defence.

As concerns the resignation of members of the armed forces, the Committee notes the indications provided by the Government that the approval of the Minister of National Defence is acquired when the duties conferred upon the person resigning are secured by another member of the armed forces of the same rank. The Committee observes that there is no period fixed for acceptance of a resignation, the only requirement being the replacement of the person who is resigning. The Committee asks the Government to communicate information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that these persons are not deprived of the right to leave the armed forces, in time of peace, within a reasonable period, either at regular intervals or on the condition of prior notice.

As concerns magistrates, whose resignation must be accepted by the President of the Republic, who is President of the High Council of the Magistracy, the Committee observes that the Government's report refers neither to the criteria applicable for acceptance of the resignation nor to the prescribed time-limit for the decision. The Committee requests the Government to furnish information on these points.

The Committee also requests the Government to communicate information on the practical application of section 77 of Act No. 83-112 and of Circular No. 3 of 1984, particularly the grounds on which a request for resignation may be rejected by the competent official authority or by the joint administrative committees.

3. The Committee again refers to Decree No. 91-559 of 23 April 1991, concerning the organization of the air force, and would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the possibility for a trainee officer admitted to the Air Force Academy as a minor (section 32) to be released from his obligations after having attained his majority.