Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Georgia (Ratification: 1996)

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Article 1(a) of the Convention. Sanctions involving compulsory labour as a punishment for expressing political views. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, in its report, that two persons were sentenced to a year and 6 months’ imprisonment under section 226 of the Criminal Code (organization of group actions violating public order and participation in such actions). The Government also indicates that there is another pending case under section 226 of the Criminal Code. As regards section 347 of the Criminal Code (violation of the procedure for holding an assembly or demonstration), no cases have been reviewed by the courts.

The Committee notes that the United Nations Human Rights Committee, in its 2022 concluding observations, expressed deep concern about increased reports of violations of freedom of expression and, in particular, the initiation of criminal proceedings against media outlets and workers (CCPR/C/GEO/CO/5,). The Committee further notes that in its Resolution on violations of media freedoms and the safety of journalists in Georgia of 9 June 2022, the European Parliament expressed concern over the significant deterioration of the media situation in Georgia in recent years and condemned an increasing number of the persecution of journalists and criminal investigations into media workers and owners.

The Committee recalls that Article 1(a) of the Convention protects persons who hold or express political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social, or economic system by prohibiting their punishment with penalties which involve compulsory labour, including sentences of imprisonment that entail compulsory labour or correctional work. In this respect, the Committee recalls that in Georgia, the penalty of imprisonment involves compulsory prison labour pursuant to section 110(2) of the Imprisonment Code of 2010.

The Committee requests the Government to ensure that, both in law and practice, no one who, in a peaceful manner, expresses political views or opposes the established political, social or economic system, can be sentenced to penalties under which compulsory labour is imposed. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of prosecutions and convictions handed down under sections 226 and 347 of the Criminal Code with an indication of the penalties applied as well as a description of the facts and the legal reasoning behind the convictions.