Allegations: The complainant organizations denounce the harassment and repression
of their members since October 2013, including arbitrary penalties against at least 83
teachers, one of whom is the Secretary-General of SYNESED, as well as the expulsion of an EI
official from the territory in November 2012
- 337. The complaint is contained in communications dated 13 February and
14 April 2014, presented by Education International (EI), the Secondary Teachers’ Union
(SYNESED) and the Primary Teachers’ Union (SEP).
- 338. The Government sent its observations in communications dated 18
March and 8 May 2014.
- 339. Djibouti has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of
the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and
Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).
A. The complainant organizations’ allegations
A. The complainant organizations’ allegations- 340. In a communication dated 13 February 2014, Education International
(EI), the Secondary Teachers’ Union (SYNESED) and the Primary Teachers’ Union (SEP)
allege that the harassment and repression of teachers and union members trying to
exercise their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and association are common in
Djibouti. The two ILO direct contact missions there in 1998 and 2008 did not manage to
improve the climate of industrial relations.
- 341. The complainant organizations claim that, since the legislative
elections held on 22 February 2013, the teachers, who are considered, whether rightly or
wrongly, to support the political opposition, have been subject to persecution by the
authorities. They have also been subject to arbitrary sanctions (reassignments, wage
freezes, dismissal) which have flouted all administrative rules and procedures. The
authorities have taken arbitrary measures against at least 83 teachers and other
education sector employees (student counsellors, inspectors and staff of the Ministry of
Education), whose salaries have been suspended since October 2013 (list attached to the
complaint). These include the Secretary General of SYNESED, Mr Farah Abdillahi Miguil,
and several of the founding members of the group “Save National Education”.
- 342. In a communication dated 15 April 2014, the complainant
organizations denounce, in addition to the suspension of payment of salaries affecting
83 teachers, the Ministry of Education’s proposal to deregister 63 of them. The teachers
about to be deregistered include the Secretary General of SYNESED, Mr Farah Abdillahi
Miguil, as well as several founding members of the group “Save National Education”: Mr
Abdillahi Adaweh Mireh, Mr Youssouf Moussa Abdi, otherwise known as Youssouf Macho, and
Mr Omar Ismael Omar.
- 343. Furthermore, in their complaint, the complainant organizations
report the death of Mr Mahamoud Elmi Rayaleh, a French teacher at Balbala Public
Secondary School and a socially engaged citizen, on the night of 28 to 29 August 2013
during his detention at Gabode Central Prison. The complainant organizations question
the reasons for his rapid burial by the authorities, without any of his family members
or associates present. They claim that he had been arrested on 2 August 2013, a
detention warrant had been issued the following day and on 20 August he had been
sentenced to two months in prison for “involvement in an illegal protest”. He had been
in good health during his incarceration at Gabode Central Prison.
- 344. Lastly, the complainant organizations denounce the fact that in
November 2012, the authorities supposedly denied Mr Samuel Ngoua Ngou, the EI regional
coordinator for the African region, the right to enter Djibouti territory where he was
going to organize a national seminar on early childhood education, arranged in
collaboration with SYNESED and the SEP. The complainant organizations maintain that Mr
Ngoua Ngou was barred entry at Djibouti Airport on arrival, despite the official letter
authorizing him to obtain his visa at the airport. On arrival from Nairobi on 10
November 2012 at around 1 a.m., Mr Ngoua Ngou had been held by the border police for 25
hours outside any legal framework and had eventually been refused entry on 11 November,
without a valid reason, at about 2 a.m. The complainant organizations also refer to
other measures to interfere in the activities of trade unions or human rights defenders.
One EI delegation invited by SYNESED in May 2007, for example, has never been able
obtain the necessary visas to go to Djibouti.
B. The Government’s reply
B. The Government’s reply- 345. The Government sent its observations in communications dated 3 March
and 8 May 2014, in which it rejects all of the allegations made in relation to this
case.
- 346. With regard to the allegations on arbitrary measures against
teachers, and especially the trade union leaders mentioned by the complainant
organizations, the Government indicates that an inquiry has been carried out on the
basis of the list, supplied by the complainant organizations, of 83 education sector
employees whose salaries have allegedly been suspended since October 2013. It emerges
from the inquiry that the list contains 41 employees, 15 of whom have indeed had their
salaries suspended on account of their absence from their work posts, having not
returned to their assigned positions. According to the information, these employees
include Mr Farah Abdillahi Miguil and Mr Abdillahi Adaweh Mireh. The Government
specifies that their salaries are suspended in accordance with article 27 of the general
public service regulations. The Government also indicates that, contrary to the
complainant organizations’ claims, 25 employees on the list are receiving their pay
(evidence supplied). According to the Government, under article 35 of the general public
service regulations, six weeks after a formal notification, if the offenders persist,
the administration is entitled to announce their dismissal for dereliction of duty. In
this regard, the Government provides a communication from the national Ministry of
Education and Vocational Training of March 2014, calling for the launch of the
deregistration procedure for the proven failure of duty of 14 public servants, including
Mr Youssouf Mousa Abdi and Mr Abdillahi Adaweh Mireh.
- 347. As regards the allegations of the refusal to allow entry to an EI
representative in November 2012, the Government provides a report from the border and
immigration police of Djibouti Airport, in which it is indicated that Mr Samuel Ngoua
Ngou arrived from Nairobi on 9 November 2012 and left again on 11 November 2012 at 2.45
p.m. after a stay of two days on Djibouti soil. Mr Ngoua Ngou was not removed, as this
would have been done immediately, on the return flight of the airplane in question. In
addition, a notification sheet summarizing the grounds for the refusal of entry must be
submitted to the carrier by the station manager. No such sheet has been produced
regarding Mr Samuel Ngoua Ngou.
- 348. Lastly, with regard to the death in detention of Mr Mahamoud Elmi
Rayaleh, a French teacher at Balbala Public Secondary School, on 29 August 2013 during
his detention at Gabode Central Prison, the Government states that an independent
commission carried out an inquiry into the circumstances of the death. The commission
heard, in particular, the accounts of co-detainees, prison guards and the prison doctor
and examined the forensic report. The commission concluded that there was no evidence to
corroborate the suspicious or criminal nature of the detainee’s death and indicated that
the death of Mr Rayaleh, which occurred during his sleep, did not have any traumatic or
pathological cause.
C. The Committee’s conclusions
C. The Committee’s conclusions- 349. The Committee notes that the present case relates to allegations of
harassment and discriminatory measures against trade unions leaders and members in the
education sector, as well as to the removal measures reportedly faced by the regional
head of an international trade union organization.
- 350. The Committee notes that, according to Education International (EI),
the Secondary Teachers’ Union (SYNESED) and the Primary Teachers’ Union (SEP), the
harassment and repression of teachers and union members trying to exercise their
legitimate rights to freedom of expression and association are common in Djibouti and
the situation has deteriorated since the legislative elections in February 2013. The
teachers, who are considered, whether rightly or wrongly, to support the political
opposition, have allegedly been subject to persecution by the authorities, including
arbitrary sanctions (reassignments, wage freezes, dismissal), which have flouted all
administrative rules and procedures. The Committee notes that the complainant
organizations have provided a list of 83 teachers and other education sector employees
(student counsellors, inspectors and staff of the Ministry of Education) whose salaries
have been suspended since October 2013. Among these are the Secretary-General of
SYNESED, Mr Farah Abdillahi Miguil, and several of the founding members of the group
“Save National Education”: Mr Abdillahi Adaweh Mireh, Mr Youssouf Moussa Abdi, otherwise
known as Youssouf Macho, and Mr Omar Ismael Omar. The Committee notes that, in their
communication of April 2014, the complainant organizations denounce the threat of the
Ministry of Education to deregister 63 teachers, including the Secretary-General of the
SYNESED and the founding members of the group “Save National Education” mentioned
above.
- 351. The Committee takes note of the Government’s response, in which it
specifies that an inquiry has been carried out on the basis of the list, supplied by the
complainant organizations, of 83 education sector employees whose salaries have
allegedly been suspended since October 2013, and that it emerges that only 41 of them
are public servants. The Government explains that 15 of these employees, including some
of those mentioned by the complainant organizations, have had their salaries suspended
in accordance with article 27 of the general public service regulations on account of
their absence from their work posts, having not returned to their assigned positions.
The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, under article 35 of the general
public service regulations, six weeks after a formal notification, if the offenders
persist, the administration is entitled to announce their dismissal for dereliction of
duty. In this regard, the Government provides a communication of the national Ministry
of Education and Vocational Training dated March 2014, calling for the launch of the
dismissal procedure for the proven failure of duty of 14 public servants, including Mr
Youssouf Mousa Abdi and Mr Abdillahi Adaweh Mireh. The Committee also notes the
Government’s indication that 25 members of staff on the complainant organizations’ list
are reportedly receiving their pay.
- 352. The Committee notes that of the list, supplied by the complainant
organizations, of 83 education sector employees allegedly subject to arbitrary
penalties, the Government provided clarifications for 38 of them: 19 are in fact
apparently receiving their pay; four have had their salaries suspended for dereliction
of duty; 14 were due for dismissal on the grounds that they had still not complied with
a formal notification after six months; and one was not identified as working in the
public service. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information
on the current employment status of the other education sector employees, whom the
complainant organizations allege have been subject to arbitrary measures, including a
suspension of salaries, since October 2013, as included in the list transmitted to it in
the complaint.
- 353. The Committee notes with concern the allegations by the complainant
organizations pertaining to the death of Mr Mahamoud Elmi Rayaleh, a French teacher at
Balbala Public Secondary School and a socially engaged citizen, on 29 August 2013 during
his detention at Gabode Central Prison. The Committee notes that he had been arrested on
2 August 2013, a detention warrant had been issued the following day and on 20 August he
had been sentenced to two months in prison for “involvement in an illegal protest”. The
Committee notes that, according to the complainant organizations, he had been in good
health during his incarceration at Gabode Central Prison and that, following his death,
it was claimed that the authorities had buried him quickly, without any of his family
members or associates present.
- 354. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, an
independent commission carried out an inquiry into the circumstances of the death.
During the inquiry, the commission apparently heard, in particular, the accounts of
co-detainees, prison guards and the prison doctor, examined the forensic report,
concluded that there was no evidence to corroborate the suspicious or criminal nature of
the detainee’s death and indicated that the death of Mr Rayaleh, which occurred during
his sleep, did not have any traumatic or pathological cause. The Committee requests the
Government to send a copy of the ruling of 20 August 2013 sentencing Mr Mahamoud Elmi
Rayaleh to two months of imprisonment for “involvement in an illegal protest”, as well
as a copy of the independent commission’s report into the circumstances of his
death.
- 355. The Committee notes that the complainant organizations allege that
in November 2012, the authorities refused Mr Samuel Ngoua Ngou, EI regional coordinator
for the African region, the right to enter Djibouti territory where he was going to
organize a national seminar on early childhood education, arranged in collaboration with
SYNESED and the SEP. The complainant organizations maintain that Mr Ngoua Ngou was
barred entry at Djibouti Airport on arrival, despite the official letter authorizing him
to obtain his visa at the airport. When arriving from Nairobi on 10 November 2012 at
around 1 a.m., Mr Ngoua Ngou had been held by the border police for 25 hours outside of
any legal framework and had eventually been refused entry on 11 November, without a
valid reason, at about 2 a.m.
- 356. The Committee notes that in reply, the Government has provided a
report drawn up on 14 March 2014 by the border and immigration police at Djibouti
Airport in which it is indicated that Mr Samuel Ngoua Ngou arrived from Nairobi on 9
November 2012 and left again on 11 November 2012 at 2.45 p.m. after a stay of two days
on Djibouti soil. According to the report, Mr Ngoua Ngou had not been expelled, as this
would have been done immediately, on the return flight of the airplane in question.
Finally, according to the report, in cases where entry is barred, a notification sheet
summarizing the grounds must be submitted to the carrier by the station manager. No such
sheet had apparently been produced regarding Mr Samuel Ngoua Ngou.
- 357. The Committee notes with concern the conflicting versions of the
complainant organizations and the Government regarding these serious allegations and
observes that the Government does not provide any reply in relation to those concerning
the detention of Mr Ngoua Ngou by the border police for 25 hours prior to his removal.
In these circumstances, the Committee is not able to examine this question further.
However, it would recall generally that visits to affiliated national trade union
organizations and participation in their congresses are normal activities for
international workers’ organizations, subject to the provisions of national legislation
with regard to the admission of foreigners, but that, while recognizing that the refusal
to grant visas to foreigners is a matter which falls within the sovereignty of the
State, the Committee has already had to request a government to ensure that the
formalities required of international trade unionists to enter the country are based on
objective criteria free of anti-trade unionism. [see Digest of decisions and principles
of the Freedom of Association Committee, fifth (revised) edition, 2006, paras 750 and
753]. Recalling that it is not the first time that the authorities have been subject to
allegations of refusing entry to an international trade union solidarity mission [see
342nd report, para. 433], the Committee firmly expects that the Government will fully
respect these principles.
The Committee’s recommendations
The Committee’s recommendations- 358. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the
Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
- (a) The Committee
requests the Government to provide information on the current employment status of
the education sector employees whom the complainant organizations allege have been
subject to arbitrary measures, including a suspension of salaries, since
October 2013.
- (b) The Committee requests the Government to send a copy of
the ruling of 20 August 2013 sentencing Mr Mahamoud Elmi Rayaleh to two months of
imprisonment for “involvement in an illegal protest”, as well as a copy of the
independent commission’s report into the circumstances of his death.
