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

Mali

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) (Ratification: 1960)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (Ratification: 2016)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on measures taken regarding action to address the root causes of forced labour (Article 2(f) of the Protocol), entitlement not to prosecute or impose penalties for involvement in unlawful activities which victims have been compelled to commit (Article 4 of the Protocol) and consultation with the organizations of employers and workers (Article 6 of the Protocol).

Trafficking in persons

Article 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention, and Article 1(2) of the Protocol. Systematic and coordinated action. With regard to implementation of the National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons 2018-2022, the Government indicates in its report that due to shortfalls in human and financial resources, the objectives of the plan were not entirely achieved. The Government reports that a new National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons has been launched for the 2023-2027 period (PAN-TP 2023-2027), which prioritizes the important activities set out in the former Action Plan which were not carried out. The new plan has four strategic pillars corresponding to the “4Ps”, that is: prevention, protection of victims, prosecution of perpetrators of trafficking and partnership. An evaluation and follow-up committee for the Action Plan has been set up and an annual report on national follow-up is produced.

The Government adds that the National Coordinating Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Similar Practices (CNCLTPPA) continues to ensure coordination of activities to combat trafficking. Moreover, four regional committees on combating trafficking in persons have been established by the CNCLTPPA to ensure that the local level response is appropriate, coordinated and effective.

The Committee takes good note of the efforts made by the Government to combat trafficking in persons and requests that it continue in this vein. It further requests the Government to provide information on: (1) implementation of the PAN-TP 2023-2027, including the work of the evaluation and follow-up committee; and (ii) the activities undertaken by the CNCLTPPA to ensure systematic and coordinated action by the responsible authorities.

Article 2 of the Protocol. Prevention. Clause (a). Education and information. The Government indicates that the last two annual reports on trafficking in persons and similar practices noted that training activities, information dissemination and awareness raising had reached over 50,000 persons. Prevention activities were undertaken in several regions of the country and in the District of Bamako, for example in the form of training, international commemoration days, awareness-raising caravans, debates and theatrical forums, popular entertainments, press articles and radio programmes. The Committee also notes that the 2024 annual report points out that massive internal displacement due to conflicts and natural disasters has increased the risk of trafficking in persons, and that awareness-raising activities aimed at the population are still insufficient, especially in rural areas.

The Government indicates that the national data-collection system on trafficking in persons is still not operational. The Committee notes, in this connection, that the PAN-TP 2023-2027 includes among its goals the establishment of an effective data-collection system to monitor the extent of trafficking in persons in Mali.

The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to raise the awareness of the population with regard to the phenomenon of trafficking in persons, especially that of persons living in rural zones and displaced persons in the country, to prevent them from becoming victims of trafficking. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on progress made concerning the establishment of the national data-collection system.

Clause (d). Migrant workers and recruitment process. As regards the protection of migrant workers against possible abusive or fraudulent practices of recruitment and placement, the Committee notes the Government’s indication according to which agreements have been concluded between the National Employment Agency (ANPE) and the organizations in host countries employing Malian workers. The agreements define the conditions of recruitment, work, transport, residence and return of migrant Malians and are brought to the attention of migrant workers when concluding the employment contract before departure. The installation of recruited workers is ensured by a monitoring mission composed of ANPE representatives and the competent authorities of the host country. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to protect migrant workers against any abusive practice during the process of recruitment and placement. It requests the Government to indicate whether the monitoring mission mentioned above has identified any cases where Malian migrant workers have fallen victim to abuse.

Article 3 of the Protocol. Identification and protection of victims. The Committee notes the Government’s indication according to which in 2024 action taken by all actors responsible for combating trafficking have enabled the identification of 629 victims of trafficking (of which 53 per cent were children, 40 per cent adult women, and 7 per cent adult men). Support measures were provided to victims with a view to their physical, psychological and socioeconomic recovery, in conformity with the National Referral Mechanism for the protection of victims of trafficking, including: accommodation, psychosocial support, medical care, assistance in establishing travel documents, social and economic rehabilitation and voluntary return.

The committee notes from the 2024 annual report on trafficking in persons and similar practices, that the persons providing protection to victims of trafficking faced several challenges, including the inadequate number of specialised care centres, insufficient material and financial resources to cover victim care, and low levels of knowledge of trafficking issues amongst the social workers responsible for the provision of victim care. The Committee encourages the Government to continue to take measures to overcome the challenges identified, so as to ensure identification and protection of victims of trafficking, with a view to their recovery and rehabilitation, including through reinforcement of the specialised care centres and of the capacities of the persons responsible for providing victim care. The Government is requested to provide information on progress made in this regard.

Article 4 of the Protocol. 1. Access to remedies and compensation. In response to the Committee’s requests, the Government indicates that due to lack of resources the compensation fund for victims of trafficking has not been put in place. The Committee notes in this regard that the PAN-TP 2023-2027, among its various activities, includes the establishment of a compensation fund for victims of trafficking.

The Government further indicates that it has no data concerning the number of victims that have benefited from legal assistance, but it appears from the 2024 annual report on trafficking in persons and similar practices that few victims of trafficking take part in legal proceedings filed against traffickers.

The Committee also notes from section 81 of Act No. 2024-028 of 13 December 2024 issuing the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that the officers and agents of the judicial police inform victims of their rights, including: the right to compensation for damages; and the right to file proceedings, and in this event to be assisted by a lawyer or a representative of the National Human Rights Institute.

The Committee takes good note of these information initiatives and requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that all victims of trafficking have access to appropriate compensation, including by the establishment of a compensation fund for victims of trafficking, as well as the relevant statistical data.

Article 25 of the Convention, and Article 1(1) of the Protocol. Suppression and penalties. The Committee takes due note of the adoption of Act no. 2024-027 of 13 December 2024 issuing the Penal Code, which contains provisions on trafficking in persons (sections 324-29 et seq.) and repeats the penalties provided for in Act No. 2012-023 concerning the combat against trafficking in persons (section 324-29 and 324-41). The Government also indicates that between 2023 and 2024 hundreds of officials in the criminal justice system were trained in matters related to trafficking in persons and similar practices and that new training activities are in the pipeline under the PAN-TP 2023-2027. The Committee also notes, from the 2024 annual report on trafficking in persons and similar practices, 38 cases of trafficking in persons were investigated, these resulted in 36 prosecutions of 54 persons, with two persons convicted. Noting the low number of convictions, the Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures, including by reinforcing the knowledge and capacities of the institutions responsible for applying the law, so that cases that constitute trafficking in persons are adequately identified and give rise to thorough investigations leading to the prosecution and sentencing to sufficiently dissuasive penalties of perpetrators. The Government is requested to continue to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions handed down for cases of trafficking in persons.

Measures to combat all forms of forced labour

Article 1(1), 2(1), and 25 of the Convention. Prohibition of forced labour and penalties. The Committee previously requested the Government to take measures so that really effective and dissuasive penalties are established in the legislation against persons engaging in the exaction of any form of forced labour. It notes from section 242-43 of the Penal Code of 2024, that any person which, in abuse of his or her position or authority, compels an individual to work for him, her or for others, shall be liable to three months’ imprisonment and a fine. The Committee observes that the possibility of imposing a fine alone as a sanction for exacting compulsory labour from a person has been removed, but that the term of imprisonment incurred remains very short.

With regard to the Labour Code, the Committee recalls that it provides for a fine and/or a term of imprisonment ranging from 15 days to six months for exacting forced labour (section 314). The Government indicates in this regard that the second reading of the Labour Code is foreseen in the framework of the Social Stability and Growth Pact concluded in August 2023 between the social partners and the Government, which will be used as an opportunity to review section 314, in order to provide for really effective and dissuasive penalties. The Government further states that forced labour is often associated with slavery. La Commission trusts that the Government will take account of its comments, so that the legislation provides for sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties in the event of the exaction of forced labour that does not constitute slavery or trafficking in persons, either within the framework of the second reading of the Labour Code or in criminal law. In the meantime, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on all applications in practice of sections 314 of the Labour Code and 242-43 of the Penal Code, giving details, where appropriate, of the penalties imposed.

Article 2 of the Protocol. Measures of prevention. Clause (e). Due diligence by the public and private sectors. The Committee notes from the ILO Decent Work Results Dashboard 2022-2023 that 100 members of the Malian National Council of Employers (CNPM) were provided with capacity building related to the combat of child labour and forced labour in the cotton, textile and clothing value chains. The ILO also supported the National Confederation of Cooperative Societies in the elaboration and validation of a roadmap for the formalization and the promotion of decent work in the goldmining industry of Mali; the roadmap was transferred to the Government for its support in its implementation. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the roadmap concerning decent work in the goldmining industry, and on any other measures taken or envisaged to support due diligence by both public and private sectors to prevent and combat forced labour.

Indirect compulsion to work

Article 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Suppression of vagrancy. The Committee notes that section 242-88 of the Penal Code of 2024 provides that work is a duty, and that vagrants and beggars are those without fixed abode, nor means of subsistence and who habitually exercise no trade or occupation. Under section 242-89, vagrants or beggars who are legally declared as such are liable, for that reason alone, to a term of six months’ imprisonment. The Committee observes that these provisions are not restricted to penalising illegal activities or activities liable to constitute public disorder but allow the imposition of penalties for the simple refusal to work and therefore constitute an indirect compulsion to work. The Committee consequently requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 242-89 of the Penal Code, and on any measures taken or envisaged to eliminate from the legislation and compulsion to work in respect of vagrants or beggars.