Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Turkmenistan (Ratification: 1997)

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Penal sanctions involving compulsory labour as a punishment for expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to take measures to review the following sections 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, particularly, deprivation of liberty, correctional work (punitive deduction of earnings) and public works:

• 1. section 188(2): insult or defamation against the President;
• 2. section 189: incitement of social, national, tribal, ethnic, racial, or religious enmity or discord;
• 3. section 193: abuse of the State symbols; and
• 4. section 210: contempt of court.

In its report, the Government indicates that sections 188(2) and 189 of the Criminal Code do not establish sanctions of correctional work (punitive deduction of earnings) or public works. The Government further indicates that sanctions of correctional work (punitive deduction of earnings) provided in sections 193 and 210 of the Criminal Code, and public works provided in section 210, are not considered forced or compulsory labour, according to section 8(3)(5) of the Labour Code. In particular, section 8(3)(5) of the Labour Code stipulates that any work (service) required to execute a sentence or court order that has entered into legal force and performed under the supervision of state bodies in accordance with the legislation of Turkmenistan is not considered forced or compulsory labour. The Government also indicates that, during the reporting period, there were no prosecutions under sections 188, 189, 193, or 210 of the Criminal Code, according to information from law enforcement and judicial authorities.

The Committee recalls that, under the Convention, compulsory labour can take place in the form of a sanction of imprisonment (deprivation of liberty) involving an obligation to work (compulsory prison labour), as well as sanctions of public works or correctional work to which the person has not given his or her consent. The Committee further notes that sections 188(2), 189, and 193 of the Criminal Code establish offences punishable by the sanction of deprivation of liberty. The Committee further notes that, under section 76 of the Criminal Executive Code of 2011, convicted persons sentenced to deprivation of liberty shall work in places and at jobs determined by the administration of the correctional institution.

In respect of sanctions of correctional work (punitive deduction of earnings) and/or public works provided in sections 193 and 210 of the Criminal Code, the Committee recalls that the Convention prohibits the imposition of any form of compulsory labour in the situations mentioned under its Article 1(a), even if the work is imposed as a result of a conviction by a court of law (see the Committee’s general observation of 2023 on the Convention).

The Committee therefore observes that sanctions of deprivation of liberty, correctional work (punitive deduction of earnings) and public works provided under sections 188(2), 189, 193, or 210 of the Criminal Code involve compulsory labour. The Committee further notes that the United Nations Committee against Torture, in its 2025 concluding observations, expressed concern about the arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of human rights defenders and journalists in relation to their work (CAT/C/TKM/CO/3). 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 the imposition on them of sanctions involving compulsory labour. The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures 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 sanctions under which compulsory labour is imposed. The Committee once again requests the Government to take measures to review sections 188(2), 189, 193, and 210 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. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of sections 188(2), 189, 193, and 210 of the Criminal Code in practice, including the number and grounds for prosecutions and convictions made under each section, and the type of penalties imposed.