Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Mali (Ratification: 1960)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Mali (Ratification: 2016)

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. 1. Trafficking in persons. The Committee previously referred to the adoption of Act No. 2012-023 of 12 July 2012 on action to combat trafficking in persons and similar practices, and the creation of the National Coordinating Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Similar Practices, and requested the Government to indicate the measures adopted to give effect to the Act, prevent trafficking and protect victims. In its report, the Government indicates that it does not have knowledge of prosecutions initiated or court rulings handed down under Act No. 2012-023. The Committee also notes that, in the general policy statement of 27 May 2015, the Prime Minister expressed the will of the Government to reinforce the capacities of the National Coordinating Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Similar Practices and to implement the Plan of Action 2015–17 to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Similar Practices. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the Plan of Action 2015–17 and to describe the measures taken in this framework as well as those adopted by the National Coordinating Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Similar Practices. In particular, please provide detailed information on the measures intended to: (i) prevent trafficking in persons for both sexual exploitation and labour exploitation (public awareness-raising measures, in general, and in particular campaigns targeting prospective migrants and explain the risks); (ii) reinforce the training and human and material resources of enforcement agencies (the forces of order, labour inspection, the prosecution services and judges); and (iii) identify victims and provide them with adequate protection. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the prosecutions initiated under Act No. 2012-023 on action to combat trafficking in persons and similar practices, on the court rulings handed down and the penalties imposed.

2. Slavery-like practices and hereditary servitude. In its previous comments, the Committee recognized the significant efforts made by the Government to restore the authority of the State in northern Mali. It requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to examine the situation of persons who are still considered to be descendants of slaves in this region. In its report, the Government indicates that, despite the signature of a peace agreement with the armed groups in May and June 2015, the Government has still not re-established its authority over all of the northern regions. This situation makes it difficult to take any initiative to examine the issues raised. The Committee takes due note of this information. It observes that the issue of the persistence of slavery in Mali is also a cause of concern for the independent expert on the situation of human rights in Mali, who regularly visits the territory (United Nations Human Rights Council documents from 2014 and 2015, A/HRC/25/72, paras 61 and 63, and A/HRC/28/83, paras 101 and 102). The Committee is aware of the difficulties experienced by the country in view of the presence of armed groups in northern Mali and it hopes that the Government will be able to describe in its next report the action taken to examine the issue of the persistence of slavery and to take the necessary measures to bring an end to any practice under which persons considered to be descendants of slaves are forced to perform work without giving their valid consent.

Article 2(2)(a). Work imposed in the framework of compulsory national service. The Committee noted previously that, under section L6(2) of the Labour Code, work required in the public interest by legislative provisions on the organization of defence, the creation of a national service or participation in development is not regarded as forced or compulsory labour. It also noted the Government’s intention to re-establish national service and requested it to provide further information on this subject. The Government indicates that, with a view to the re-establishment of National Youth Service (SNJ), a study was carried out, based on which a workshop was held with the objective of validating the draft legislative texts on the creation, organization and operation of the SNJ. The Government adds that the final texts have still not been adopted. The Committee notes this information. It also observes, from the communiqué of the Council of Ministers of 2 December 2015, available on the Government’s official website, that the Council of Ministers has adopted a Bill establishing the SNJ. The communiqué specifies that the introduction of the SNJ will contribute to completing the education and the physical, civic and vocational training of young persons with a view to their effective and full participation in the economic, social and cultural development of the country and their mobilization for the needs of national defence. This service will be compulsory for all young persons in Mali. The Committee recalls that while, for reasons relating to the need to ensure the national defence, work imposed in the context of compulsory military service does not fall within the scope of application of the Convention, this exception is nevertheless circumscribed by conditions. For example, under the terms of Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention, if it is not to constitute forced labour, any work exacted within the framework of military service must be “for work of a purely military character”. In so far as the SNJ, which the Government intends to introduce, appears to be of a compulsory nature and include activities relating both to national defence and to economic development, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that compulsory labour exacted from persons within the framework of the SNJ is of a “purely military character”. The Committee also refers to the comments that it is making in the context of the application of the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), concerning the compatibility of the SNJ with this latter Convention.