Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Panama (Ratification: 1966)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Panama (Ratification: 2016)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. In its previous comments, the Committee took note of the measures taken by the Government to combat trafficking in persons, and in particular the adoption of the Act against Trafficking in Persons and Related Activities (No. 79 of 2011). The Act strengthened the legislative framework by giving a broader definition of the offence of trafficking which includes both trafficking for sexual exploitation and trafficking for labour exploitation, and by including in the Penal Code provisions criminalizing a number of offences related to trafficking and punishing other forms of exploitation such as forced labour and slavery.

The Committee notes from the information in the Government’s latest report that it has continued to take measures to strengthen the institutional framework for combating trafficking in persons by setting up a National Committee against Trafficking in Persons (CNTP), which has adopted the National Plan against Trafficking in Persons covering the period 2012–17 (approved by a Presidential Decree of 2 July 2012). The plan serves as a model for action focused on five fundamental strategic pillars: prevention; protection of victims; prosecution and punishment of offenders; national and international cooperation; and monitoring and follow-up of the plan’s implementation. For each pillar, objectives, results and indicators are fixed and the bodies in charge designated. The Government also indicates that since the entry into force of Act No. 79 of 2011, 15 investigations have been opened, mostly for trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The Government refers to the difficulties encountered by the authorities in recording offences which stem from the fact that victims are unaware of their status as victims, that there is not any adequate victim protection programmes, and that their first statements are not sufficient to prove the elements of the crime. The Government states that it is taking measures to secure better coordination between first responders, and that Panama aspires to becoming a zero tolerance country as regards trafficking in persons and is therefore intent on putting in place comprehensive measures to address this offence.

The Committee notes this information and encourages the Government to pursue its policy of zero tolerance towards the scourge of trafficking in persons. It requests the Government to continue to take the necessary steps to implement the five strategic pillars of the National Plan against Trafficking in Persons, and to provide information on the evaluation of the implementation of the plan and the achievement of its objectives, to be carried out by the National Committee against Trafficking in Persons. Lastly, recalling that it is essential to punish persons found guilty of this criminal offence, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to strengthen law enforcement bodies, so as to overcome the obstacles to identifying instances of trafficking in persons and thus ensure adequate protection of the victims. Please indicate the number of investigations opened, the judicial proceedings brought and the penalties imposed under Act No. 79 of 2011.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1). Obligation to perform overtime work. The Committee previously noted the detailed information sent by the Government in reply to the concerns expressed by the National Federation of Public Employees and Public Service Enterprise Workers (FENASEP) about the inadequate regulation of overtime work in the public sector. In its latest report, the Government states that the committee to monitor the tripartite agreement signed in February 2012 under the ILO’s auspices has a tripartite subcommittee that examines the consistency of standards governing the public service with ILO Conventions, and that this body will study the matter of overtime. The Committee notes this information and refers the Government to its comments under the Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30), which address the subject of overtime in the public sector.