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

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

Articles 1(2) and 2(1) of the Convention. Exploitation of the labour of indigenous populations. For a number of years the Committee has been asking the Government to supply information on the measures taken to ensure that the indigenous populations are not subjected to work to which they have not consented or are unable to give proper consent. The Committee notes with regret that no information has been sent on this matter.

In its previous comments, the Committee noted the adoption of Act No. 5-2011 concerning the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous populations. This Act contains provisions concerning consultation mechanisms, civil and political rights, cultural rights, the right to education, the right to work, and property and environment rights. The Committee noted in particular the provisions of section 29 of the Act, which guarantee the protection of the indigenous populations against forced labour, all forms of slavery and also debt bondage, and states that any person committing such offences shall be liable to imprisonment ranging from two to 30 years. Provision is also made for reparation of the damage caused.

The Committee also took note of the report of the Congolese Human Rights Observatory (OCDH) entitled “Indigenous Peoples of the Republic of the Congo: Discrimination and Slavery”, which was published in November 2011. The Committee noted that, according to this report, field visits 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 prevail among the indigenous populations. Moreover, the report emphasized that the most widespread practice was that of forced labour, in which a person is 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 fraudulent practices engaged in by Bantus to make the indigenous population accept fictitious debts, so as to keep them under their power to carry out work.

The Committee further noted that the United Nations Special Rapporteur, in his report of 11 July 2011 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 noted 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 hopes that the Government will send information as soon as possible on the steps taken to ensure the implementation of Act No. 5-2011 and that, accordingly, this is widely publicized among the general public and among persons holding posts of responsibility in this field, particularly the competent authorities (prosecutors, magistrates and police officers). The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in practice to implement the National Action Plan on the improvement of the quality of life of indigenous peoples 2009–13. The Committee further requests the Government to take the appropriate steps to ensure that victims receive the necessary protection to enable them to have recourse to the competent authorities. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that, in accordance with Article 25 of the Convention, those who impose forced labour on indigenous peoples are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are actually imposed on them.

Article 2(2)(c). Work exacted as the result of a conviction in a court of law. 1. The Committee notes that, according to section 16 of Order No. 0192 of 23 January 1979 concerning the internal regulations of prisons, convicted prisoners are obliged to work. It also notes that detainees are put to work outside the prison and that, in particular, convicted men may be subject to a hiring out of labour (section 21). The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether prisoners are hired out to work for individuals, enterprises or associations and, if so, to indicate the conditions which govern their work for private entities.

2. In its previous comments the Committee noted that, according to section 7 of Decree No. 99-86 of 19 May 1999 concerning the work and organization of the Directorate-General for prison administration, the directorate for the enforcement of sentences is responsible for organizing work in the public interest and the procedures for the enforcement of alternative penalties. The Committee again requests the Government to indicate in its next report whether the courts have already issued sentences involving work in the public interest and, if so, to indicate the legislative or regulatory provisions governing the conditions under which such sentences could be imposed and also the conditions for their enforcement. The Government is also requested to send a copy of the relevant texts.