Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Benin (Ratification: 1960)

1. Article 2, paragraph 2(a), of the Convention. In its previous direct request the Committee noted the Government’s statement that Act No. 83-007 (concerning civic and military service) was to be amended to specify that during civic and military service, conscripts would only be required to do work of a purely military nature. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s last report, military service is governed by Act No. 63-005 and not Act No. 83-007 and that the latter is no longer applied. The Government also referred to a letter from the Minister of Defence on this matter, but omitted to enclose it with its report, contrary to what was indicated by the Government. The Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of Act No. 63-005 and the letter of the Minister of Defence in order that the Committee may satisfy itself that the Convention is being applied.

2. Article 2, paragraph 2(d). For many years the Committee has been referring to the provisions which allow workers on strike to be requisitioned under penalty of fine or imprisonment (Act No. 69-14/PR/MFPRAT of 19 June 1969). In its last report the Government indicated that the National Assembly had placed the Bill on the exercise of the right to strike on the agenda of its May-June 2000 session. The Bill would limit the requisitioning of public servants and other employees of public, semi-public or private enterprises and establishments who strike without a minimum service being organized, and thus cause serious prejudice to the safety and health of the population. The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report on the application of the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), to the effect that the Bill has already been adopted by Parliament and will be promulgated very shortly by the President of the Republic. The Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of the new Act once it has been promulgated.

3. The Committee notes the information contained in the report "Combating trafficking in children for labour exploitation in West and Central Africa, 2001" of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), to the effect that in Benin many very young children fall victim to trafficking and are sent to other countries such as Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon and Cameroon where they are employed in plantations, in the informal sector, as itinerant traders or domestic workers. According to the same report, the intermediaries recruit them by promising them a job and to look after them, and give their families small sums of money. However, working conditions prove to be very different: excessively long working hours, non-existent or very low wages and risks to their health and safety from using dangerous chemicals or handling dangerous tools. The Committee notes that, according to the same report, an anti-trafficking action plan involving the nine countries of the subregion, one of which is Benin, is currently being developed and that the Government has undertaken measures to combat the trafficking; however, certain shortcomings, particularly regarding means of redress, make it impossible for children to denounce the forced labour and impairment of their rights, since one must be 18 years of age in order to file a complaint. The Committee recalls that, in accordance with Article 25 of the Convention, penal sanctions must be imposed on persons found guilty of exacting forced labour, and asks the Government to provide all information available on the measures taken to ensure that means of redress are available to the victims of the trafficking, and on the penalties imposed on the culprits. The Committee notes that a Bill on the displacement of children is currently being studied by the Ministries of Justice and of Health and Social Protection. The Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of the Bill as soon as it becomes law and to provide information on any measures taken to eliminate trafficking in children, thereby ensuring observance of the Convention.

4. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government on the other points raised in its previous direct request.