Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Tunisia (Ratification: 1962)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. 1. Trafficking in persons. In its previous comments, the Committee observed that, in view of its geographical position close to Italy, and the political events in the region, Tunisia has become a transit country for migrant workers, often in an irregular situation, from sub-Saharan Africa, as well as from other countries of the Maghreb. These migrant workers are vulnerable, which exposes them to situations of labour exploitation, and are therefore at greater risk of being victims of trafficking. The Committee therefore requested the Government to take the necessary measures to adopt legislation on trafficking in persons and to raise awareness of this phenomenon among the public, and particularly among the population at risk.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government has not provided any information in its latest report on the measures adopted or envisaged to prevent and combat trafficking in persons. It nevertheless observes that Tunisia is engaged in a number of activities in this respect in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration. In June 2013, a Baseline study on trafficking in persons in Tunisia was published which examines in detail the characteristics and modalities of trafficking in persons in the country and the action taken by the Government in response, and sets out a number of recommendations to improve measures to combat trafficking and protect victims. The study shows that Tunisia is affected by trafficking in persons as a source, destination and a potential transit country. Although on the national territory the victims are mainly children, Tunisian women are exploited sexually abroad, mainly in the Gulf countries, Lebanon and West Africa, and Tunisian men have been identified as victims of trafficking for forced labour in Europe.

The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the measures taken to supplement its penal legislation so as to determine the elements which constitute the crime of trafficking in persons and to provide for adequate penal sanctions. Please also indicate the measures taken with a view to establishing a framework for national action so that coordinated measures can be taken to combat trafficking in persons, covering the following aspects:

• – awareness-raising activities concerning the phenomenon of trafficking;
• – training activities for the actors concerned and capacity building for law enforcement authorities (labour inspection, the police, the Ministry of the Interior and judges);
• – measures to facilitate the identification of victims and their protection so as to enable victims to have access to justice and to assert their rights.

Article 2(2)(a). Purely military character of work performed in the context of compulsory military service. In its previous comments, the Committee emphasized that compulsory national service, the aim of which is to prepare citizens to defend their country and to participate in the overall development of the country (Act No. 2004-1 and Decree No. 2004-516 of 2004), is based on a concept of military service that is too broad to be covered by the exception to forced labour allowed by Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Accordingly, in the context of compulsory national service, conscripts may be called upon to perform active military service (which responds to the needs of the national armed forces), or may be assigned, at their request, to non-military work in units of the internal security forces, administrations or enterprises. The Committee has acknowledged that, to a certain extent, the legislation grants conscripts the possibility of opting for work of a non military nature in the context of national service. However, the choice is made within the context and on the basis of compulsory national service, as envisaged by law. The existence of such a choice is not sufficient to obscure the fact that the persons concerned are mobilized for one year in the framework of a statutory national service obligation, without necessarily performing work related to the need to ensure national defence, which is at the basis of the exception envisaged by Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention.

The Committee notes that, according to the data provided by the Government, in 2011 a total of 10,250 conscripts were assigned to units of the armed forces, compared with 2,220 who benefited from individual assignment outside the armed forces (or more than 20 per cent). In light of the foregoing, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the work imposed in the context of compulsory national service corresponds to the types of work authorized within the meaning of the exceptions set out in Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention. In this connection, please continue to provide information on the number of persons who annually perform their national service in units of the armed forces, compared with the number of those serving outside such units, with an indication for the same reference year of the number of persons who applied to the Ministry of National Defence to perform national service outside the units of the armed forces.

Article 2(2)(c). Community work. The Committee notes that section 15ter of the Penal Code provides for a sentence of community work as an alternative to imprisonment. This sentence must always be handed down in the presence of the convicted person, who has the right to refuse the community work. The entities within which the work may be performed are public establishments or local communities, charitable or aid associations, or associations of benefit to the nation and environmental protection associations. The Committee has recalled in this respect that, where community work may be performed for private bodies, including charitable associations or institutions, it seeks assurances that the practical arrangements for such work are sufficiently closely supervised to ensure that the work performed is of real benefit to the community and that the body for which the work is carried out is a non-profit-making organization. Under these circumstances, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the associations that are allowed to take on persons sentenced to community work and on the types of work carried out for these associations.