Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - South Sudan (Ratification: 2012)

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In response to its previous comments under Article 2(2)(a), (b), (d) and (e) of the Convention on the exclusion of certain works or services from the prohibition of forced labour under section 10(2) of the Labour Code of 2017, the Committee notes the Government’s information that no specific legislation or regulations have been adopted concerning compulsory military service, normal civic obligations, situations of emergency and minor communal services.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. 1. Freedom of career military members to leave their service. In reply to its previous comments concerning the acceptance of resignations of the members of the armed forces (section 30(c) of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) Act, 2009), the Government indicates that the Ministry of Labour was unable to collect the statistics on the resignations that have been refused and the grounds for refusal. The Government indicates that there have been a number of resignations by members of the army, some of whom have joined the civil service, or undertook farming, or joined the labour market, while some of the young officials are acquiring skills for self-employment in vocational training centres. The Committee takes note of this information. Observing that the minimum period of obligatory service ranges from 6 to 10 years and that SPLA personnel who fail to render a service by virtue of an employment contract commit an offence and are liable to imprisonment (section 26(3)), the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of applications to resign that have been refused, the grounds for such refusal, and on any sanction imposed under section 26 of the SPLA Act for failure to render a service.

2. Punishment of idle persons and vagrancy. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the provisions under sections 378 and 379 of the Penal Code which lay down penalties of imprisonment for persons who conduct themselves as an idle person or as a vagabond. The Government indicates that it cannot provide any information on the sanctions involved in the punishment of idle persons and vagabonds. The Committee also notes the Government’s request for technical support to amend the legislation.

The Committee recalls that the possibility of imposing sanctions for the mere refusal to work constitutes an indirect compulsion to work and is contrary to the Convention, unless such penalties are imposed for unlawful activities or to persons who disrupt the public order or endanger public health. According to section 378(1) an idle person is “(a) any person who being able wholly or in part to maintain himself/herself or his/her family wilfully neglects or refuses to do so”; or “(c) any person who has no settled home and has no ostensible means of subsistence and cannot give a satisfactory account of himself or herself”. It also noted that under section 379(1)(a) a vagabond is “any person who after being convicted as an idle person, commits any of the offences which would render him/her liable to be convicted as such again”. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that the above-mentioned provisions of sections 378 and 379 of the Criminal Code are amended so that idle persons and vagabonds who do not disrupt the public order are not liable to sanctions.In the meantime, please provide information on the application in practice of the above-mentioned provisions.

Article 2(2)(c). Prison labour. Noting that under the Prison Service Act of 2011, convicted prisoners can be deployed to work in rehabilitation programmes or productive labour, and guaranteed prisoners (low-risk prisoners and first offenders) can work outside the prison institution (sections 69(1) and 80(2)), the Committee requested information on the work carried out by convicted prisoners, and on the entities benefiting from this work. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that convicted prisoners always perform labour in private entities while young prisoners receive vocational skills in prison. The Government further indicates that it may require technical support from the ILO to carry out a survey on prison labour across the country. The Committee recalls that work by convicted prisoners for private entities is only compatible with the Convention when such work is performed by prisoners under a free labour relationship, without being subjected to pressure, and on the basis of their free, formal, and informed consent. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate how it is ensured in law and practice that prisoners give their free, formal, and informed consent for work with private entities and that their conditions of work approximate those of a free labour relationship. It also requests the Government to indicate if any regulations have been issued pursuant to section 60(2) of the Prison Service Act relating to work of convicted persons in rehabilitation programmes or productive labour.

Article 25. Penalties for the exaction of forced labour. The Committee previously requested information on the application of section 277 of the Penal Code which criminalizes compelling a person to labour against the will of that person and provides for a penalty of imprisonment of two years or a fine or both for; the penalty is extended to seven years in cases of kidnapping, or abduction (section 278). It drew the Government’s attention to the fact that considering the seriousness of the forced labour offence, penalties imposed should be rally adequate and strictly enforced and that fines or short-term prison sentences do not act as a deterrent.

The Committee notes that the Government states that it is collaborating with the Judiciary to gather the information concerning the penalties imposed for the exaction of forced labour. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to provide information in this regard in its next report, as well as information on any capacity building or training activities provided to law enforcement bodies in relation to the identification and prosecution of situations of forced labour, under section 277 of the Penal Code or any other relevant provision. Please provide information on the convictions handed down and penalties imposed.

The Committee hopes that the technical assistance requested by the Government could be provided in the near future.