Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Pakistan (Ratification: 1957)

Referring also to its observation under the Convention, the Committee notes the Government's reply to the previous request.

1. The Committee again requests the Government to provide copies of the annual reports since 1992 of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) as well as of the most recent reports of the National Commission on Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD).

2. The Committee has been requesting the Government since 1981 to supply information on the terms of reference of career military personnel, in particular with regard to terms of enlistment and the conditions for resigning from active service.

In its most recent report, the Government, in line with earlier statements, indicates that the military service in Pakistan is a voluntary service and as such does not fall within the purview of ILO standards including Convention No. 29, ratified by Pakistan. As regards the workers' right to free choice of leaving the service in peacetime within a reasonable period, the Government, noting that officers/personnel in the armed forces of Pakistan are imparted extensive training which causes a lot of drain on the national exchequer, considers that as a poor country, Pakistan cannot afford to give a free option to its officers and men to leave by choice even in peacetime. A person is, however, allowed release/discharge from the service provided he has convincing reasons and can justify causes of his premature release/discharge. Moreover, according to Article 2(2)(a), of the Convention, any work or service exacted in virtue of compulsory military service laws for work of a purely military character shall stand excluded from the scope and application of the Convention. Therefore, the Government considers it not pertinent to supply the information called for concerning the terms and regulations governing service in the Armed Forces, especially the terms of enlistment and the conditions for resigning from the service.

The Committee takes due note of these indications. It again draws attention to the explanations provided in paragraphs 33 and 68-72 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, where it indicated that the provisions in Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention relating to compulsory military service do not apply to career servicemen and consequently cannot be invoked to justify denying career servicemen the right to leave the service in peacetime within a reasonable period, either at specified intervals, or with previous notice, subject to the conditions which may normally be required to ensure the continuity of the service. As regards the cost of training qualified personnel, the Committee mentioned the possibility of proportional reimbursement which may be demanded during a certain period in the event of resignation.

In order to be able to ascertain the conformity of national legislation with the Convention, the Committee again requests the Government to provide a copy of the provisions governing the terms of service in the armed forces, in particular as concerns conditions of enlistment and resignation as well as any provisions applying in case of training received at the expense of the State. The Committee likewise requests the Government to supply a copy of the Compulsory Service in the Armed Forces Ordinance, No. XXXI of 1971.