Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2025, publiée 114ème session CIT (2026)

Mali

Convention (n° 29) sur le travail forcé, 1930 (Ratification: 1960)
Protocole de 2014 relatif à la convention sur le travail forcé, 1930 (Ratification: 2016)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 2 September 2025.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention, and Articles 1(2), 2 and 3 of the Protocol. Hereditary servitude. Systematic and coordinated action and prevention. The Committee previously expressed its deep concern at the persistence of the system of hereditary servitude under which people are victims of forced labour, discrimination and violence. It urged the Government to renew its efforts to bring an end to the practice of hereditary servitude.

The Government indicates in its report that a draft of a new national strategy to combat slavery has been elaborated but is not yet adopted. It states that a workshop for magistrates and experts in judicial governance was held in July 2023 with a view to drawing up this national strategy.

Regarding awareness-raising activities, the Government indicates that, in collaboration with the ILO, a workshop to promote the Protocol aimed at deputy prefects, elected deputies and members of civil society in the Kayes, Kita and Nioro regions, was organized in August 2024. Moreover, the Ministry of Reconciliation, Peace and National Cohesion is working on community dialogue and on providing information to and raising the awareness of the various actors, so as to find peaceful resolutions to certain social conflicts arising from discrimination based on extraction and on the practices of slavery and servitude.

The Committee notes that the ITUC, in its observations, expresses deep concern at the prevalence of hereditary servitude in a large part of the country, especially in the regions of Kayes, Kita and Nioro, but also, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal and, according to some non-governmental organizations, among the Touareg and Peules nomadic communities in the centre and north of the country. Although there are no precise data on the number of victims of slavery by descent, certain organizations advance a figure of at least 800,000 persons considered to be born into slavery, of which around 200,000 live under the direct control of their “masters”.

The Committee further notes that the mid-term evaluation of the “Combating slavery and slavery-based discrimination in Mali” project, implemented between 2023 and 2025 by the ILO emphasizes that slavery remains a subject that, due to religious beliefs and societal norms, remains taboo; however the involvement of traditional and religious leaders who support change has allowed the beginnings of a dialogue on slavery, including in the most conservative areas, and has promoted awareness-raising among the communities.

The Committee notes once again with deep concern this information, which demonstrates the persistence and breadth of the hereditary servitude system in the country. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures without delay to adopt the draft national strategy to combat slavery and to designate the authority competent to implement the strategy, providing it with the necessary resources for the discharge of its functions throughout the national territory. The Committee also urges the Government to pursue its efforts to raise society’s awareness of practices related to hereditary servitude, in particular with regard to the population at risk, in association with traditional and religious leaders.

Article 3 of the Protocol. Identification and protection of victims. The Committee notes the ITUC’s indication that persons considered to be born into slavery are often stigmatised within their own communities and are victims of discrimination; many of them encounter difficulties in exercising their civil rights, in particular in access to civil status documentations, land ownership and education. They are subjected to extreme forms of exclusion, violence and forced displacement. Those who seek to be freed and who wish to remain in their communities are excluded from the daily life of the village and its events and have no or only scant access to key resources (water, land, consumer goods). The “masters” hustle to reclaim any land or property that might belong to the victims. The children are forbidden schooling.

The Committee notes, furthermore, that the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) emphasizes, in its report for 2023 on the human rights situation in Mali, that the secure return of displaced victims of hereditary servitude to their villages of origin is one of the challenges related to the combat of such servitude. The CNDH points to several obstacles in this regard, linked to property ownership, security in situ after effective return, but also to the social cohesion within the return communities. The CNDH also notes numerous violations of the human rights of hereditary servitude victims, noting that such intolerable violations of human dignity are compounded by deprivation of access to basic social services. The Committee urges the Government to intensify its efforts to instruct the competent authorities and provide them with the capacity to identify, free and protect all victims of hereditary servitude, including victims displaced within the country, guarantee their security and access to their rights, including that of land ownership. Please provide information in this regard, including on the number of identified victims of slavery-related practices, and on the number of victims that have benefited from protection and support measures with a view to their empowerment and social rehabilitation.

Article 4 of the Protocol. Access to justice and remedies. The Committee notes from the mid-term evaluation report on the project Combating slavery and slavery-based discrimination in Mali 2023–2025, that the action undertaken has strengthened victims’ capacity to understand and exercise their rights, including through the establishment of a paralegal network and paralegal clinics to support victims in their efforts and to contribute to the legal treatment of cases. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that victims of hereditary servitude are aware of and have access to the mechanisms allowing them to exercise their rights, including to remedies and compensation mechanisms.

Article 25 of the Convention and Article 1(1) of the protocol. Application of penalties. With regard to the criminalization of hereditary servitude, the Committee takes due note of the adoption of Act No. 2024-027 of 13 December 2024 issuing the Penal Code, sections 324-11 and 324-28 of which define, criminalize and punish slavery and similar practices. Slavery is defined as the state or condition of an individual over whom attributes comparable to property rights are exercised, and the trafficking of slaves as any act of capture, acquisition or transfer of an individual with the intent of reducing that individual to slavery, any act of acquisition or transfer of a slave with the intent of sale or exchange thereof, as well as any commerce in, or transport of, slaves (section 324-12). These acts are liable to a penalty of ten years’ imprisonment and a fine (section 324-13). Moreover, sexual slavery is liable to a penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment (section 324-14) and placement, debt bondage and serfdom, which are slavery-like practices, are liable to a penalty of ten years’ imprisonment and a fine (section 324-16 to 324-18). The Committee also notes that the prohibition of slavery was introduced into the Constitution of Mali of 22 July 2023, in its section 4. The Government also indicates that a bill on slavery and similar practices was finalized in January 2023 and went before a validation workshop in November 2023.

With regard to judicial proceedings, the Government indicates that the special session of the Court of Assises on violence related to hereditary servitude in the Kayes region, which was held from 27 February to 17 March 2023, addressed 3 cases involving 87 persons, and resulted in 35 sentences to imprisonment. The Committee also notes, from the 2024 annual report on trafficking in persons and similar practices, that 30 cases related to hereditary servitude were subject to investigation and prosecution, and five persons were convicted for offenses connected to hereditary servitude. The Government indicates further that an information guide on good practices in combating hereditary servitude has been drawn up under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

The Committee notes that the ITUC emphasizes that, despite the new provisions of the Labour Code of 2024, hereditary servitude is not explicitly mentioned therein, and the Government should provide further clarifications as to the definition, scope and provisions of the text. The ITUC also draws attention to the efforts made to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of descent-based slavery.

The Committee requests the Government to bring the bill on slavery and similar practices to a successful conclusion, ensuring that the text explicitly covers hereditary slavery. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that the provisions of the Penal Code concerning slavery and slavery-like practices are brought to the attention of all bodies responsible for the application of the law and of the population. The Committee lastly requests the Government to provide information on identified cases of slavery and slavery-like practices, prosecutions filed, convictions handed down, and penalties imposed under the abovementioned provisions of the Penal Code of 2024.

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