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

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Congo (Ratification: 1960)

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Exploitation of the labour of indigenous populations. Referring to its previous comments in which it had requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that the indigenous populations were not subjected to work to which they had not consented or were unable to give proper consent, the Committee notes with regret that no information has been sent on this matter.

The Committee nevertheless notes the adoption of Act No. 5-2011 on the promotion and protection of indigenous populations’ rights on 25 February 2011. This Act contains provisions concerning consultation mechanisms, civil and political rights, cultural rights, right to an education, right to work, right of property and “right to environment”. The Committee particularly notes with interest the provisions of section 29 of the Act, which guarantee the protection of indigenous populations against forced labour, all forms of slavery and servitude, making these infringements punishable with imprisonment ranging from two to 30 years. Provision is also made for the compensation of damages.

The Committee also took note of the report carried out by the Congolese Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH) on the “autonomous peoples of the Republic of Congo: Discrimination and slavery”, published in November 2011. The Committee notes that, according to this report, field trips confirmed the existence of slavery, practices similar to slavery and forced labour, all of which are intrinsically linked to discrimination; it also found that “master–slave” relations still prevailed against the indigenous populations. It also stressed that the most widespread practice was that of forced labour, in which “a person was forced to work against his or her will, under the threat of violence or any other form of punishment or constraint”. The report also referred to the common practice of “bantous” making the autonomous population accept fictitious debts, so as to keep them under their power to carry out work.

The Committee points out that in his report published on 11 July 2011, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples confirmed the existence of these practices. The report points out that “inequitable social arrangements between the Bantu majority and the indigenous peoples manifest themselves as relations of domination and exploitation, in many instances amounting to forms of serfdom or involuntary servitude”. The Committee notes that the Special Rapporteur also refers to the “National Action Plan on the Improvement of the Quality of Life of Indigenous Peoples 2009–13”, which contains five areas of priority action (A/HRC/18/39/Add.5).

The Committee welcomes the Act to promote and protect the rights of indigenous populations as an important first step towards increasing the protection of the indigenous populations, thereby contributing towards their protection from becoming victims of forced labour. The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation of the provisions contained in Act No. 5-2011 and that, for such purpose, it will be widely disseminated among the population in general, as well as government officials with relevant responsibilities in this area and other competent authorities (especially prosecutors, magistrates and police officers). It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in practice to implement the action plan.

The Committee also asks the Government to take the appropriate measures to ensure that the victims receive the necessary protection and are granted access to the competent authorities. The Committee asks the Government to ensure that in accordance with Article 25 of the Convention, those who impose forced labour on indigenous populations are promptly prosecuted and adequately punished, with dissuasive penalties.

Article 2(2)(c). Work exerted as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law. 1. The Committee requests the Government to send a copy of Decree No. 0192 of 23 January 1979 concerning the internal regulations of prisons which, although reportedly sent to the ILO, has never been received.

2. The Committee notes that, according to section 7 of Decree No. 99-86 of 19 May 1999 on the work and organization of the Prison Administration General Directorate, the Directorate for Penalty Enforcement is responsible for organizing community work and the application of other alternative penalties. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report whether such penalties have ever been handed down and, if so, to specify the legislative or regulatory provisions governing the conditions under which community work could be imposed. The Government is asked to provide copies of the relevant texts.