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Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Cuba (RATIFICATION: 1953)

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Participation of Cuban health professionals in international cooperation programmes. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the situation of Cuban doctors who undertake voluntary missions to other countries within the framework of bilateral agreements concluded by the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba and the Ministries of Health of the countries concerned, who are reported to be subject to restrictions on their freedom of movement in the host country and do not receive the full wage agreed in the cooperation agreement. It noted previously in this respect the Government’s indication that the doctors maintain their employment relationship with the entity that employs them in Cuba, which guarantees the payment of their wages to a member of their family, and that in the host country they receive an allowance to cover their needs. The Government specified that the doctors sign an agreement authorizing part of the income for their work to be used to fund the health-care system in Cuba. The Committee requested the Government to continue to ensure that the conditions of work of the participants correspond to those agreed in the cooperation agreement signed prior to their departure and that they are able to have access to remedies should they encounter any difficulties in the host country.

The Committee notes that in its report the Government reiterates that the conditions of the participating doctors correspond to those agreed to and accepted in their employment contracts, and indicates that the State has access to all remedies and means of protection of the doctors in the event of any difficulties that may arise in the host location. It notes that, according to the 2020 National Report on Trafficking in Persons in Cuba, published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, at the end of 2020, the presence of 56 brigades was reported of the “Henry Reeve” contingent in 40 countries, with 4,941 health professionals, as part of the 30,407 persons providing services in 66 countries.

The Committee notes that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, in a joint communiqué in November 2019, expressed concern at the allegations concerning violations of the rights of Cuban health personnel working abroad in the context of international missions, including: (1) the retention by the Government of Cuba of a significant percentage of the wages that host countries pay to Cuban professionals participating in international missions; (ii) working time of up to 64 hours a week; (iii) restrictions on their freedom of movement and surveillance in the host country; (iv) sexual harassment against women doctors; and (v) the imposition of criminal penalties in the event of desertion. With reference to the latter, the Committee notes that section 135(1) of the Criminal Code provides that an official or employee entrusted with any mission in a foreign country who abandons it shall incur a penalty of detention of from three to eight years. The Committee recalls that the effect of statutory provisions preventing termination of employment of indefinite duration by means of notice of reasonable length is to turn a contractual relationship based on the will of the parties into service by compulsion of law, and is thus incompatible with the Convention (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 290).

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that the conditions of work accepted by Cuban doctors for the provision of their services abroad in the agreements signed with the Government are respected. In particular, it requests the Government to indicate the mechanisms established within the framework of the cooperation agreements concluded between Cuba and other countries to which these doctors may have recourse in the event of failure to comply with the conditions of work that have been accepted or any violation of their freedom and work-related rights in the host country. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate: (i) the number of doctors who have made complaints concerning abusive practices and the measures taken in this regard; (ii) the number of doctors who have requested the early termination of their services abroad; and (iii) whether the penalties envisaged in section 135(1) of the Criminal Code have been applied to doctors who have decided to leave their mission in a foreign country and, if so, in which cases.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25. Trafficking in persons. The Committee previously noted that the Criminal Code prohibits and penalizes forced prostitution and the international trafficking of persons for sexual exploitation, but does not contain provisions explicitly prohibiting trafficking in persons for labour exploitation or domestic trafficking. The Committee requested the Government to take measures to complete the legislation in this regard and to provide information on the measures adopted to prevent and combat trafficking in persons for both sexual exploitation and labour exploitation.

Institutional framework. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that various State organizations and institutions have established their own institutional plans to address trafficking in persons, including the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic, the Ministry of Tourism and the General Customs and Excise. The National Working Group for Prevention, Action and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in Persons, chaired by the Ministry of Justice, has continued to follow the subject of trafficking closely, and has taken action in relation to the plans developed by the various institutions that are members of the Working Group. The Committee also takes due note of the multiple training and awareness-raising activities undertaken in relation to trafficking for prosecutors, personnel of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and education professionals. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the evaluation of the results achieved in the context of the various plans implemented to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, and on the functions and activities of the Working Group for Prevention, Action and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in Persons.

Legislative framework. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that 15 cases were tried in 2019 involving crimes with characteristics typical of trafficking in persons, of which 12 related to trafficking for sexual exploitation, two to trafficking for forced begging and one to trafficking for slavery. The Government also provides information on six convictions related to the crimes of procuring and trafficking in persons for purposes of sexual exploitation. It adds that the police are reporting an increase in acts of trafficking in persons, and principally of transnational trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation by means of unlawful artistic contracts, mainly to Turkey and China. Since July 2018, action has been taken to prevent 38 operations for the transfer of young persons, and nine castings and other acts of ensnarement in which 134 presumed victims of trafficking were identified.

With reference to trafficking for labour exploitation, the Government indicates that the national criminal legislation establishes penalties for acts which constitute crimes of trafficking in the field of labour, and that the National Labour Inspection Office has a methodology for detecting possible cases of trafficking in persons in the field of labour. The Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government, during the period between June 2018 and May 2019, the Labour Inspection Office carried out inspections in 2,439 establishments and detected 14,057 offences, none of which were related to trafficking in persons.

The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to investigate cases of trafficking in persons for sexual and labour exploitation, and to punish those responsible, and requests the Government to continue providing information on the court proceedings initiated in this regard and the convictions handed down. It also requests the Government to specify the provisions of the national legislation which prohibit and punish acts that constitute trafficking in persons for labour exploitation.

Protection of victims. The Committee notes that the Office of the Public Prosecutor monitors and supports all victims of the crime of trafficking in persons, in coordination with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Ministry of Public Health. The Committee notes that, in her 2018 report on her mission to Cuba, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, refers to first-hand accounts of young, educated Cuban girls trafficked on the basis of deceptive promises of employment in the entertainment industry abroad, who were subjected to employment conditions that were slavery-like, with long hours, and in some cases were forced into prostitution, and received no salaries until they repaid the travel, food and accommodation expenses owed to their traffickers (A/HRC/38/45/Add.1, paragraph 16). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that appropriate cooperation and information exchange activities have continued with INTERPOL, the United Nations system and counterpart bodies in European countries and in the region with a view to furthering action to prevent and address trafficking in persons.

The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the measures adopted to provide adequate protection and assistance to victims of trafficking, and particularly victims returning to Cuba. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on cooperation with other countries to prevent the trafficking of Cuban nationals and provide them with assistance.