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Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Benin (RATIFICATION: 1961)

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Imposition of prison sentences involving the obligation to work as punishment for expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. 1. Legislation concerning the dissemination of false information. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the application of section 266 of the Act No. 2015-07 concerning the Code of Information and Communication in the Republic of Benin of 22 January 2015, which provides for a penalty of six months to three years’ imprisonment and/or a fine for the publication, distribution and reproduction by any means of false news, fabricated, falsified or deceptive materials attributed to a third person, which is done in bad faith and disturbs the public peace. The Committee further noted that persons convicted to imprisonment may be under the obligation to perform social rehabilitation work, pursuant to section 67 of Decree No. 73 293 of 15 September 1973 issuing prison regulations.

In its report, the Government indicates that, although by law convicted persons under section 266 of the Code of Information and Communication may be required to work, in practice, they work on a voluntary basis. In relation to judicial decisions, the Government refers to the case of an investigative journalist condemned to 12 months’ imprisonment for “harassment of a person through electronic communications” under section 550 of the Act No. 2017-20 of April 20, 2018 on the Digital Code of the Republic of Benin. In this respect, the Committee notes that section 550(3) of the Digital Code punishes with one to six months’ imprisonment (involving compulsory labour) and a fine the dissemination of false information about a person on social networks or through any other electronic medium. The Committee further notes that, in its Opinion No. 46/2020, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that this journalist had been arbitrarily detained as a result of the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression. The Working Group also considered that the provisions of section 550 of the Digital Code of 2018 seem to lack clarity and may be used to punish the peaceful exercise of human rights (A/HRC/WGAD/2020/46, paragraphs 53–54). The Committee recalls that Article 1(a) of the Convention prohibits the use of compulsory labour, including compulsory prison labour, as punishment for expressing certain political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. The Committee has observed in this connection that the protection afforded by the Convention does not extend to persons who use violence, incite to violence or engage in preparatory acts aimed at violence (paragraphs 302-303 of the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions).  The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that section 550 of the Digital Code, and, in particular, its subsection 3, is not used to prosecute or condemn persons who peacefully express political views or views opposed to the established political, social or economic system, for example, by removing the penalty of imprisonment involving compulsory labour. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of section 550 of the Digital Code and section 266 of the Code of Information and Communication in practice, including the facts pursuant to which any prosecution or court decision was handed down based on these provisions, and the penalties imposed.

2. Legislation on public gatherings. The Committee observes that section 237 of the new Criminal Code (Act No. 2018-16 of 28 December 2018), in conjunction with its section 240, provides for a penalty of two months to one year’s imprisonment (involving compulsory labour) for delivering public speeches or preparation and distribution of written materials during unarmed gatherings, which can disturb the public peace. In this regard, the Committee notes that the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its concluding observations of 2020, expressed concern about the recent legislative amendments, including the provisions on gatherings in the Criminal Code, which may deter human rights defenders from carrying out their work and restrict their freedom to act (E/C.12/BEN/CO/3, paragraph 9). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which the prosecution authorities and courts apply section 237 of the Criminal Code, in conjunction with its section 240, to enable the Committee to assess the scope of these provisions. The Committee requests, in particular, information on the facts pursuant to which any prosecution was initiated or court decision was handed down based on these provisions, as well as the nature of the penalties imposed.