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

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Tajikistan (Ratification: 1999)

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Article 1(a) of the Convention. Sanctions involving compulsory labour as a punishment for expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that there are eight persons convicted under section 137 “Public insults of the President”; two persons convicted under section 137-1 “Public insults or defamation of the Leader of the Nation”; 137 persons convicted under section 189 “Incitement of social, racial, national, regional, religious enmity or discord”; and one person convicted under section 330(2) “Insult of a representative of authority” of the Criminal Code. The Committee also takes note of the examples of the court decisions handed down under sections 137, 189, and 330 of the Criminal Code provided by the Government.

The Committee notes that the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee, in its 2023 report on follow-up to its concluding observations, regretted that individuals had been deprived of their liberty on a number of charges related to insulting or libelling the President/Leader of the Nation and insulting other State officials (CCPR/C/137/2/Add.4). With respect to section 189(1) of the Criminal Code, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in its Opinion No. 89/2020, expressed concern that the provisions of this section are vague and overly broad and may be used to punish the peaceful exercise of human rights. In its other Opinions, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention referred to the arbitrary arrests and deprivation of liberty of political opposition activists which resulted from the legitimate exercise of their rights and freedoms (Opinions No. 48/2021 and No.23/2020) The Committee also notes that the UN human rights experts expressed concern about the use of extremism- and terrorism-related charges against human rights defenders and minority activists (the communication of 12 May 2023). The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination regretted that the national counter-terrorism legislation, including the provisions of the Criminal Code, contains an overly broad and ambiguous definition of “terrorism” and related offences (CERD/C/TJK/CO/12-13).

The Committee recalls that while Article 1(a) of 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, it protects those who, in a peaceful manner, express their views or oppose the established political, social or economic system (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 303). The Committee further observes from the examples of the court decisions provided by the Government that the application of sections 137, 189 and 330 of the Criminal Code in practice is not limited to cases of violence. The Committee notes with concern that the provisions of the Criminal Code are used to arrest, prosecute and convict human rights defenders, opposition members and journalists who express political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system, leading to the imposition of penalties involving compulsory labour, particularly imprisonment, corrective labour and public works. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessarymeasures to review the provisions of the Criminal Code punishing extremism and terrorism-related offences, in such a way that, both in law and practice, no penalty involving compulsory labour can be imposed on persons who peacefully express political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. The Committee further urges the Government to amend or repeal sections 137, 137-1, 189, and 330 of the Criminal Code by clearly restricting the scope of these provisions to situations connected with the use of violence or incitement to violence, or by repealing sanctions involving compulsory labour.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.