Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Sierra Leone

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) (Ratification: 1961)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (Ratification: 2021)

The Committee welcomes the ratification by Sierra Leone of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, and duly notes the Government’s first report on its application and its replies to the Committee’s previous comments on the Convention.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention and Article 1(2) of the Protocol. National plan of action and systematic and coordinated action. The Committee welcomes the strengthening of the institutional framework to prevent and combat trafficking in persons. It takes due note of the adoption of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (2023–2027) as well as the launch, in 2023, of the National Anti-Trafficking Framework Strategy (2022–2026) which mainly focuses on policy development, prevention, protection, partnership and prosecution to eliminate trafficking in persons. As regards the National Task Force on Human Trafficking (National Task Force), the Committee notes that it has been restructured and expanded with the establishment of task forces in all the 16 districts of Sierra Leone. The Government adds that no information is available for now regarding the resources allocated to the National Task Force but further engagement for data is ongoing.,. While noting these positive steps, the Committee regrets the lack of information provided on the concrete measures implemented and on the concrete activities undertaken by the National Task Force.

The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (2023–27) and Anti-Trafficking Framework Strategy (2022–26), as well as information on the measures taken for their implementation at the national or regional level with an indication of the manner in which the objectives set out have been achieved, any difficulties encountered, and the measures adopted to overcome them. It further requests the Government to provide information on the resources allocated and the measures taken to ensure the effective functioning of the National Task Force and its district level task forces, the activities carried out to ensure systematic and coordinated action by the competent authorities, as well as on the main findings of its last annual report.

Article 25 of the Convention and Article 1(3) of the Protocol. 1. Prosecution and application of effective penalties. The Committee notes the adoption of: (i) the Employment Act, 2023, which criminalizes forced or compulsory labour and establishes penalties of a fine or imprisonment for a period of not less than 12 months or both (section 16 of the Act); and (ii) the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act, 2022, which repeals the Anti-Human Trafficking Act, 2005, and provides for more dissuasive penalties. It notes more particularly that the Act of 2022 removes the possibility of substituting imprisonment for a fine for convicted trafficker (sections 12 and 13 of the Act). The Committee notes, from the 2022 National Report Review for the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration, the Government’s indication that it increased its efforts to arrest, prosecute and convict traffickers including by addressing procedural delays and judicial corruption. Furthermore, the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security is in the process of putting together a formal system of reporting on cases involving forced or compulsory labour.

The Committee welcomes these developments. It observes however that the Government did not provide any information on the number and nature of investigations, prosecutions and convictions regarding forced labour cases, including trafficking in persons. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that cases of forced labour, including trafficking in persons, are properly identified, prosecutions are carried out and penalties are imposed on perpetrators, including through the effective dissemination of the new legal provisions and by addressing procedural delays and judicial corruption. It again requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations carried out, prosecutions initiated, and convictions and penal sanctions imposed. In this regard, the Committee recalls that when the sanction for the exaction of forced labour can consist only of a fine, as provided for under section 16 of the Employment Act, 2023, it does not constitute an effective sanction in light of the seriousness of the violation and the fact that the sanction needs to be dissuasive.

2. Reinforcement of the capacities of the Labour inspectorate. Concerning the role of labour inspectors in the detection of offences related to forced labour, including trafficking in persons, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that labour inspectors and occupational health and safety inspectors conduct inspections at workplaces at random intervals. Furthermore, they engage with victims to sensitize them on the activities being undertaken to prevent further actions. The Government adds that, pursuant to section 3 of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act, 2022, the National Task Force also carries out inspections at workplaces when prompted. The Committee refers, in that regard, to its 2023 observation on the application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) where it noted with concern that the labour inspectorate continues to face severe constraints of human and material resources. In light of the fundamental role of the labour inspectors in this area, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to reinforce the resources and strengthen the capacitiesof the labour inspectorate so that they are fully in a position to prevent and detect cases of labour right violations, including trafficking in persons for labour exploitation.

Article 2 of the Protocol. Prevention measures. Clause (a). Education and information. The Committee notes that several actions to support prevention and community awareness efforts regarding irregular migration and trafficking in persons were held. In 2022, the Government organized the first national conference on trafficking in persons and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Secretariat was established, in conjunction with the International Organization of Migration (IOM), which resulted in the organization of the event to mark the 2023 World Day Against Trafficking in persons. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts with a view to educating and informing all sections of the population about trafficking in persons and other forms of forced labour, and to provide information on the nature and impact of the activities undertaken to this end.

Clauses (b) and (e). Supporting due diligence. The Committee notes the Government’s general statement that it has engaged with the Sierra Leone Employers’ Federation through media broadcasts, workshops, and conferences. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the nature of any measures taken to support due diligence by both the public and private sectors.

Clause (d). Migrant workers and recruitment processes. The Committee notes that the Decent Work Country Programme for 2023–27 sets as specific outcome the improvement of labour migration governance (outcome 2.3), while highlighting that the ineffective governance of internal and international migration is a major development challenge in Sierra Leone which remains a transit and source country of irregular migration, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants to Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, as well as to North Africa, the Middle East, and Western Europe. Sierra Leone is also a destination country for persons trafficked from West African and Asian countries who are subjected to trafficking for the purposes of labour and sexual exploitation. In that regard, the Committee notes that the 2022 National Migration Policy contains sections intended to improve the Government’s response to migrants’ vulnerability to trafficking in Sierra Leone and abroad. The Committee notes, from the 2022 National Report Review for the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration, that a migrant return and reintegration policy was developed. For the most vulnerable returnee migrants, especially from the Middle East, the Government on some occasions provided reintegration packages, psychological support and protection assistance as well as consular assistance. The Committee further notes that the Government signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and bilateral labour agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait to ensure safe migration. Additionally, a draft MOU with Oman is in the final stages and plans are underway to engage authorities in Turkey and Lebanon for similar agreements.

The Committee further takes due note that the Overseas Employment and Migrant Workers’ Act, 2023, provides for the registration and licensing of private recruitment agencies. The license is valid for 12 months and can be suspended or cancelled where the licensee has been convicted for a criminal offence involving fraud, dishonesty or trafficking in persons; individuals who have been convicted for trafficking in persons are unable to apply for a license (sections 5, 6, 9 and 10 of the Act). The licensed agency who recruits a migrant worker shall be responsible for the protection of the worker, including good working conditions (section 14). Licensees are prohibited from taking Sierra Leonan workers overseas unless these workers are registered under the Register of Migrant Workers maintained by the Migration Unit established by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (sections 16 and 17). Sending or assisting to send a migrant worker without a valid license; withholding workers’ documents (including visas and passports) without a valid reason; and false promise of high wages, benefits and facilities is punished by a fine or a term of imprisonment for a period of not less than 5 years or to both (section 24 of the Act).

The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that migrant workers are fully protected from abuses and fraudulent practices during the recruitment and placement process. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, including in the framework of the implementation of the National Labour Migration Policy and National Migration Policy; in relation to the sensitization of migrant workers on their rights as well as on the risks of forced labour; the pre-departure services provided to them; the monitoring of recruitment agencies and violations observed; and the implementation of agreements concluded with receiving countries to enable migrant workers to assert their rights and have access to justice in cases of abuse. The Committee also refers to its comments on the application of the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997, and the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949.

Article 3 of the Protocol. Identification and protection of victims. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that victims of trafficking are identified through labour inspections, reports to the Ministry of Labour by workers or others on their behalf and intelligence reports. It notes that a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for protecting and assisting victims of trafficking in persons was adopted by the National Task Force and that Standards Operating Procedures (SOP) have been developed for the identification and referral of victims of trafficking. The Committee further notes that the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act, 2022, places responsibility on the National Task Force to provide assistance to victims (section 3(2)(f)). Pursuant to section 11 of Act, the Victims of Trafficking Trust Fund was established in February 2024 to assist victims through the provision of care facilities and shelters, medical services, witness protection, legal aid, family reunification, and rehabilitation and reintegration services. The Secretariat of the National Task Force shall keep proper books of account and other records in relation to the activities, property and finances of the trust fund and prepare annual financial statements. Welcoming these positive developments, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on: the measures taken to ensure the effective dissemination and implementation of the national referral mechanism and standards operating procedures among the relevant stakeholders; the number of victims of forced labour, disaggregated by age and gender, including trafficking in persons, who have been identified and have benefited from assistance services, as well as the nature of the services provided; and the activities and resources allocated to the Victims of Trafficking Trust Fund, including a copy of the last annual report prepared by the National Task Force in that regard.

Article 4 of the Protocol. 1. Access to remedies and compensation. The Committee notes that, pursuant to section 31 of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act, 2022, a person convicted for an offence related to trafficking in persons must pay compensation to the victim, including several specific costs, no later than 90 days from the date of their conviction. Additionally, under section 16(2) of the Employment Act, 2023, a person convicted for the exaction or imposition of forced labour must pay compensation to the victim. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that, in practice, the Courts order compensation for victims from their perpetrator and that the relevant rulings are enforced. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate how compensation is granted to victims of forced labour when it has not been possible to bring the perpetrator to Justice.

2. Non prosecution of forced labour victims for unlawful activities they have been compelled to commit. The Committee notes that section 18 of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act, 2022, provides that victims of trafficking in persons are not liable for a criminal offence that was a direct result from being trafficked. As regards other forms of forced labour, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that victims who have already been informed by labour inspectors of the illegal nature of employment involving forced labour may face penalties for participating in such employment. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that all victims of forced labour who have been compelled to commit unlawful activities are not subjected to prosecution or penalties, with an indication of whether instructions have been issued in this respect to law enforcement authorities. In the meantime, please indicate the number of victims of forced labour who have been prosecuted for participating in employment involving forced labour after having been informed of its illegal nature, specifying the nature of the penalties imposed.

Article 6 of the Protocol. Consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s general statement that it has engaged with workers’ and employers’ organizations, including the Sierra Leone Labour Congress and the Sierra Leone Employers’ Federation, through media broadcasts, workshops and conferences. The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the manner in which employers’ and workers’ organizations are consulted in relation to actions to combat all forms of forced or compulsory labour, particularly in the context of the formulation, implementation and evaluation of any action plan or strategy elaborated to that end.