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

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. 1. Trafficking in persons. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 2012-023 of 12 July 2012 on action to combat trafficking in persons and similar practices, and the creation of the National Coordinating Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Similar Practices. The Committee notes with interest that the Act criminalizes trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation and forced labour and establishes prison sentences of between five and ten years, which may rise to life imprisonment when there are aggravating circumstances. The organized exploitation of begging by others and the illicit trafficking of migrants are also incriminated. The Committee also notes that the Act contains a number of provisions intended to extend the powers of prosecution of the authorities and to protect victims during such procedures. The Committee hopes that the adoption of a specific Act against trafficking in persons and the establishment of an institution responsible for coordinating action in this field will result in the adoption of specific measures encompassing the various components of an effective strategy to combat trafficking in persons. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to:

• – prevent trafficking in persons for both sexual exploitation and labour exploitation (awareness-raising measures, particularly for prospective migrants, information campaigns);
• – reinforce the capacity of law enforcement agencies (the forces of order, labour inspection, Ministry of the Interior, judges); and
• – identify victims and provide them with adequate protection.

Please also provide information on the number of prosecutions initiated under the Act of 2012 on action to combat trafficking in persons and similar practices, and the rulings handed down, indicating the nature of the penalties imposed.

2. Slavery-like practices and hereditary servitude. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the persistence of slavery-like practices and hereditary servitude in the north of the country. In its report, the Government indicates that, for now, it does not have sufficient information available to justify a study on the relations between the descendants of slaves and the descendants of masters in the north of Mali. However, the Committee observes that there is a civil society movement undertaking action to raise awareness of the issue of slavery in Mali. It also observes that, in his January 2013 report, the independent expert on the situation of human rights in Mali notes with concern that “Tuareg society is composed of clans and a confederation of clans with a rigid hierarchical structure that ensures that the Bellas, dark-skinned Tuaregs, still regarded as slaves and who are denied their inherent human rights and dignity, are kept at the bottom of the social scale.” The independent expert also considers that the sexual violence committed by armed groups during the occupation of northern Mali in January 2012 was targeted in particular against “women and girls of the Bella community, who are regarded as descendants of the slaves of Tuaregs,” (United Nations Human Rights Council document, A/HRC/25/72, paragraphs 61 and 63).

While aware of the difficulties that Mali has experienced over the past two years and the significant efforts made to restore the authority of the State in northern Mali, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to examine the situation of persons who are still considered to be descendants of slaves and who are therefore in a situation of vulnerability in which work could be imposed upon them without their valid consent.

Article 2(2)(a) and (d). Work imposed in the framework of military service or force majeure. The Committee noted previously that, under section L6(2) of the Labour Code, “work required in the public interest by legislative provisions on the organization of defence, the creation of a national service or participation in development” is not regarded as forced or compulsory labour. Furthermore, under the terms of section 25 of Act No. 87-48 AN-RM on the requisitioning of persons and property, the objective of which is to determine the conditions governing the right to requisition in the cases envisaged by the Acts on the general organization of defence and state of emergency, requisitioning could be authorized in situations other than mobilization or wartime. The Committee requested the Government to provide copies of the legislative texts regulating national service, states of emergency and the organization of defence so that it could ensure that labour which could be exacted under such circumstances falls within the exceptions to forced labour authorized by Article 2 of the Convention.

The Committee notes that the texts which the Government indicated were attached to its report have not been provided. It also observes, according to the press release of the Council of Ministers of 4 June 2014, that the Government wishes to re-establish national service, which had been suspended since 1991. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide a copy of the Act of 1983 establishing national youth service, and information on the re establishment of national service (the texts adopted, conditions of participation, the work carried out, etc.). In this respect, it recalls that, in order not to be considered forced labour, labour imposed within the framework of compulsory military service laws must, in accordance with Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention, be “of a purely military character”. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of the Act on the general organization of defence, and any texts issuing regulations on states of emergency.