Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Eritrea (Ratification: 2000)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), received on 30 August 2017, as well as the Government’s reply to these observations, received on 26 October 2017.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Compulsory national service. In the context of their previous examinations of the application of the Convention, both the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference and the Committee of Experts have urged the Government to amend or repeal the Proclamation on National Service (No. 82 of 1995) and the 2002 statement concerning the Warsai Yakaalo Development Campaign in order to bring an end to the generalized and systematic practice of the exaction of compulsory labour from the population in the context of programmes related to the obligation of national service.

The Committee noted that, at the legislative level, the Constitution establishes the obligation for citizens to perform their duty of national service (article 25(3)) and that the Proclamation on National Service specifies that this obligation concerns all citizens aged between 18 and 50 years (article 6). This obligation includes active national service and service in the reserve army. Active national service, which concerns all citizens aged between 18 and 40 years, is divided into two periods: six months of active national service in the National Service Training Centre; and 12 months of active military service and development tasks in the military forces (article 8). The objectives of national service include the establishment of a strong defence force based on the people to ensure a free and sovereign Eritrea. The objectives also include creating a new generation characterized by love of work and discipline, ready to participate and serve in the reconstruction of the nation, and to develop and reinforce the economy of the nation by “investing in development work of our people as a potential wealth” (article 5). The Committee also noted that, in practice, the conscription of all citizens between the ages of 18 and 40 years for an indeterminate period had been institutionalized through the Warsai Yakaalo Development Campaign, approved by the National Assembly in 2002. In this respect, the Government confirmed that, in the context of their national service, conscripts could be called upon to perform other types of work and that in practice they participated in many programmes, including the construction of roads and bridges, reforestation, soil and water preservation, reconstruction and activities intended to improve food security.

Both the Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee have emphasized that work exacted from the population as part of compulsory national service, including a broad range of activities, some of which relate to national development, is not of a purely military character. Such work therefore goes beyond the exception set out in Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention, under the terms of which any work or service exacted in virtue of compulsory military service laws is only excluded from the scope of application of the Convention on condition that it consists of work of a purely military character. This condition is explicitly intended to prevent the requisitioning of conscripts for the performance of public works, and has its corollary in Article 1(b) of the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), which prohibits the exaction of forced labour “as a method of mobilising and using labour for purposes of economic development”. The Committee has also concluded, in light of the information on the duration and extent of the work exacted in the context of compulsory national service and the purposes for which the authorities have recourse to such labour, that this obligation goes beyond the power to mobilize labour envisaged in Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention, which shall be limited to genuine cases of emergency, or force majeure, that is a sudden, unforeseen happening calling for instant counter-measures.

The Committee notes that the Government reiterates that the duration of national service has been prolonged due to unrelenting threats and the state of belligerency of Ethiopia. The Warsai Yakaalo Development Campaign is a national strategy for the eradication of poverty and to safeguard the well-being of citizens, and is intended to achieve a policy of self-reliance based on the dedication of the people. The Government refers in this respect to the objectives of national service, as set out in Article 5 of the Proclamation on National Service, namely participation in the reconstruction of the nation and the strengthening of the national economy. The Government adds that, despite the threat of war, the Government has taken several measures to demobilize conscripts and to rehabilitate them within the civil service. An adequate salary scale has been introduced for members of the national service who have completed their duties successfully. Their status as civil servants demonstrates that they are no longer members of the national service. While the demobilization process was initially implemented successfully, the subsequent phases were terminated with the state of belligerency of Ethiopia. The Government reiterates that it has no option but to take the necessary measures of self-defence that are proportionate to the threat faced by Eritrea. In respect of this situation in practice, the Government views that the power to mobilize labour is related to a genuine situation of force majeure as it is designed for a certain or unforeseen happening in the future, and is therefore compatible with Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention.

The Committee notes that the IOE, in its observations, indicates that it is highly concerned by the situation described by the Committee for a number of years, and by the findings of the Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea, established by the United Nations Human Rights Council, and of a considerable number of NGOs, which report a large-scale and systematic practice of imposing compulsory labour on the population for an indefinite period of time within the framework of compulsory national service. The IOE emphasizes the urgency of bringing an end to this situation, which has been criticized in several international forums. Reiterating the concerns expressed by the Employer members in the Conference Committee with regard to the application of the Convention by Eritrea, the IOE observes that, although the Government indicated its commitment to work towards the abolition of forced labour, it has not sought ILO technical assistance or demonstrated any will to cooperate with the ILO.

In reply to the IOE’s observations, the Government reiterates the explanations provided in its report on the reasons why the process of demobilization has been interrupted and the national service has been prolonged. It also emphasizes that the work exacted from the population in the framework of the programmes of the Warsai Yakaalo Development Campaign is afforded only to the interest of the community and not for the benefit of private companies or individuals. Overall, the purposes for which these programmes are used are limited to what is strictly required for the exigencies of the situation in Eritrea. Therefore, according to the Government, it is far from the truth to contend that the reality in Eritrea amounts to the systematic practice of imposing compulsory labour on the population.

Finally, the Committee notes that, in their latest reports, the Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, both appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, have noted the absence of improvements in terms of reforming military/national service programmes (A/HRC/32/47 and A/HRC/32/CRP.1, of 9 May and 8 June 2016, and A/HRC/35/39 of 7 June 2017, respectively). The Committee observes that these two reports continue to refer to: the indefinite and arbitrary duration of conscription, which goes beyond the 18 months envisaged in the 1995 Proclamation, often being extended for several years; the use of conscripts to perform compulsory labour in a whole range of economic activities, including the public service and for private enterprises; and the non-voluntary nature of military service beyond the statutory 18-month duration. The Commission of Inquiry emphasizes that “current programmes serve primarily to boost economic development, to profit state-endorsed enterprises and to maintain control over the Eritrean population in a manner inconsistent with international law”. The Committee also notes that the Special Rapporteur recognizes that the non-implementation of the decision of 2002 of the Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) is of particular concern, but nevertheless considers that the failure to implement this decision cannot serve as justification for the open-ended and arbitrary nature of Eritrea’s military/national service programmes.

The Committee recalls that, although the Convention explicitly provides for a limited number of cases in which ratifying States may exact compulsory labour from the population, particularly in the context of normal civic obligations, compulsory military service and situations of emergency, the conditions under which compulsory labour is exacted are strictly defined and the work involved must respond to precise requirements to be excluded from the definition of forced labour. In light of the above and the information available to it, the Committee reaffirms that, in view of its duration, scope, objectives (reconstruction, action to combat poverty and reinforcement of the national economy), and the broad range of work performed, labour exacted from the population in the framework of compulsory national service goes beyond the exceptions authorized by Convention No. 29 and constitutes forced labour. It is also in violation of Article 1(b) of Convention No. 105, which prohibits the use of compulsory labour “as a method of mobilising and using labour for purposes of economic development”. The Committee notes with deep concern that no progress has been achieved in law or practice to strictly limit the use of compulsory labour to the exceptions authorized by the Convention. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures as soon as possible to amend or repeal Proclamation No. 82 of 1995 on National Service and the 2002 Declaration on the Warsai Yakaalo Development Campaign with a view to: (a) limiting the work exacted from the population within the framework of compulsory national service to military training and work of a purely military character; and (b) limiting the exaction of compulsory work or services from the population to genuine cases of emergency, or force majeure (that is, a sudden and unforeseen happening), by ensuring that the duration and extent of such compulsory work or services are limited to what is strictly required by the exigencies of the situation.

The Committee recalls that the Government can avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO to help address the situation noted.

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

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 107th Session and to reply in full to the present comments in 2018.]