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

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Burundi (Ratification: 1963)

Articles 1(1) and 2(2)(b) and (e) of the Convention. Civic obligations of public interest. Minor communal services. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, under section 2 of the Labour Code, civic legal obligations of public interest are not considered to be forced or compulsory labour. In response to a request from the Committee for information on the nature of civic legal obligations, the Government stated that such obligations consist of community development work, such as the rehabilitation of economic and social infrastructure. The Committee requested the Government to provide copies of the relevant legislative or regulatory texts so that it could assess whether work carried out within the framework of these obligations corresponds to the exceptions provided for under the Conventions on forced labour. In this respect, the Committee notes the provisions of Act No. 1/016 of 20 April 2005 organizing municipal administration. Under section 7, paragraph 2, of this Act, with a view to promoting the economic and social development of municipalities on not only an individual but a collective and unified basis, municipalities may cooperate through a system of intermunicipality. A regulatory text determines the organization, mechanisms and rules of procedure of intermunicipality. Under section 13 of the Act, the municipal council regulates, through deliberation, the affairs of the municipality, and, in particular, establishes the community development programme and monitors the implementation and carries out the evaluation thereof. Each year, in consultation with the governor of the province or the mayor, it establishes the conditions for carrying out development activities in fields where it is necessary to coordinate the action of the State and the municipality. The Committee also notes that, under sections 25, 31, 37 to 40, 47, 48 and 53 of the Act, other entities intervene at various levels in the socio‑economic development activities: the municipal administrator, the chef de colline or chef de quartier (local government officials), the conseil de colline or conseil de quartier (local government councils), the municipal committee for community development, the chef de zone (local government official) and the technical adviser responsible for the development of the municipality. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report indicating that the implementing texts of the abovementioned Act are not yet available. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to provide these texts with its next report. It also asks the Government to provide information on the application of these provisions in practice, including details of the type and duration of the work carried out and the number of persons concerned, and to indicate whether persons who evade community labour are liable to penalties.

In its 2007 general survey on eradication of forced labour, the Committee referred to the criteria which serve to determine the minor communal services excluded from the scope of the Convention and which serve to distinguish them from other forms of compulsory services which, under the terms of the Convention, must be abolished. These criteria are as follows: (1) the services must be “minor services”, i.e. relate primarily to maintenance work; (2) the services must be “communal services” performed “in the direct interest of the community”, and not relate to the execution of works intended to benefit a wider group; and (3) the members of the community or their direct representatives must “have the right to be consulted in regard to the need for such services” (see paragraph 65 of the General Survey).

The Committee hopes that the Government will take this information into account when adopting the implementing texts of Act No. 1/016.

The Committee also comments on the compulsory civic service established under Legislative Decree No. 1/1005 of 1 December 1996 within the framework of the application of Convention No. 105.

Possibility for the recipients of a fellowship and for military servicemen to leave their service or employment within a reasonable period. For many years, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the need to amend the following provisions of national legislation:

–           section 28 of Decree No. 100/003 of 3 January 1990: the obligation for the recipients of a fellowship to undertake to serve the Government for a period of ten years;

–           section 43 of Presidential Decree No. 1/106 of 25 October 1967 and section 44 of Presidential Decree No. 1/111 of 10 November 1967: the power of the Minister of Defence to reject the resignation of officers or non‑commissioned officers in the armed forces when it is deemed incompatible with the interests of the service.

Since the Government did not provide any information in this respect in its last report, the Committee once again expresses the hope that, in its next report, the Government will be in a position to provide information on the measures taken or contemplated, on the one hand, to set out in law the right of persons in the service of the State to leave their employment at their own initiative within a reasonable period, or with prior notice, and, on the other hand, to allow persons who have received a fellowship or training at the expense of the State to leave their employment within a reasonable period which is proportional to the duration of the training received, or following the reimbursement of the costs incurred by the State.

Conditions governing the resignation of military servicemen. The Committee notes the provisions of Acts Nos 1/15, 1/16 and 1/17 of 29 April 2006 on the conditions of service of officers, non-commissioned officers and privates of the national defence force. It notes that, under section 68(e) of Act No. 1/15, an officer’s career ends through the offering and acceptance of resignation, when the officer has provided written notification of his intention to leave the national defence force. Under section 68, paragraph 3, of Act No. 1/15, the end of the officer’s career is decided by the President of the Republic at the proposal of the minister responsible for national defence. Under section 63(g) of Act No. 1/16, a non-commissioned officer’s career ends through the offering and acceptance of resignation, when he has provided written notification of his intention to leave the national defence force. Under sections 64 and 65 of Act No. 1/16, the end of the non-commissioned officer’s career or contract is decided by the minister responsible for national defence, at the proposal of the General Chief of Staff and/or following the recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry. Under section 40(h) of Act No. 1/17, the termination of an existing contract, requested by the person concerned and accepted by the General Chief of Staff, involves the definitive suspension of the services of the private. The Committee also notes that, under section 7 of Act No. 1/17, privates are hired on contracts of a duration of 12 years. Re-hiring for periods of six years at a time may be permitted in the form and under the conditions set by the General Chief of Staff. The Committee asks the Government to indicate how the resignation of officers, non-commissioned officers and privates is accepted in practice and whether there are any cases in which the resignation may be refused. It also asks the Government to indicate whether there are any texts governing the resignation of military servicemen in a more specific manner and, if so, to provide copies.

Article 25. Application of effective penal sanctions. The Committee recalls that, under Article 25 of the Convention, the illegal exaction of forced labour shall be punishable as a penal offence. Any Member ratifying the Convention is bound to ensure that the sanctions imposed by law are really adequate and strictly enforced. In this regard, the Committee noted in its previous comments that violations of section 2 of the Labour Code, which prohibits forced or compulsory labour, are only punishable by a fine of between 2,500 and 5,000 francs. The Committee asked the Government to provide a copy of the new Penal Code and the new Code of Penal Procedure. It also requested that the Government provide a copy of the legislation prescribing the penalties for the trafficking of women and the exploitation of prostitution, which, according to a document of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, was to be adopted in January 2001 (CEDAW/C/2001/I/Add.1), and, where appropriate, information on legal proceedings initiated against those responsible for such exploitation and the penalties imposed. The Committee notes that the Government has attached to its latest report copies of the 1981 Penal Code and the 1999 Code of Penal Procedure, and that it states that the legislation prescribing the penalties for the trafficking of women is being prepared. It is the Committee’s understanding that a reform of the Penal Code is currently under consideration. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide copies of the texts being prepared once they have been adopted.