Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Ecuador (Ratification: 1954)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Penalties for the exaction of forced labour, including trafficking in persons. The Committee notes the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, presented at the 15th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on 30 June 2010 (document A/15/20/Add.3). In her report, the Special Rapporteur expresses concern about the persistency of abuses encountered by vulnerable groups in Ecuador, in particular domestic and migrant workers, including forced labour, poor working and living conditions, psychological and physical abuse, with instances of withholding of identity and travel documents, low or no wages and excessive working hours. The Special Rapporteur observes that, despite the comprehensive legal framework reinforcing the constitutional protection against forced labour, slavery and human trafficking, as well as the Government’s efforts and initiatives, major challenges remain. In this connection, the Special Rapporteur observes that the Government’s current plans, programmes and policies rarely refer to forced labour as a separate offence, addressing the issue, in many instances, as a derivative of human trafficking. In her conclusions, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government increase its efforts to prevent abusive practices by employers, especially as regards vulnerable groups such as domestic and migrant workers, establishing programmes aimed at eradicating forced labour and restoring and protecting the rights of victims.

Corroborating the report of the Special Rapporteur, the Committee notes the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, presented at its 13th Session on 15 December 2010, in which the Committee expressed concern about the discrimination, exclusion and exploitation suffered by migrant workers in the country, as well as their lack of access to labour rights, especially in the case of women working in domestic service (document CMW/C/ECU/CO/2).

The Committee notes that in 2005 the Penal Code has been amended to criminalize trafficking in persons. Section 190 of the amended Code provides for a broad definition of “exploitation” to cover forced labour or services, slavery, forced begging and other similar forms of exploitation. According to the above section, the act of promoting, inducing, participating in, or facilitating the recruitment, transfer, harbouring, receipt or delivery of people to engage in any form of exploitation with the use of deception, violence, threats or any other fraudulent means shall be punished with imprisonment from six to nine years (trafficking for labour exploitation purposes) or from eight to 12 years (trafficking for sexual exploitation purposes). The Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the application in practice of section 190 of the Penal Code, supplying sample copies of the relevant court decisions and indicating penalties imposed. More generally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures taken or contemplated to combat trafficking in persons for purposes of sexual and labour exploitation, including information on the measures targeting vulnerable workers, in particular migrant workers, supplying copies of the relevant documents and available statistics. Please also provide information on the measures taken to ensure victims’ protection.

Referring to the above comments of the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, which highlight that the Government’s current plans and programmes address forced labour exclusively through anti-trafficking policies, the Committee notes that the national legislation contains no specific provision punishing as an offence cases in which the exaction of forced labour is not associated with an element of movement across or within borders and therefore not related to trafficking in persons. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the criminal provisions used to prosecute cases of labour exploitation amounting to forced labour that do not fall within cases of trafficking in persons, providing copies of relevant court decisions and indicating the penalties imposed. Please also provide information on any difficulties encountered by the competent authorities in identifying victims of exploitation amounting to forced labour and in initiating legal proceedings.