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

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Madagascar (Ratification: 2007)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments initially made in 2016.

Repetition

Article 1(b) of the Convention. Imposition of forced labour as a method of mobilizing and using labour for the purposes of economic development. In its previous comments, the Committee emphasized that national service, as established in Ordinance No. 78-002 of 16 February 1978 setting forth the general principles of national service, is incompatible with Article 1(b) of the Convention. Under the terms of section 2 of the Ordinance, all Malagasies are bound by the duty of national service defined as compulsory participation in national defence and in the economic and social development of the country. This compulsory service, which requires citizens to be engaged in defence or development work, involves citizens of both sexes for a maximum period of two years and may be carried out up to the age of 35. The Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, after the processes of registration and review, young national service conscripts have to carry out their service by choosing between two options: (i) being excused for family reasons, in which case conscription is cancelled or deferred for one year, depending on the circumstances; or (ii) continuing vocational training through Action for Development Military Service (SMAD). The objective of the SMAD is therefore to facilitate the integration into active life of young Malagasies who volunteer for national service. The SMAD is established on a voluntary basis for young persons, and the duration of the training is set at 24 months, following which the volunteers are released from their statutory service obligations. These young persons choose between training for rural or urban trades.

The Committee once again recalls that programmes involving the compulsory participation of young persons in the context of military service or, instead of such service, in work for the development of their country, are incompatible with Article 1(b) of the Convention, which prohibits the use of compulsory national service as a method of mobilizing labour for the purposes of economic development. It observes that the Ordinance of 1978 provides that all Malagasies are covered by the duty of national service, defined as compulsory participation in national defence and in the economic and social development of the country. The Committee firmly requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring Ordinance No. 78-002 of 16 February 1978 into conformity with the Convention by guaranteeing that compulsory national service is not used as a method of mobilizing labour for the purposes of economic development. In the meantime, the Committee requests the Government to specify the relationship between the service obligations envisaged in the framework of compulsory national service, as set out in the Ordinance of 1978, and participation in SMAD. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate the practical modalities for the implementation of the SMAD and whether young persons who have chosen the SMAD can cancel the training on their own initiative. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the number of cancellations registered and their consequences.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.