CMNT_TITLE

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Angola (RATIFICATION: 1976)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to prevent and combat trafficking in persons for sexual and labour exploitation, as well as on the effective application of the provisions criminalizing trafficking in persons (sections 19 and 20 of Act No. 3/14 of 10 February 2014 on crimes related to money laundering).

The Committee notes with interest that, in its report, the Government refers to: (i) the establishment of the multisectoral committee against trafficking in persons, responsible for the protection, assistance, recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking; (ii) the adoption in February 2020 of the national action plan to combat trafficking in persons; and (iii) the introduction in the new Criminal Code of provisions specifically criminalizing trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation or any other form of exploitation (section 178) and trafficking for the purpose of prostitution abroad (section 190). The Committee notes that the national action plan is based on four strategic pillars: prevention, victim protection and assistance, investigation and prosecution of perpetrators, and partnerships. The Government indicates that the plan will be implemented over a five-year period through actions at the national, provincial and local levels in cooperation with civil society. With respect to victim protection, the Government indicates that the national referral mechanism for victim assistance and the standardized assistance protocol for action by the various actors confronted with a potential victim of trafficking are being finalized. Lastly, the Government states that the multisectoral committee manages a database of 115 trafficking cases since 2014, 27 of which have resulted in a conviction (labour exploitation).

The Committee encourages the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to implement the four pillars of the national action plan to combat trafficking in persons. The Committee requests it to provide detailed information on the measures taken in this regard at the national and regional levels by the multisectoral committee against trafficking in persons and other responsible bodies, including with regard to prevention and assistance for victims. It also requests the Government to indicate whether a national referral mechanism for victim assistance has been adopted and to specify the number of victims who have benefited from it. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on investigations led, judicial proceedings initiated and sanctions imposed in cases of trafficking in persons.

Article 2(2)(c). Civic service. The Committee previously noted that under section 10 of the General Military Service Act (Act No. 1/93 of 26 March 1993) and section 7 of the Act on national defence and the armed forces (Act No. 2/93 of 26 March 1993), conscientious objectors may perform their compulsory military service in the form of civic service, which must be subject to regulations. It requested the Government to specify whether general civic service had been instituted.

The Government indicates that the implementing regulations for the Acts on military service and national defence have not yet been adopted and that, as part of the process of restructuring and resizing the Ministry of national defence, ex-combatants and the Angolan armed forces, the regulations pertaining to this legislation are in an advanced stage of revision. The Committee notes this information and requests this Government to provide a copy of the texts, once adopted, governing the functioning of the civic service.

Article 2(2)(d). Powers of requisition. In its previous comments, while noting the Government’s indication that these texts had been tacitly repealed, the Committee requested the Government to formally abrogate Orders Nos 12/75 of 15 October 1975 and 44/83 of 21 May 1983, which set out powers to requisition workers that go beyond those authorized under Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention. These texts empower, respectively, an emergency industrial committee to requisition technicians from public or private enterprises for the period deemed necessary to resolve problems, and to call up, in the form of requisitioning, workers whose occupation corresponds to the training needs of special youth brigades, through their assignment to such brigades for a period of 90 days. In its report, the Government reiterates that although the texts cited by the Committee have not been expressly abrogated, they date back to a past political regime and were tacitly repealed with the entry into force of the Constitution in 1991 and the general labour laws of 2000 and 2017 which define forced labour.

The Committee takes due note of this information. It also notes the adoption on 17 August 2020 of Act No. 33/20 on civil requisitioning. Under section 1(2), civil requisition is a mechanism used exceptionally, which allows the State to resort to a set of determined and necessary measures to ensure, in particularly serious circumstances, the regular functioning of services or the availability of goods essential to the public interest or to vital sectors of the national economy. Requisition can concern all persons over the age of 18. Refusal to perform the duties requested constitutes a crime of disobedience and is subject to the corresponding disciplinary procedure. When the refusal comes from a worker or civil servant on strike, the crime of disobedience is subject to criminal proceedings. The Committee notes that section 13 of the Act lists the areas in which services and enterprises may be requisitioned. In this regard, the Committee refers to its comments under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), in which it notes that this list is broad and encompasses activities which are not solely essential services in the strict sense of the term.

The Committee recalls that under Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention, powers of requisition, and consequently exaction of labour, must be limited to any circumstance that would endanger the existence or the well-being of the whole or part of the population. It requests the Government to indicate existing measures to ensure that the powers of requisition of persons, conferred under Act No. 33/20 on civil requisitioning, remain within the limits of the exception to forced labour provided for in Article 2(2)(d), namely circumstances endangering the existence or the well-being of the whole or part of the population. The Committee requests the Government to provide examples of the use of the Act on civil requisitioning in practice.

Article 25. Application of effective criminal penalties. The Committee drew the Government’s attention to the inadequate and non-deterrent nature of the penalties provided for in labour legislation for the exaction of forced labour (section 8 of Presidential Decree No. 154/16 which establishes fines for contravening the provisions of the General Labour Act). It requested the Government to indicate the criminal provisions which could be used to penalize the exaction of forced labour. The Government indicates that the new Criminal Code (Act No. 38/20 of 11 November 2020), in addition to criminalizing trafficking in persons (see above), criminalizes slavery (section 177), forced prostitution (section 189), and coercion and aggravated coercion, defined as forcing a person to perform an action or omission or activity using violence or threats (sections 171 and 172). The Committee takes due note of all the measures available to the investigative, prosecution and judicial authorities to identify the different practices that fall under forced labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the cases that have been investigated, the judicial proceedings initiated, the court decisions issued and the criminal sanctions imposed on the grounds of the above provisions of the Criminal Code. It also requests the Government to indicate whether awareness-raising and training activities have been organized for the law enforcement authorities, following the adoption of the new Criminal Code.