Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Aruba

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. 1. Trafficking in persons. The Committee notes that according to the information available from the website of the Coordination Center for Human Trafficking and Smuggling (CMMA), the Center is the central point of contact on the subject of Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling. The Center was created in 2019 to coordinate the action of pre-established stakeholders, including the National Coordinator, the multidisciplinary taskforce, the Public Prosecutor and the team of detectives in charge of investigating cases of trafficking and migrant smuggling, and to provide the necessary services to possible victims of trafficking. The CMMA has three main tasks: information, education and assistance and is also responsible for a 24/7 hotline which shares information and responds to requests of assistance.

The Committee also notes from the information contained in the Background Notes-Trafficking in Persons, August 2020, by the Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela ((R4V), including UN agencies), that, in Aruba, while trafficking networks linked to Aruba’s tourism-dependent economy continue to trick vulnerable individuals into exploitation, the identification of victims is declining. The Government did not report identifying any victims of trafficking in 2019, in a stark contrast to the 71 identified victims in 2017. The Committee also notes from this report that the Government established an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary task force under the Ministry of Justice and issued a National Anti-Trafficking Action Plan 2018-2022 to prevent trafficking, protect victims and prosecute offenders. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken, particularly by the CMMA and within the framework of the National Anti-Trafficking Action Plan 2018-2022, to prevent trafficking in persons; strengthen the identification of victims of trafficking in persons, both for sexual and labour exploitation; and provide them with appropriate assistance. It also requests the Government to provide information on the action undertaken by the Public Prosecutor and the team of detectives in charge of investigating cases of trafficking, including statistical data on legal proceedings initiated, convictions handed down and penalties imposed for cases of trafficking in persons, under section 286(a) and other relevant provisions of the Criminal Code.

2. Vulnerable situation of refugees and migrant workers from Venezuela. The Committee notes that according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Fact Sheet of February-March 2021, there are an estimated 17,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Aruba which has a total population of just over 100,000. According to the 2021 Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) of the R4V, many Venezuelans in Aruba have lost guarantors for work permits due to the economic crisis resulting from COVID-19, which forced the closure of businesses. As such, many refugees and migrants who had been on the island for lengthy periods with regular status, now risk being in irregular situations. According to the RMRP, obstacles to accessing asylum and regularization are likely to contribute to increased vulnerabilities and heightened risks of exploitation and abuse of the Venezuelans. In addition to food insecurity, malnutrition and the need for safe shelter, these groups are also particularly vulnerable to exploitative labour practices which risk their health and wellbeing. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to address the vulnerable situation of Venezuelan refugees and migrant workers with a view to prevent them from being trapped in abusive and exploitative situations that could amount to forced labour.

Article 25. Application of penal sanctions for the exaction of forced labour. In reply to the Committee’s previous request for information on complaints related to forced labour and any penalties imposed as a consequence, the Government indicates in its report that it is currently finalizing policies regarding appropriate and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions for violations related to forced labour. The Government further specifies that there have been no claimants or third party claims of any exaction of forced labour attended by the Department of Labour nor any cases that resulted in any prosecution or penal sanctions. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the policies envisaged to ensure that the exaction of forced labour is punishable with appropriate and sufficiently dissuasive penalties indicating any changes brought to the legislation in this regard and its application in practice. It also requests the Government to continue to supply information on complaints related to forced labour and any penalties imposed as a consequence.

Article 2(2)(c). Legislation governing prison services. Referring to its previous comments on the entry into force of Ordinance Penitentiary Regulations (No. 75 of 2005), the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is currently working on the decrees that will give effect to different stipulations corresponding to this ordinance, after which it shall be moved forward for the entry into force. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the entry into force of the Ordinance Penitentiary Regulations and its implementing texts. In the meantime, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the provisions regulating the conditions of work of sentenced prisoners, specifying if they are under an obligation to perform work inside or outside the prison premises and if this is the case for which entities such work could be undertaken.