Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1944)

Articles 1 (paragraph 1), 2 (paragraph 1), and 25, of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to combat trafficking in persons.

Legislative measures. Enforcement of effective penalties. The Committee noted previously that the Ministry of the Interior and Justice was preparing a Bill on trafficking in persons and it requested the Government to provide information on the progress made in relation to the Bill.

The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the legal framework that is in force is composed of the constitutional provisions of article 54, under the terms of which “no one may be subjected to slavery or servitude. Trafficking in persons, and particularly in women, boys, girls and young persons in all its forms shall be subject to the penalties prescribed by law”. The Penal Code, although it does not refer explicitly to the crime of trafficking in persons, provides in section 4(10) and section 174 that any persons within or outside the country who take part in trafficking in slaves, reduction to slavery or a condition akin to slavery shall be punished with terms of imprisonment of from six to 12 years. The Committee also notes that under sections 15 and 16(11) of the Law against Organized Crime of 2005, trafficking in persons and migrant workers is considered to constitute the offence of organized crime. The prescribed penalty is from four to six years of imprisonment.

The Committee hopes that the Government will provide information on the number of denunciations and cases of trafficking in persons that have been investigated, the number of such cases that result in judicial proceedings under the provisions of the Penal Code and of the Law against Organized Crime, and provide copies of the respective court rulings with an indication of the penalties imposed. In this respect, the Committee reminds the Government of the requirement to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced.

Protection of victims. The protection of the victims of trafficking, and more generally the protection of witnesses, contributes to guaranteeing compliance with the law and the effective punishment of those responsible, as required by Article 25 of the Convention. The Committee notes that, in accordance with the Basic Act on the Office of the Attorney-General, units have been established to assist victims, which discharge the functions of assisting and guiding victims.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the operation of such units in relation to the provision of assistance to the victims of trafficking in persons. Considering the specific situation of victims of this crime, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged in relation to the possibility that victims who are illegally resident in the national territory may stay in the country and whether specific conditions and guarantees have been envisaged for this purpose.

Trafficking in persons for the exploitation of their labour. The Committee notes sections 53, 56 and 57 of the Act respecting foreign nationality and migration, which establish sentences of between four and eight years for any persons who employ men and women of foreign nationality whose status is illegal with a view to exploiting their labour under conditions which prejudice, suppress or restrict the labour rights that would have applied, and sentences of between eight and ten years in cases of the illegal trafficking in persons involving the use of violence, intimidation or deceit, or the abuse of a situation of need, the gender of the victim or vulnerable groups.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of the provisions referred to above, with an indication of the number of cases in which they have been applied, the investigations that have been conducted, the cases tried and the penalties imposed on those responsible.