Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Belarus (Ratification: 1956)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee notes with interest the efforts made by the Government to combat trafficking in persons, including through the adoption of Law No. 350-3 of 7 January 2012 on Combating Human Trafficking which contains provisions on prevention of trafficking, protection and rehabilitation of trafficking victims and liability for trafficking and related offences; the adoption of the National Policy and Action Plan on Trafficking and Illegal Migration 2011–13; the establishment of the National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking under the Ministry of the Interior; as well as an international technical assistance project on combating human trafficking in Belarus carried out by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Section 181 of the Criminal Code prohibits trafficking for both labour and sexual exploitation and prescribes penalties ranging from three to 15 years of imprisonment in addition to the forfeiture of offenders’ assets. The Committee further notes that Belarus acceded to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings on 26 November 2013 and that the Convention entered into force in Belarus on 1 March 2014. However, the Committee notes that the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESR), as well as the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), in their concluding observations of December 2013 and September 2013 respectively, expressed concern on the fact that despite its efforts, Belarus continues to be a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking, both for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour and recommended that Belarus strengthens its efforts to combat trafficking in persons and take preventive measures to address its root causes; provide assistance and protection to victims of trafficking; and promptly and thoroughly investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible (CERD/C/BLR/CO/18-19 and E/C.12/BLR/CO/4-6). Noting the efforts made by the Government in order to combat trafficking in persons, both in law and in practice, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of section 181 of the Criminal Code and of Law No. 350-3 of 7 January 2012 on Combating Human Trafficking in practice, including on the number of investigations carried out, as well as on the number of convictions and specific penalties applied. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the National Policy and Action Plan on Trafficking and Illegal Migration 2011–13, indicating whether the objectives set out have been achieved and whether an evaluation has been undertaken in order to assess the impact of the measures adopted. Please also provide information on any preventive measures adopted in order to combat the root causes of trafficking and protect trafficking victims, including information on the activities carried out by the National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking.

Article 2(2)(a). Non-military work of conscripts. The Committee notes that section 10 of Law No. 100-3 of 4 January 2010 on the status of military servicemen, provides that military servicemen can be requested to perform duties which are not specific to military service in cases stipulated by regulations. The Committee further notes that the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, indicated in his 2014 and 2015 reports, that conscripts are still obliged to carry out unpaid work unrelated to their military service activities (A/HRC/26/44 and A/HRC/29/43). The Committee recalls that work or service exacted by virtue of compulsory military service laws is only excluded from the scope of the Convention on condition that it is of a purely military nature. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take all the necessary measures in order to ensure, both in law and in practice, that any work or service exacted by virtue of compulsory military service laws are of a purely military measure, as required by the Convention. Pending the adoption of such measures, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the cases in which conscripts can be requested to perform duties which are not specific to military service, including the number of conscripts concerned and the types of measures carried out.

Article 2(2)(c). Prison labour. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that work of prisoners outside prison premises is allowed in accordance with the legislation in force, and that private companies are entitled to conclude contracts on the use of labour of prisoners with the administration of a correctional institution. The Committee also noted the provisions of the Criminal Enforcement Code, concerning the obligation of convicts to work at the enterprises determined by the administration of correctional institutions, including private enterprises, the refusal to work being punishable with sanctions. While noting that, under the national legislation in force, a convict’s conditions of work may be considered as approximating those of a free labour relationship, the Committee expressed the firm hope that measures would be taken to ensure that any work or service by convicted persons for private enterprises is performed only with the free, formal and informed consent of the persons concerned.

The Committee notes that the Government does not provide information on any progress made in this regard, but only refers once again to the conditions of work of prisoners. The Committee notes that the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, indicated in its 2014 and 2015 reports, that in detention facilities, inmates cannot choose the work they perform, nor can they refuse to undertake work (A/HRC/26/44 and A/HRC/29/43).

While noting that, as referred to by the report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of 13 July 2015, the Government has indicated that “compulsory labour for prisoners did not constitute forced labour under the terms of the conventions of the ILO” (A/HRC/30/3), the Committee once again recalls that, the exception provided for in Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention only refers to work exacted from convicted persons, provided that the said work is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority and that the said person is not hired or placed at the disposal of private entities. However, the Committee indicated that work by prisoners for private entities can be held compatible with the Convention only where the necessary safeguards exist to ensure that the prisoners concerned accept such work voluntarily, by giving their free, formal and informed consent and without being subjected to pressure or the menace of any penalty, and that the conditions of such work approximate those of a free labour relationship. The Committee again expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures, both in law and in practice, to ensure that work may only be performed by prisoners in private enterprises with their free, formal and informed consent, and that such consent is free from the menace of any penalty. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 105th Session and to reply in detail to the present comments in 2016.]