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

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Mauritius (Ratification: 1969)

1. The Committee notes the Government’s report. The Committee has also taken note of a communication dated 24 October 2001 of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).

Article 1, paragraph 1, and Article 2, of the Convention

Commercial sexual exploitation of children

2. The Committee notes that in October 2000 the Government released a 1998 study on the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The study was conducted with assistance from UNICEF and the World Health Organization and was aimed at understanding the commercially related sexual exploitation of children in Mauritius and Rodrigues Island. The report includes, among others, a finding that there exists "a well structured network of prostitution which attracts young adolescents leading a stray life after leaving the family home. Such networks take complete charge of such stray young adolescents" (paragraph 101).

3. The report states that many of the girls interviewed were 12-13 years old (paragraph 523), and that "in practically all interviews, it was found that the age of entry into prostitution was 13, which appears to be a critical age" (paragraph 808). Most of the prostitutes interviewed pointed to the violence they are subjected to either by the client or the pimp so as to keep them in a situation of dependence. The report also indicates that confinement in isolation, sometimes referred to as sequestration, is also one of the means to maintain prostitutes in the network (paragraphs 505 and 515). There is thus a continuous experience of violence and sexual abuse in the life of a prostitute. One ex-prostitute explained that she tried to escape on several occasions, just to be captured again and again by the right-hand men of the pimp. She was brought back and submitted to further violence (paragraph 505). The report says that the use of force is also common to maintaining girls in prostitution (paragraph 821). The report indicates that in Mauritius "we can also view the prostitution network as a system, a closed institution. It is difficult to get out of it, unless one has strong will to do so and the means as well" (paragraph 822).

4. The Committee notes the communication dated 24 October 2001 of the ICFTU, submitting comments on the observance of the Convention in Mauritius, a copy of which was transmitted to the Government on 5 November 2001 for any comments it may wish to make on the matters raised therein. The Committee notes that, according to the ICFTU report, the coercion of children into prostitution is an increasing problem in Mauritius, and that government reports suggest that the victims are children as young as 13 years. The Committee hopes that the Government will provide comments on the allegations in the ICFTU report.

5. The Committee takes note of the report of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery submitted in June 2000 at the 25th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which includes information received from the Government in April 2000. The report of the Working Group states that the Government has developed a National Action Plan to Combat the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, based in part on the findings of the 1998 study on that question. The report indicates that legal reforms have been brought about as one element of the National Action Plan, and that these include the Protection of the Child (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1998, the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1998, and the Criminal Code (Supplementary Amendment) Act 1998. The report further indicates that existing legal provisions are not comprehensive enough to enable effective intervention in cases of child prostitution. The report states that among the problems and obstacles to progress are the lack of prompt intervention by the police, who are empowered by existing law to act in cases of alleged child prostitution; legal provisions which are inadequate and need to be strengthened; inadequate skills and expertise to conduct training programmes; the difficulty in reaching out to victims as they generally do not come forward to report cases; and a lack of sensitivity by the police towards child victims who have to testify.

6. The Committee notes that in 1990 the Government enacted legislation establishing the National Children’s Council, a coordinating body grouping relevant ministries and NGOs and whose objectives included advising the minister responsible for child welfare on measures to combat all forms of child abuse, neglect and exploitation of children. The Committee notes that through amendments enacted in the Protection of the Child (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 15 of 1998), the Government replaced this objective of the National Children’s Council with the objective of advising the minister on measures to promote child survival, development and protection (section 15(b)). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the purpose of this amendment, and on the steps taken to ensure that consideration of measures to abolish child exploitation, including the commercial sexual exploitation of children, continues to be a legislative and policy priority.

7. The Committee recalls that, under Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention, ratifying States are required to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms. The Committee hopes that the Government will take measures necessary to protect children against trafficking and forced labour involving sexual exploitation. The Committee asks the Government to supply information on the implementation of the National Action Plan to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Committee also asks the Government to report on how the objectives, role and functions of the National Children’s Council have been defined so as to include measures to combat all forms of forced sexual exploitation for commercial purposes.

Article 25

8. The Committee notes that section 14 of the Child Protection Act 1994 (Act No. 30 of 1994) makes punishable as a sexual offence acts which cause a child to engage in prostitution or to be sexually abused, and that it defines sexual abuse to include the willing or unwilling participation of a child in any act of a sexual nature for purposes of any kind of exploitation. Section 18(5) prescribes a penalty of up to 5,000 rupees and a term of imprisonment of up to five years for persons convicted of these offences. The Committee notes that under section 11 of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1998 (No. 13 of 1998) which amends section 258 of the Criminal Code Act, those who sequester minors are liable to a minimum term of imprisonment of two years. The Committee notes that section 12 of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act adds a new provision to the Criminal Code which penalizes as child trafficking the acts of persons who, for pecuniary gain, threaten the parents of a child to abandon their child. The Act makes persons convicted of child trafficking liable to a term of imprisonment of up to two years and to a fine of up to 50,000 rupees.

9. The Committee recalls that, under Article 25 of the Convention, the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and that ratifying States have an obligation to ensure that penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any cases prosecuted, convictions obtained, and penalties imposed under sections 258(3)(a) and 262A of the Criminal Code Act as amended by the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1998 and sections 14 and 18 of the Child Protection Act 1994, and under any other applicable laws, and to include the texts of relevant court rulings. The Committee also requests that the Government supply information on measures taken to improve police training and intervention in cases of child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children, and to establish or improve victim outreach programmes. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any other measures taken or envisaged to enact new or strengthened legal provisions making the exaction of forced or compulsory labour punishable as a penal offence, and to ensure that such laws are made effective by means of penalties which are adequate and strictly enforced. The Committee asks that in its next report the Government supply the full text of the Criminal Code Act.

Prison labour exacted as a consequence of a conviction

10. The Committee notes that under section 27(2) of the Prisons Ordinance (Title XXIII, Chapter 313) of 1888, as amended in 1945, labour shall be optional to prisoners detained pending enquiry or committed for trial. The Committees observes, however, that section 35 of the Reform Institutions Act 1988 provides that every sentence of detention shall subject the detainee to the performance of such work as may be directed by the officer in charge during the term of the sentence. The Committee observes that under section 16 of the Prison Regulations 1989, detainees may be required to work, provided such work is of a kind authorized by the commissioner.

11. With reference to paragraph 90 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, the Committee recalls that work can only be exacted from a prisoner as a consequence of a conviction. It follows that persons who are in detention but have not been convicted - such as prisoners awaiting trial or persons detained without trial - should not be obliged to perform labour (as distinct from certain limited obligations intended merely to ensure cleanliness).

12. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to ensure, with regard to the Reform Institutions Act 1988 and the Prisons Regulations 1989, that work is only exacted from prisoners as a consequence of a conviction, in conformity with Article 2, paragraph 2(c), of the Convention and section 27(2) of the Prisons Ordinance.