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

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Equatorial Guinea (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report has not been received since 2006. In accordance with the urgent appeal made to the Government in 2019, the Committee is proceeding with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information available.

Impact of compulsory prison labour on the application of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the penal legislation, including in relation to the execution of sentences and the penitentiary system, and to indicate whether prison labour is compulsory for convicts. In this regard, the Committee notes that, in accordance with section 100 of the Spanish Penal Code of 1963, which is in force in Equatorial Guinea, prison work is voluntary as a means for convicts to redeem their sentences. The Committee notes that in its 2019 response to the list of issues raised by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the Government indicates that the Ministry of Justice, Religion and Prisons has established a National Codification Commission to undertake the necessary action for the development of a new criminal code and a code of criminal procedure (CCPR/C/GNQ/Q/Add.1, paragraph 11). In this context, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the provisions of section 100 of the Penal Code of 1963 continue to be in force, to provide information on the legislative framework governing prison labour and to confirm that, in practice, persons convicted to prison sentences or other types of penalties are not subject to forced labour.

The Committee also draws the Government’s attention to the fact that penal sanctions that involve forced labour, including compulsory prison labour and sentences involving work of general interest, fall within the scope of the application of the Convention when they are imposed as a punishment for persons who have expressed political views or views opposed to the established political, social or economic system, or who have participated in strikes. The Committee hopes that, in the context of the process of reforming the national criminal legislation, the obligations derived from the Convention will be taken into account.

Article 1(c). Disciplinary sanctions applicable to seafarers. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the legislation applicable to the disciplinary system for seafarers so that it can examine its compatibility with the Convention.