Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Chile

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) (Ratification: 1933)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (Ratification: 2021)

The Committee notes with regret that the first report of the Government on the application of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, has not been received. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the application of the Protocol in accordance with the report form adopted by the Governing Body.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. National action plan. With regard to the measures taken to implement the action plan, the Government indicates in its report that, through the Intersectoral Round Table on Trafficking in Persons, measures such as the following have been implemented: (i) dissemination of graphic materials to raise awareness of trafficking in persons; (ii) training on the offence, reporting and protection mechanisms for public officials and the general public; (iii) training on the Intersectoral Protocol on assistance for victims of trafficking in persons; and (iv) preventive inspections aimed at detecting potential victims. The Committee duly notes the adoption of a new National Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons (2023–26), which has four strategic pillars that coincide with those of the previous plan: (i) prevention and awareness-raising; (ii) protection and assistance for victims; (iii) prosecution and monitoring; and (iv) intersectoral coordination and international cooperation. The new action plan is based on the implementation of the previous plan and the actions proposed by the institutions that make up the subcommittees of the Intersectoral Round Table on Trafficking in Persons.

The Committee encourages the Government to continue taking, in a coordinated manner through the Intersectoral Round Table on Trafficking in Persons, all the necessary measures to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, both for sexual and labour exploitation, especially through the implementation of the strategic objectives of the National Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons (2023–26). In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to evaluate and monitor the implementation of the plan, as well as on the results achieved and the difficulties encountered.

2. Identification and protection of victims. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, indicating that the National Service for Women and Gender Equality has a temporary residence for women. Moreover, the Government indicates that 17 victims were rescued in 2020, 6 in 2021 and 2 in 2022, while no victims were rescued in 2023 and 2024 (up to September).

The Committee also notes the statistical report on Trafficking in Persons in Chile (2011–22) prepared by the Intersectoral Round Table, which is available on the website of the Ministry of the Interior and Public Safety. According to the report, between 2011 and 2022: (i) 201 victims of labour trafficking and 146 victims of sex trafficking were identified; (ii) 286 persons benefited from the Intersectoral Protocol on assistance for victims of trafficking in persons (the main nationalities were Bolivian (24 per cent), Venezuelan (22 per cent) and Colombian (10 per cent)); and (iii) a total of 209 visas were issued to persons identified as victims of trafficking in persons, of whom 115 were women and 94 were men (section 71 of Act No. 21325 on migration and foreigners).

Moreover, the Committee notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in its concluding observations of 2024, expressed concern about the lack of adequately funded, inclusive and accessible shelters for women victims of trafficking, including women with disabilities (CEDAW/C/CHL/CO/8).

The Committee requests the Government to continue taking measures to facilitate the identification of victims of trafficking in persons and to provide them with the comprehensive assistance set out in the Intersectoral Protocol on assistance for victims of trafficking in persons in order to rebuild their lives and restore their rights, as provided for in the second pillar of the national plan. Please provide information on the victims identified, the number of victims assisted and the type of assistance provided.

3. Prosecution and application of criminal penalties. The Government indicates that the Chilean Investigative Police have treated human trafficking as a priority in investigations related to organized crime, mainly through their three specialized brigades, including the Anti-Trafficking Investigation Brigade. It states that there were 10 reports of trafficking in persons for forced labour in 2020, 5 in 2021, 17 in 2022, 6 in 2023 and 1 in 2024. Moreover, the Committee observes that, according to the statistical report on Trafficking in Persons in Chile (2011–22), since the enactment of Act No. 20.507, which criminalized the offence of trafficking in persons (section 411 quater of the Criminal Code), 63 cases have been brought for this offence, involving a total of 347 victims. There have been 27 convictions and 42 persons convicted (22 women and 20 men).

With regard to inspections, the Government indicates that, in terms of labour inspection services, it has included special consideration for the detection of trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants in its inspection procedures. In this regard, in any investigation in which there are signs of migrant smuggling or trafficking in persons, the provincial or municipal inspector must be immediately informed of the facts detected, and the inspector, in turn, must report them to the coordinating prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the region concerned. In this regard, the Committee notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women expressed concern about the prevalence of different forms of trafficking in women and girls in agriculture, mining and street vending, particularly affecting refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant women and girls (CEDAW/C/CHL/CO/8).

The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to strengthen the skills and capacities of the agencies involved in prosecuting the offence of trafficking in persons, as provided for in pillar 3 of the national plan. The Committee requests the Government to indicate: (i) the operations carried out by the Anti-Trafficking Investigation Brigade, especially in high-risk sectors such as agriculture, mining and street vending; (ii) the ongoing and concluded investigations and judicial proceedings related to trafficking in persons (section 411 quater of the Criminal Code); and (iii) the penalties imposed.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1). 1. Vulnerability of migrant workers to conditions of forced labour. The Committee notes Decree No. 31 of 2021 establishing a Ministerial Advisory Commission for the Elimination of Forced Labour (CAMTRAFOR), an inter-institutional and tripartite body aimed at advising the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare on the design, implementation and execution of a National Action Plan for the Elimination of Forced Labour. The Committee also duly notes the Government’s indication that the plan is in its final stage of development. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the assessment of the institutions responsible for the prevention and elimination of forced labour identified that most of their actions were aimed at the offence of trafficking in persons, which demonstrates the need to move towards measures specifically aimed at eliminating forced labour.

The Committee also notes the adoption of the 2023 National Migration and Foreigners Policy, which includes specific pillars and objectives related to the promotion and protection of fundamental rights in the world of work. In this regard, the Government indicates that the policy will be implemented through an action plan containing measures for immediate implementation, including the development of a platform linking the National Employment Exchange, the National Migration Service and a “Decent Work and Migration” training programme for employers and workers’ organizations.

The Committee welcomes the coordinated and inter-institutional approach adopted for the elimination of forced labour, promoted through CAMTRAFOR, and hopes that the first National Action Plan for the Elimination of Forced Labour in Chile will be adopted as soon as possible. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the actions taken by CAMTRAFOR to implement the plan, the results achieved and the difficulties encountered.

Moreover, the Committee requests the Government to report on how the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the labour inspectorate and the Anti-Trafficking Investigation Brigade coordinate their efforts to refer and initiate the relevant investigations into cases of labour exploitation that constitute forced labour. Please provide information on the inspections carried out, the cases identified and the administrative and criminal penalties imposed.

2. Impact of the operation of the duty lawyer roster system on the free exercise of the profession of lawyer. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to ensure that the obligation imposed on duty lawyers to defend the cases assigned to them (under sections 595 and 598 of the Basic Code on Courts, and sections 18 and 19 of Act No. 19.968 providing for the establishment of the family courts) is contained within reasonable limits of proportionality in respect of the volume of work imposed, the frequency of assignments and financial compensation. The Committee observes that the Government did not provide any information in this regard. Consequently, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the Bill providing for the establishment of the National Service for Access to Justice (bulletin No. 13991-07), and on any other measures that contribute to ensuring that the obligation imposed on duty lawyers is contained within reasonable limits of proportionality, especially in respect of the volume of work imposed, the frequency of assignments and financial compensation. It requests the Government to provide statistical information in this regard.