Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Ethiopia (Ratification: 2003)

The Committee has noted with interest the information provided by the Government in its first report on the application of the Convention. Please provide additional information on the following points.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons for the purpose of exploitation. The Committee has noted from the report issued by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) entitled “Breaking the Cycle of Vulnerability: Responding to the Health Needs of Trafficked Women in East and Southern Africa” (IOM’s Regional Office for Southern Africa, Pretoria, September 2006), that Ethiopia is a source country for men, women and children trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation. The report says that adults and children are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude and, to a lesser extent, for commercial sexual exploitation and labour. Small numbers of men are trafficked to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States for low-skilled forced labour; Ethiopian women are trafficked to the Middle East, particularly Lebanon, for domestic servitude, although other destinations include Egypt, South Africa, Sudan and Djibouti; a small percentage of these women are trafficked for sexual exploitation. The Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on measures taken or envisaged, both in the legislation and in practice, in order to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons for the purpose of exploitation. Please provide information on any legal proceedings which have been instituted under sections 597 and 635–637 of the Criminal Code (Proclamation No. 414/2004) punishing the offences related to trafficking in persons, indicating the penalties imposed on perpetrators.

Article 2(2)(a). Compulsory military service. The Committee has noted that, under section 18(4)(b) of the Constitution of Ethiopia, the term “forced or compulsory labour” does not include compulsory military service or, in the case of conscientious objectors, service exacted in lieu of compulsory military service. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of legislation governing compulsory military service and service exacted from conscientious objectors, so as to enable the Committee to assess its conformity with the Convention. Please state what guarantees are provided to ensure that services exacted under compulsory military service laws are used for purely military ends.

Article 2(2)(c). Prison labour. 1. The Committee has noted that, under section 18(4)(a) of the Constitution of Ethiopia, the term “forced or compulsory labour” does not include any work or service required of a person in the ordinary course of detention in consequence of a lawful order. The Committee recalls that under Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention, work can only be exacted from a person “as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law”. As the Committee pointed out in paragraphs 51–52 of its General Survey of 2007 on the eradication of forced labour, it follows from the above wording 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). However, the Convention does not prevent work from being made available to such persons at their own request, to be performed on a purely voluntary basis. The Committee therefore requests the Government to clarify the meaning of section 18(4)(a) referred to above and to describe conditions under which labour is exacted from persons “in the ordinary course of detention”, supplying copies of provisions governing the work of detainees.

2. The Committee has noted that section 111(1) of the Criminal Code provides for the obligation of prisoners to do such work as will be assigned by the Director of Prisons. The Committee requests the Government to indicate, in its next report, whether prisoners may perform labour for private individuals, companies or associations and, if so, under what conditions. Please supply a copy of regulations relating to prisons referred to in section 109 of the Criminal Code, particularly those governing prison labour.

Article 2(2)(d). Cases of emergency. The Committee has noted that section 18(4)(c) of the Constitution of Ethiopia provides for an exception from the prohibition of forced or compulsory labour in cases of emergency or calamity threatening the life or well-being of the community. Please indicate whether any special legislation concerning cases of emergency has been adopted or is to be adopted under this provision. Please also state what guarantees are provided to ensure that the power to call up labour in cases of emergency is limited to what is strictly required by the exigencies of the situation and that work exacted in cases of emergency shall cease as soon as the circumstances that endanger the population or its normal living conditions no longer exist.

Article 2(2)(e). Minor communal services. The Committee has noted that, under section 18(4)(d) of the Constitution of Ethiopia, the term “forced or compulsory labour” does not include any obligation to perform economic and social work incurred through voluntary community service. Please clarify the meaning of this provision, indicating, in particular, whether such work is voluntary or compulsory and describing the activities relating to community service. Please also communicate copies of relevant texts.   

Article 25. Penalties for the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour. Please indicate whether the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour is punishable as a penal offence. Please also furnish information on any legal proceedings which have been instituted as a consequence of the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour and on any penalties imposed.