Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2012, publiée 102ème session CIT (2013)

Convention (n° 29) sur le travail forcé, 1930 - Niger (Ratification: 1961)
Protocole de 2014 relatif à la convention sur le travail forcé, 1930 - Niger (Ratification: 2015)

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Slavery and slave-like practices. For several years, the Committee has examined the matter of slavery in Niger which exists in a number of communities where the status of slave continues to be transmitted by birth to persons from certain ethnic groups. The relations between master and slave are based on direct exploitation: slaves are obliged to work for their masters without remuneration, largely as shepherds, agricultural workers or domestic employees. The Committee noted previously a number of legislative and institutional measures taken by the Government, including the adoption of Act No. 2003-025 of 13 June 2003 incorporating into the Penal Code sections 270-1 to 270-5, which define the elements constituting the crime of slavery and slavery offences and lay down the applicable penalties, and the establishment in August 2006 of the National Committee to combat the vestiges of forced labour and discrimination, which has responsibility for devising a national action plan to combat the vestiges of forced labour and discrimination. The Committee nonetheless expressed concern at the lack of information on the adoption of new measures specifically targeting slavery and its vestiges, particularly as in October 2008 the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) found that Niger had failed to afford sufficient protection to the rights of a young girl who was a victim of slavery, and as the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations, expressed deep concern that Niger had not provided information in its report on caste-based slavery practices while such practices existed throughout the country (CRC/C/NER/CO/2, 18 June 2009).

The Committee notes that, in its report received in September 2011, the Government states only that the national action plan to combat all forms of forced labour, and slavery in particular, has not yet been adopted.

The Committee notes that the survey produced by the National Statistics Institute and the International Labour Office on the forms of forced labour found in Niger and involving adults and children was validated in September 2011. According to the survey, more than 59,000 adults are victims of forced labour, that is 1.1 per cent of the total adult population. For the most part, these victims perform domestic work (48.2 per cent) or work in agriculture or stock breeding (23.6 per cent). The survey sets three criteria for defining forced labour: non voluntary recruitment (the adult works under traditional hiring practices for a private individual, an enterprise or a landowner); a situation of dependency (the adult works in exchange for food or accommodation, is paid in kind or not at all, or pays his wage back to a landowner and is unable to enjoy the fruits of his labour); and deprivation of freedom (the adult is prevented from changing jobs either by the employer or because of the social set up). Thus, an adult is deemed to be subjected to forced labour where his recruitment is not voluntary, or where he is deprived of freedom and when, in addition, he or his household are in a situation of dependency.

Lastly, the Committee notes that in the Universal Periodic Review of Niger undertaken by the Humans Rights Council in March 2011, the Government agreed to all the recommendations regarding measures to be taken to combat slavery and ensure that the perpetrators of such practices are effectively prosecuted and the victims protected and compensated (see particularly recommendations 76.37 to 76.46 in document A/HRC/17/15).

In light of the above, the Committee once again notes with regret the absence of any information from the Government in its reports on measures taken to combat slavery. The Committee expresses the firm hope that in its next report the Government will be in a position to indicate the measures taken to secure the adoption of a national plan of action to combat all forms of forced labour, particularly slavery. It draws the Government’s attention to the importance of a comprehensive strategy to combat slavery that includes measures to raise awareness in society and among competent authorities, measures to combat poverty and also accompanying measures to reintegrate the victims so as to prevent them from returning to a situation of vulnerability in which they would once again be exploited for their labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken by the National Committee to fight the vestiges of forced labour and discrimination and on the means it may draw on to perform its duties.

Article 25. Application of effective penal sanctions. The Committee recalls that according to Article 25 of the Convention, the Government must ensure that the penalties established in law are really effective and strictly enforced. The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government states that no judicial decisions have been taken under sections 270-1 to 270-5 of the Penal Code which make slavery a criminal offence. The Committee underlines that it is essential that victims should have access in practice to the police and judicial authorities in order to assert their rights so that the perpetrators of the crime of slavery or of slavery offences, as prescribed in the Penal Code, are brought to justice, and where appropriate, convicted. The Committee accordingly hopes that the national action plan will provide for measures to ensure that the provisions of the Penal Code criminalize slavery are publicized, as well as measures to raise awareness among those stakeholders participating in the fight against slavery, including local authorities, criminal investigation officers and judges, as well as associations able to file civil suits in slavery cases. It requests the Government to provide information in its next report on judicial decisions handed down under sections 270-1 to 270-5 of the Penal Code and to provide copies thereof.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.