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

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Libya (Ratification: 1961)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Situations of forced labour arising from the armed conflict. Trafficking of migrant workers. The Committee notes the various reports from several United Nations (UN) bodies concerning the grave crisis facing the country. It notes in particular the report on the investigation by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Libya of 15 February 2016, which indicates that migrants have been arbitrarily detained or deprived of their liberty, frequently in inhumane conditions, and subjected to financial exploitation and forced labour. In this regard, the High Commissioner recommends that the Government address urgently the situation of migrants and take effective action to combat human trafficking (A/HRC/31/47, paragraphs 61 and 83(j)). The Committee also notes the UN Security Council Resolution 2240 of October 2015, which condemns all acts of migrant smuggling and human trafficking into, through and from the Libyan territory and off the coast of Libya, which undermine further the process of stabilization of Libya and endanger the lives of thousands of people (S/RES/2240 (2015)).

While acknowledging the complexity of the situation on the ground and the presence of armed groups and armed conflict in the country, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to prevent, suppress and combat trafficking in persons. The Committee trusts that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that migrant workers who are subjected to forced labour are fully protected from abusive practices. The Committee also recalls the importance of imposing appropriate criminal penalties on perpetrators so that recourse to trafficking or forced labour does not go unpunished. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive criminal penalties are imposed in practice.

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