Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Nicaragua (Ratification: 1967)

The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the following points which were raised in its previous direct request and on which no information was supplied in the Government's report.

1. Section 261 provides for an incommutable sentence of imprisonment of from two months to two years for newspaper owners, speakers, lecturers and artists who, during the exercise of their profession, clearly and directly incite the people to commit the offences of riot or disorder (section 260(c)(1)); disseminate doctrines obviously contrary to morality, the democratic foundations of the State and public order (section 260(c)(3)); maliciously invent or distort news, events or ideas, to the moral or physical detriment of the nation, a community or a given person or persons (section 260(c)(4)). Section 522 of the Penal Code, under which an incommutable sentence of from six months to two years' imprisonment is imposed on any person who incites to the non-observance of the Constitution of the State or attacks the republican and democratic regime established by it or who directly encourages such activities. Section 510 of the Penal Code, under which persons who, without rebelling against the Government or refusing to acknowledge the departmental or local authorities, meet in disorder to call on the authorities with violence, shouts, insults or threats to dismiss some subordinate official, release some prisoner or punish an offender and are guilty of the offence of riotous assembly are liable to a sentence of from four to six months of imprisonment. Under section 512, conspiring to commit the offence of riotous assembly can be punished with imprisonment of from one to four months.

The Committee requests the Government to review all these provisions in the light of the Convention, since the penalties of imprisonment provided for in them involve the obligation to work, and to indicate the measures taken or under consideration to ensure the observance of the Convention in this matter.

2. Section 53 of the Penal Code provides that the main penalties include various forms of imprisonment (presidio, prisiòn, arresto and confinamiento). The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether, like the penalty of imprisonment mentioned above (arresto), the other penalties provided for in section 53 involve compulsory labour. The Committee also requests the Government to supply copies of the legislation relating to the prison system, particularly with regard to the "productive occupation" mentioned in section 39 of the Constitution.

Furthermore, the Committee asks the Government to indicate whether the legislation in force provides for the exemption from compulsory labour of those sentenced for political offences, and to supply copies of the relevant texts.