Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Morocco (Ratification: 1957)

Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention. Requisitioning of persons. For many years, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the fact that several legislative texts are not in conformity with the Convention, as they authorize the requisitioning of persons and of goods in order to satisfy national needs (the Dahirs of 10 August 1915 and 25 March 1918, as retained in the Dahir of 13 September 1938 and reintroduced by Decree No. 2-63-436 of 6 November 1963). The Committee also noted that consensus had been achieved with the social partners concerning the provisions of the legislation and, in light of the fact that in practice the public authorities did not seem to make use of these provisions for the requisitioning of persons, it hoped that contacts between the Department of Labour and the Ministry of the Interior would rapidly result in the Dahir of 1938 being brought into conformity with the Convention.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Dahir of 1938 only concerns the requisitioning of the population in wartime, and that no use is made of this text, which has fallen into disuse. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the following texts: the Dahir of 10 August 1915 on the requisitions for military needs; the Dahir of 13 September 1938 on the organization of the country in time of war; and the Dahir of 11 May 1931 on civil requisitions, can only be effectively applied in case of force majeure and in order to protect the nation’s general interests. The Committee recalls that the abovementioned texts exceed the scope of the exception provided for under Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention, according to which requisitioning and imposing work should be strictly limited to situations endangering the existence or well-being of the whole or part of the population. Therefore, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Dahir of 1938 is repealed or amended so as to ensure that the national legislation is in conformity with the Convention and the indicated practice.

Article 25. Effective and strictly applied penal sanctions. For a number of years, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the relatively undissuasive nature of the penalties set out in section 12 of the Labour Code against persons requisitioning employees to perform forced labour or to work against their will (a fine of between 25,000 and 30,000 dirhams and, in the event of repeated offences, a fine of double that amount and imprisonment for between six days and three months, or only one of these two penalties). The Committee emphasized that recourse to forced labour is a serious offence and that the penalties incurred must be considered effective enough to act as a deterrent.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the penalties set out in section 12 of the Labour Code for forced labour correspond to similar penalties which may be imposed for criminal offences. The Government adds that the Penal Code criminalizes any act associated with forced labour, including recourse to violence or torture, and that the Committee’s comments will be taken into account in subsequent revisions of the Penal Code. While noting these indications, the Committee hopes that the Government will be able to indicate in its next report the adoption of the necessary measures to supplement the national legislation in order to ensure that persons who have recourse to forced labour are subject to penal sanctions that are really effective and dissuasive.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.