Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 2000)

The Committee has noted with interest the information provided by the Government in its first and second reports on the application of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide, in its next report, additional information on the following points.

Communication of texts. The Committee requests the Government to supply, with its next report, copies of laws on execution of the criminal and misdemeanour sanctions in the Republika Srpska and the district of Brcko. Please also provide copies of the legislation in force in the following fields: laws governing the press and other media; laws governing political parties and laws governing assemblies, meetings and demonstrations.

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Sanctions involving compulsory labour as a punishment for the expression of political or ideological views. The Committee has noted that the Criminal Code of the Republika Srpska provides for sanctions of imprisonment for a term of up to two years (which involves compulsory prison labour) for “inciting national, racial or religious hatred, discord or hostility” (section 377(1)).

The Committee recalls that Article 1(a) of the Convention prohibits the use of forced or compulsory labour as a punishment for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. It refers in this connection to paragraph 154 of its General Survey of 2007 on the eradication of forced labour, where it observed that the Convention does not prohibit punishment by penalties involving compulsory labour of persons who use violence, incite to violence or engage in preparatory acts aimed at violence. But sanctions involving compulsory labour fall within the scope of the Convention where they enforce a prohibition of the peaceful expression of views or of opposition to the established political, social or economic system, whether such prohibition is imposed by law or by a discretionary administrative decision.

The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the application of the abovementioned section 377(1) in practice, including copies of any court decisions defining or illustrating its scope, so as to enable the Committee to ascertain whether it is applied in a manner compatible with the Convention.