Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1960)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Costa Rica (Ratification: 2020)

The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Workers Rerum Novarum (CTRN), received on 5 September 2017, reporting violations of the rights of certain workers employed in banana and pineapple plantations, particularly in relation to hours of work, conditions of work, social protection and trade union rights. The most vulnerable workers are migrant seasonal workers. The Committee notes the Government’s reply to these observations, received on 5 April 2018, in which it emphasizes the importance of the enforcement of labour legislation by the National Directorate of Labour Inspection and the fact that, during the period 2014–16, over 80 per cent of inspected enterprises had given effect to the measures recommended by the labour inspection services during pervious inspections. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the supervision of conditions of work in banana and pineapple plantations in the context of its next report on the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129).

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. General policy to combat trafficking. The Committee previously noted the Anti Trafficking Act, No. 9095 of 2013, intended to promote public policies to combat trafficking, strengthen the legal framework, establish a framework for the protection of victims and promote national and international cooperation. It also noted the establishment of the National Inter-institutional Coalition to Combat the Unlawful Smuggling of Migrants and Human Trafficking (CONATT), which has responsibility for developing, implementing and evaluating policies to combat trafficking, as well as the “Immediate Response Team” (ERI), responsible for coordinating protection, assistance and rehabilitation measures for victims. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the policies adopted and the results achieved in the context of the implementation of the new Act and on the protection and assistance provided to victims and the judicial proceedings initiated in cases of trafficking in persons.

In its report, the Government indicates that the National Directorate of Labour Inspection did not record any cases of trafficking in persons in 2016 and 2017. Between 2014 and August 2017, the judicial authorities investigated 13 cases, of which eight have been set aside, two are ongoing and one is awaiting a preliminary settlement. The Committee notes this information. However, it notes with regret that the Government has not been able to provide information on the measures taken to combat trafficking in persons since the adoption of Act No. 9095. Nevertheless, the Committee notes, according to the information available on the website of the Ministry of Migration, that several activities have been carried out by the CONATT, including training and awareness-raising activities, such as the launching in November 2016 of the “Corazón Azul” (Blue Heart) Campaign. It also notes that funds have been assigned regularly to the CONATT for the development of a number of projects intended, for example, to strengthen action by the police and the collection of data on trafficking. Furthermore, a telephone line has been established through which this crime can be denounced free of charge and confidentially to the Judicial Investigation Body (OIJ). With regard to the protection of victims, an intervention protocol has been developed by the ERI with a view to improving the coordination of its action for victims.

The Committee also notes the adoption, on 9 September 2015, of the Regulations under the Anti-Trafficking Act (Executive Decree No. 39325). The Regulations provide for the publication, one year after their entry into force, of a National Policy for the Prevention and Comprehensive Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, which will cover a ten-year period. The guidelines for the implementation of the policy are to be determined in the Strategic National Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons and the Unlawful Smuggling of Migrants (PNE) (sections 7 and 8). Under the terms of section 34 of the Regulations, the various commissions of the CONATT are required to report annually on the activities undertaken for the implementation of the actions envisaged in the National Policy and the PNE. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide detailed information on the adoption of the National Policy for the Prevention and Comprehensive Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons and the Unlawful Smuggling of Migrants (PNE). Please describe the measures adopted within the framework of these two instruments, and the activities undertaken by the CONATT in the fields of awareness-raising and prevention of trafficking in persons and the protection and assistance provided to victims.

2. Penalties. The Committee notes, according to the statistical information provided by the Government, that the number of cases referred to the judicial authorities and the number of convictions fell sharply between 2009–12 and 2014–17. The Committee requests the requests the Government to take the necessary measures to raise the awareness of the competent authorities concerning the phenomenon of trafficking in persons, both for sexual exploitation and for labour exploitation, and to reinforce their capacities for the identification of cases of trafficking and the repression of the perpetrators of this crime. Please provide information on the judicial proceedings initiated and the rulings handed down in cases of trafficking in persons. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would provide information on the cases examined by the police and judicial authorities concerning the crime of labour exploitation set out in section 189 bis of the Penal Code.