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

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Sudan (Ratification: 1957)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Sudan (Ratification: 2021)

The Committee has noted the Government’s report dated 27 April 2008, received in May 2008, and the report of activities of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) annexed to it, as well as the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2008. It has also noted the observations dated 29 August 2008 received from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) concerning the application of the Convention by the Sudan, as well as the Government’s reply to these observations dated 2 November 2008, which was sent to the Office by means of communications dated 12 and 20 November 2008 and copied once again in a communication dated 9 January 2009.

Articles 1, paragraph 1, and 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Abolition of forced labour practices. For many years, the Committee has been referring, in relation to the application of the Convention, to the continuing existence of the practices of abduction and forced labour exploitation, which affected thousands of women and children in the regions of the country where an armed conflict was under way. The Committee recalls that this case has been discussed repeatedly over the years in its own observations and on numerous occasions by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards. The Committee has repeatedly pointed out that the situations concerned constitute gross violations of the Convention, since the victims are forced to perform work for which they have not offered themselves voluntarily, under extremely harsh conditions, and in combination with ill treatment which may include torture and death. The Committee has considered that the scope and gravity of the problem are such that it is necessary to take urgent action that is commensurate in scope and systematic. The Government has been therefore requested to provide detailed information on the measures taken to combat the practice of forced labour through abduction of women and children and to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators.

Conference Committee on the Application of Standards. The Committee has noted that, in its conclusions adopted in June 2008, the Conference Committee once again observed the convergence of allegations and the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in certain regions of the country. The Conference Committee noted the measures taken by the Government, such as the progress achieved by the CEAWC in the liberation of abductees, as well as the Government’s efforts to improve the human rights situation in the country. However, it expressed the view that there was no verifiable evidence that forced labour was completely eradicated in practice and expressed concern at the reports relating to involuntary return of certain abductees, some of them being separated from their families, including cases of displaced and unaccompanied children. The Conference Committee also noted with concern that there was a lack of accountability of perpetrators. It urged the Government to pursue its efforts with vigour and to take effective and urgent action, including through the CEAWC, to completely eradicate the forced labour practices and to put an end to impunity by punishing perpetrators, particularly those unwilling to cooperate. The Conference Committee again invited the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO and other donors to achieve this goal, bearing in mind that only an independent verification of the situation in the country could make it possible to determine that forced labour practices had been completely eradicated.

United Nations bodies. The Committee notes that, in the UN Security Council resolution 1881 (2009), the Security Council expressed concern at the continued seriousness of the security situation and deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Darfur and reiterated its condemnation of all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur. The resolution emphasized the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of such crimes and urged the Government of Sudan to comply with its obligations in this respect. The Committee also notes a report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan (A/HRC/11/14, June 2009), in which it is observed that, despite some positive steps in the area of law reform, improvement of the human rights situation on the ground continues to remain a significant challenge. Thus, in Darfur, human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law continued to be committed by all parties; in southern Sudan, several hundred civilians were killed in tribal conflicts and attacks by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and a number of women and children were abducted. According to the report, impunity remains an ongoing and serious concern in all areas of Sudan, allegations of violations of human rights are not duly investigated, many perpetrators of serious crimes have not been brought to justice and reparations have not been provided to victims. The Special Rapporteur reiterated all previously unimplemented human rights recommendations contained in her reports, and in particular, a recommendation to ensure that all allegations of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are duly investigated and that the perpetrators are promptly brought to justice (paragraph 92(d)).

Comments from workers’ organizations. In the observations dated 29 August 2008 referred to above, the ITUC pointed out that, despite the Government’s statement at the Conference Committee in 2008 that there had been no further cases of abductions and forced labour in the country, information from various sources provided evidence that abductions had continued in Darfur in the context of the current conflict there, and the human rights violations taking place in Darfur showed a marked similarity to those that took place in southern Sudan during the 1983–2005 civil war, including many documented cases of abductions for sexual exploitation and forced labour. The ITUC referred, in particular, to the November 2007 report on the situation of human rights in Darfur by the UN group of experts, to the March 2008 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan and to the findings of the research conducted in 2006-–07 by Anti-Slavery International. While welcoming the fact that the Government had finally recognized the scale of the problem and had successfully resolved 11,300 cases of abductions, the ITUC expressed concern about the release and reintegration process. It referred, in particular, to the findings by UNICEF, according to which some of those being rescued were not genuine former abductees, some returnees were not going voluntarily and some families were being split with children being moved on unaccompanied. The ITUC also noted that, although the Government described 11,300 of the 14,000 cases of abductions as “resolved”, reunification with the family had only happened in 3,394 cases, which meant that less than one third of those involved had been reunited with their families. The ITUC continued to believe that the impunity that those responsible for abductions have
enjoyed – illustrated by the absence of any prosecutions for abductions in the last 16 years – was responsible for the continuation of this practice throughout the civil war of 1983–2005 and for the current continued abductions in Darfur. The ITUC therefore strongly supported a recommendation made by the Conference Committee in 2008 that “only an independent verification of the situation in the country could make it possible to determine that forced labour practices had been completely eradicated”. It stated that the Government should accept ILO technical assistance for a mission which should be given a mandate to review the extent to which former abductees have been successfully reintegrated into their communities.

Government’s response. In its 2008 report, the Government repeated the information already supplied to the ILO in May 2007 and provided the updated information on the activities of the CEAWC up to the end of April 2008. The Government confirmed once again its strong and continued commitment to completely eradicate the phenomenon of abductions and to provide continued support to CEAWC. The Government indicated in its report, as well as in its reply to the observations by the ITUC referred to above, that out of 14,000 documented cases of abductions, CEAWC had been able to reunify abducted persons with their families in 6,000 cases. However, the Committee has noted from the report of activities of the CEAWC, dated 27 April 2008, annexed to the Government’s report, that only in 3,708 cases abducted persons had been reunified with their families, including 310 new cases of reunification due to the recent funding by the Government of the Southern Sudan. The Government has confirmed once again its previous statement that abductions have stopped completely, which, according to the Government, has been confirmed also by the Dinka Chiefs Committee (DCC). For that reason, the Government has urged to dismiss this case and to stop its discussion in the ILO, since it has already been satisfactorily dealt with according to the reports of the UN specialized agencies. Concerning the situation in Darfur, the Government expressed the view that, since it was under examination by the UN Security Council and the African Union, the issues concerned should not be discussed in the ILO, in order to avoid duplication of work. Regarding the workers’ concerns expressed by the ITUC in its observations referred to above about the release and reintegration process, and whether the return of abductees is voluntary, the Government stated that such concerns had no factual base. It referred to the above report of the CEAWC, which contained a reference to a letter by the UNICEF Representative in Sudan, according to which no cases of forced return had been identified and several cases of unaccompanied children had been dealt with effectively at field level in the North. The Government also indicated in its report that it committed itself to provide all funds required to complete the remaining work, despite the fact that many international agencies had claimed that the remaining abductees were no longer abductees in the strict sense of the word and called upon CEAWC to avoid forced returns. As regards the prosecution of perpetrators, the Government repeated its previous indications that CEAWC, which was initially of the view that legal action was the best measure to eradicate the abduction, had been requested by all the tribes concerned, including the DCC, not to resort to legal action, unless the amicable efforts of the tribes are not successful. The Government considered that legal action takes very long time and is very expensive, it could not build peace among the tribes concerned and did not correspond to the spirit of national reconciliation. The Government also stated that it was not in a position to force people to pursue legal action. It also rejected the recommendation that there should be an independent verification of the work of CEAWC.

While noting these views and comments, as well as the Government’s renewed commitment to resolve the problem, the Committee urges the Government to redouble its efforts in order to completely eradicate the forced labour practices which constitute a gross violation of the Convention and, in particular, to resolve the cases of abductions in all the regions of the country and to provide the means for victims to be reunified with their families. While noting the new achievements by CEAWC in the liberation of abductees, the Committee hopes that the Government would continue to provide detailed information on the liberation and reunification process, supplying accurate and reliable statistics supported by CEAWC reports. Noting also with concern that the Government’s statement according to which abductions have stopped completely is in contradiction with other sources of information available, the Committee refers again to the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in certain regions of the country. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take urgent measures, in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant international bodies and agencies, to put an end to all human rights violations, which would help to create better conditions for the full observance of the forced labour Conventions. The Committee encourages the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO, in accordance with the proposal of the Conference Committee.

Article 25. Penalties for the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour. The Committee previously noted the Criminal Code provisions punishing the offence of abduction with penalties of imprisonment, and requested the Government to take measures to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators. The Committee has noted the Government’s repeated indication in its reports that CEAWC, which was initially of the view that legal action was the best measure to eradicate the abductions, has been requested by all the tribes concerned not to resort to legal action, unless the amicable efforts of the tribes are not successful. The Government reiterates its view that there is an argument for not pursuing prosecutions against those responsible for abductions and forced labour in the spirit of national reconciliation. The Committee recalls again in this connection that, under Article 25 of the Convention, “the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced”. The Committee therefore considers that the non-application of penal sanctions to perpetrators is contrary to this provision of the Convention and may have the effect of ensuring impunity for abductors who exploit forced labour.

The Committee expresses the firm hope that the necessary measures will at last be taken to ensure that legal proceedings are instituted against perpetrators, particularly against those unwilling to cooperate, and penal sanctions are imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, as required by the Convention. The Committee again requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the application in practice of the penal provision punishing the offence of abduction, as well as the provisions punishing kidnapping and the exaction of forced labour (sections 161, 162 and 163 of the Criminal Code), supplying sample copies of the relevant court decisions.