Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Pakistan (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. Article 1, subparagraphs c and d, of the Convention. In its earlier comments, the Committee referred to section 62A of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969, under which an individual may be arrested by a police officer for contravening section 46A(3) of the Ordinance, which provides for the offence of illegal strike. The Committee notes that, while the Industrial Relations Ordinance (IRO), 2002, has removed the penalties of imprisonment contained in the 1969 Ordinance, the provisions referred to above have been retained and are now contained in sections 39(3) and 72 of the IRO. The Committee therefore asks once again that the Government indicate the practical effect of these provisions and to specify what charges and penalties an individual may face once arrested.

2. Article 1, subparagraphs a and e. The Committee notes that, under the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance (PEMRO), 2002, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issues broadcast licenses to broadcasters or CTV operators subject to obligations, among others, to: “respect the national, cultural, social and religious values and the principles of public policy as enshrined in the Constitution” of Pakistan (section 20(b)); ensure the programme and advertisement do not encourage sectarianism or militancy (section 20(c)), and broadcast or distribute programmes “in the public interest specified by the Federal Government [or PEMRA] in the manner indicated by the Government” (section 20(e)), and that repeat violations of the Ordinance or broadcasting in the absence of a license is punishable with imprisonment (that may involve compulsory labour) (section 33(2) and (3)). The Committee also notes the Defamation Ordinance, 2002, under which the publication of defamatory statements is criminalized and, where proved to have occurred, subjects defendants to penalties that may include three months imprisonment (section 9), and that the Ordinance shall not prejudice any action for criminal libel or slander under any law for the time being in force (section 11).

3. Referring to the explanations contained in paragraphs 133–141 of the General Survey of 1979 on the abolition of forced labour, the Committee observes that limitations may be imposed by law on individual rights and freedoms in order to ensure respect of the rights and freedoms of others and to meet the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society (such as laws on defamation, sedition and subversion, public order and security). But where the restrictions of these rights and freedoms are formulated in such wide and general terms that they may lead to the imposition of penalties involving compulsory labour as punishment for the expression of political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system, it falls within the scope of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the provisions of the abovementioned legislation, supplying copies of the relevant court decisions defining or illustrating their scope, so as to enable the Committee to assess their conformity with the Convention. The Government is asked to supply a copy of the text of applicable rules promulgated under section 39 of the PEMRO.

4. Supply of legislation. The Committee again requests the Government to provide a copy of the Public Safety Act 1960, and it also requests the Government to supply a copy of the following: the Banking Companies Ordinance 2002; the Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Book Registration (amendment) Act 2005; the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill 2005; and the most recent amendments to the Anti-Terrorist Act 1997.