ident approve thereof, a certified copy of the Convention Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labor (convention No. 105) adopted by the International Labor Conference at its 40th session, Geneva, June 25, 1957. In accordance with article 4 thereof, the convention entered into force on January 17, 1959. At the present time 60 of the 108 members of the International Labor Organization, not including the United States, have deposited instruments of ratification to the convention. There is enclosed a background statement on the development of this convention over a period of nearly 10 years. The convention as adopted consists of a preamble and 10 articles, the substantive provisions being contained in the first 2 articles. Article 1 provides that each ratifying member undertakes to suppress and not to make use of any form of forced or compulsory labor (a) as a means of political coercion or education or as a punishment for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social, or economic system; (b) as a method of mobilizing and using labor for purposes of economic development; (c) as a means of labor discipline; (d) as a punishment for having participated in strikes; and (e) as a means of racial, social, national, or religious discrimination. Article 2 provides that each ratifying member undertakes to take effective measures to secure the immediate and complete abolition of forced or compulsory labor as specified in article 1. Formal ratifications are to be communicated to the Director General of the International Labor Organization (art. 3). The convention is binding only on those members which have registered ratifications with the Director General, and the convention enters into force 12 months after the date on which the ratifications of two members have been registered (art. 4). Thereafter it enters into force for any member 12 months after the date of registration of its ratification (art. 4). The convention may be denounced by any member a party thereto after 10 years have elapsed from the date it first enters into force, by a communication addressed to the Director General; such denunciation shall take effect 1 year from the date it is registered by the Director General (art. 5). Any party which has not, within a year following the expiration of that 10-year period, exercised the right of denunciation, will continue to be bound for another 10-year period and, thereafter, by a communication to the Director General, may denounce the convention at the expiration of any period of 10 years (art. 5). The Director General shall notify all members of the Organization of the registration of ratifications and denunciations and of the entry into force of the convention (art. 6), and shall register the convention with the United Nations in accordance with article 102 of the United Nations Charter (art. 7). Article 8 provides for consideration of a revision of the convention. Article 9 provides that, if the Conference adopts a new convention revising this convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new convention otherwise provides, ratification by a member of the new convention shall involve immediate denunciation of this convention notwithstanding the provisions of article 5. Article 10 states that the English and French versions of the convention are equally authoritative. Pursuant to article 19, paragraph 7(b), of the Constitution of the International Labor Organization, the convention was transmitted to both Houses of Congress on February 9, 1959 (H. Doc. 78, 86th Cong., 1st sess.). At that time the interested departments of the Government were inclined to the view that the ban on forced labor as a punishment for having participated in strikes raised problems of a technical legal character with regard to areas of State regulation. However, after an extensive additional review of the convention and the technical legal problems involved, the interested departments of the Government have expressed their coordinated view (see the enclosed copy of a letter dated February 15, 1963, from the Secretary of Labor) that the subject matter of convention No. 105 is wholly within the Federal competence under the 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United States, that there is neither Federal nor State power validly to impose forced labor as a punishment for a legal strike, and that, with regard to illegal strike activities. any such punishment would only come about "as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." The 13th amendment to the Constitution reads in part: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Accordingly, and in accordance with article 19, paragraph 7(a), of the Constitution of the International Labor Organization, the convention is submitted herewith for transmission to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification. Respectfully submitted. DEAN RUSK. Enclosures: (1) Background statement; (2) copy of letter of February 15, 1963, from the Secretary of Labor; (3) certified copy of convention No. 105. BACKGROUND STATEMENT Regarding the DEVELOPMENT OF CONVENTION NO. 105 The adoption of the convention by the International Labor Conference in 1957 was the result of long and earnest consideration of the problem of forced labor. In 1947 the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations received a letter from the American Federation of Labor urging an investigation concerning forced labor and the consideration of action to abolish it. The Council adopted a resolution on March 7, 1949, which, among other things, invited the International Labor Organization "to give further consideration to the problem of forced labour and its nature and extent in the light of all possible information." This resolution came before the Governing Body of the Organization at its 109th session (June 1949). The Governing Body stated its view that there should be an impartial inquiry into the nature and extent of forced labor and the treatment accorded to such persons. On March 19, 1951, the Economic and Social Council adopted a resolution in paragraph 1 of which it is stated: "1. Decides to invite the International Labour Organization to co-operate with the Council in the earliest possible establishment of an ad hoc committee on forced labour of not more than five independent members, qualified by their competence and impartiality, to be appointed jointly by the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Director General of the International Labour Office with the following terms of reference: (a) To study the nature and extent of the problem raised by the existence in the world of systems of forced or 'corrective' labour which are employed as a means of political coercion or punishment for holding or expressing political views and which are on such a scale as to constitute an important element in the economy of a given country, by examining the texts of laws and regulations and their application in the light of the principles referred to above and if the committee thinks fit by taking additional evidence into consideration; "(b) To report the results of its studies and progress thereon to the Council and to the Governing Body of the International Labour Office." The report of the ad hoc committee, adopted on May 27, 1953, was submitted to the United Nations and the International Labor Organization. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted in 1953 a resolution in which it invited "the Economic and Social Council and the International Labour Organization, as a matter of urgency, to give early consideration to the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Forced Labour." The Economic and Social Council, at its 17th session in 1954, considered the report and adopted a resolution in which the International Labor Organization was invited to continue its consideration of the question. During the 1956 Conference (39th session) of the International Labor Organization the Committee on Forced Labor submitted its report as a basis for discussion regarding the preparation of a new international instrument concerning forced labor. The Committee's report recommended that a convention was the most appropriate form of instrument and set forth certain proposals to be used as a basis for draft articles for the abolition of forced labor. The conclusions of the Committee were examined by the Conference and a resolution was adopted on June 28, 1956, approving the Committee report, and in particular approving as general conclusions, with a view to the consultation of governments, proposals for a convention relating to forced labor. The subject was placed on the agenda of the next general session with a view to a final decision on a convention concerning forced labor. At the 40th session of the International Labor Conference (1957) the Committee on Forced Labor considered the draft of an international instrument concerning forced labor. The Committee submitted a draft convention to the General Conference with a report dated June 19, 1957, and the General Conference adopted the draft convention on June 21, 1957. The U.S. delegations actively participated in the discussions regarding the draft convention, which was adopted by a vote of 240 to 0 with 1 abstention. The U.S. Government and workers' delegates voted in favor; the U.S. employers' delegate abstained on the basis of the form of the instrument. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., February 15, 1963. Hon. DEAN RUSK, DEAR MR. SECRETARY: This letter will express to you the revised coordinated view of the interested departments and agencies of the executive branch with respect to the Convention (No. 105) Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labor, adopted at the 40th session of the International Labor Conference at Geneva, Switzerland, June 25, 1957. The previous coordinated view of these departments and agencies on this instrument was expressed in a letter to the then Secretary of State, the Honorable John Foster Dulles, from Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell, dated December 15, 1958, and forwarded by the Department of State to the House of Representatives and the Senate on February 9, 1959. (H. Doc. 78 86th Cong., 1st sess.). The Convention requires that each ratifying member undertake to suppress and not to make use of any form of forced or compulsory labor for the following purposes: As a means of political coercion or education or as a punishment for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social, or economic system; as a method of mobilizing and using labor for purposes of economic development; as a means of labor discipline; as a punishment for having participated in strikes; and as a means of racial, social, national, or religious discrimination. It further requires that each ratifying member undertake to take effective measures to secure the immediate and complete abolition of the specified forced or compulsory labor. The Convention was adopted by a vote of 240 to none, with 1 abstention. The U.S. Government and workers' delegate voted in favor; the U.S. employers' delegate abstained on the basis of the form of the instrument. In the letter of December 15, 1958, the position was taken that article 19, paragraph 7(b) of the ILO Constitution was applicable to convention No. 105 and that its ratification was not deemed appropriate. Concern was expressed that the ban on forced labor as a punishment for having participated in strikes raises problems of a technical legal character with regard to areas of State regulation. In view of the continuing importance of this subject in international relations and the leading role which the United States has and must continue to play in the United Nations and in the International Labor Organization on the subject of forced labor, a review has been made of the extent of the inhibitions upon ratification involved in such technical legal problems. The revised coordinated view that the convention is appropriate for ratification has been reached after such study by the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of Labor, each of which expressed its views to the extent which it considered appropriate. Representatives of the Department of State were consulted in connection with the formulation of this view. As stated in the letter of December 15, 1958, "for some 90 years forced labor has been prohibited in the United States by amendment to the U.S. Constitution." In Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951). upholding convictions for conspiracy to organize a group which teaches and advocates violent overthrow of the Government and conspiring to teach and advocate the duty and necessity of overthrow of the Government by force and violence, the important and careful distinction is made between this kind of activity and "the free discussion of political theories" and "the traditional rights of Americans to discuss and evaluate ideas without fear of governmental sanction" (341 U.S. 502503). Just as there is neither Federal nor State power validly to impose forced labor as a punishment for holding and discussing political views in a lawful manner, by reason of the Federal Constitution, there is neither Federal nor State power validly to impose forced labor as a punishment for a legal strike. Even with regard to illegal strike activities, any such punishment would only come about "as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." The United States, as a member of the ILO, has assumed the obligations set forth in article 19 of the ILO Constitution. It is our view, after further study of the matter, that the subject matter of ILO convention No. 105 is wholly within the Federal competence under the 13th amendment and that paragraph 7(a) of article 19 is applicable to it. Under these provisions the Federal Government is obligated to bring the convention before the authority or authorities within whose competence the matter lies for the enactment of legislation or other action and to report the action taken. Accordingly, it is recommended that the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives be advised of this revised coordinated view of the executive branch with respect to ILO convention No. 105. It is further recommended that this instrument be transmitted to the Senate with a view to receiving advice and consent as to its ratification. Inasmuch as U.S. law and practice is in conformity with its provision, no enactment of legislation is required in its ratification. Yours sincerely, W. WILLARD WIRTZ, CONVENTION 105 CONVENTION CONCERNING THE ABOLITION OF FORCED LABOUR The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation, Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its Fortieth Session on 5 June 1957, and Having considered the question of forced labour, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and Having noted the provisions of the Forced Labor Convention, 1930, and Having noted that the Slavery Convention, 1926, provides that all necessary measures shall be taken to prevent compulsory or forced labour from developing into conditions analogous to slavery and that the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, 1956, provides for the complete abolition of debt bondage and serfdom, and Having noted that the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949, provides that wages shall be paid regularly and prohibits methods of payment which deprive the worker of a genuine possibility of terminating his employment, and Having decided upon the adoption of further proposals with regard to the abolition of certain forms of forced or compulsory labour constituting a vio lation of the rights of man referred to in the Charter of the United Nations and enunciated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention, adopts this twenty-fifth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven the following Convention, which may be cited as the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957: ARTICLE 1 Each Member of the International Labour Organisation which ratifies this Convention undertakes to suppress and not to make use of any form of forced or compulsory labour (a) as a means of political coercion or education or as a punishment for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system; (b) as a method of mobilising and using labour for purposes of economic development; (c) as a means of labour discipline; (d) as a punishment for having participated in strikes; (e) as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination. ARTICLE 2 Each Member of the International Labour Organisation which ratifies this Convention undertakes to take effective measures to secure the immediate and complete abolition of forced or compulsory labour as specified in Article 1 of this Convention. ARTICLE 3 The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. ARTICLE 4 1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International Labour Organisation whose ratifications have been registered with the Director-General. 2. It shall come into force twelve months after the date on which the ratifications of two Members have been registered with the Director-General. 3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member twelve months after the date on which its ratification has been registered. ARTICLE 5 1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered. 2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article. ARTICLE 6 1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all Members of the International Labour Organisation of the registration of all ratifications and denunciations communicated to him by the Members of the Organisation. 2. When notifying the Members of the Organisation of the registration of the second ratification communicated to him, the Director-General shall draw the attention of the Members of the Organisation to the date upon which the Convention will come into force. ARTICLE 7 The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for registration in accordance with article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations full particulars of all ratifications and acts of denunciation registered by him in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Articles. ARTICLE 8 At such times as it may consider necessary the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part. ARTICLE 9 1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides (a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 5 above, if, and when the new revising Convention shall have come into force; (b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members. 2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the revising Convention. |