Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Congo (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the report on the Government’s inquiry into cases of slavery among Bantus in the city of Pointe Noire.

1. Article 2, paragraph 2(d) of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee asked for the repeal of Act No. 24 60 of 11 May 1960 which allows persons to be requisitioned for work of public interest in cases which do not constitute the emergencies provided for in Article 2, paragraph 2(d), of the Convention. The above Act establishes penalties of imprisonment of from one month to one year for requisitioned persons who refuse to work.

The Committee noted that Act No. 6 96 to amend and supplement provisions of Act No. 45/75 issuing the Labour Code prohibits forced or compulsory labour. It notes, however, that Act No. 24 60 of 1960 is still in force.

The Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to bring the national legislation into line with the Convention.

2. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Government may request the population to carry out certain sanitation jobs. The Government indicated that this practice consisted of mobilizing the population for work in the community interest and was based on section 35 of the Statutes of the Congolese Labour Party, but that it no longer exists and such tasks (weeding, sanitation work) are now undertaken voluntarily by associations and employees of the State and local communities.

The Committee notes that in its last report the Government indicates its intention of including, in the Labour Code currently being revised, a provision to establish the voluntary nature of sanitation work. The Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of the new provisions of the Labour Code once they are adopted.

3. Article 2, paragraph 2(a). The Committee has several times drawn the Government’s attention to section 4 of Act No. 11 66 of 22 June 1966 establishing the National People’s Army and section 1 of Act No. 16 of 27 August 1981 introducing compulsory national service. The former provides for active participation by the army in tasks of economic construction for effective production and the latter stipulates that national service, which comprises both military and civic service, enables every citizen to take part in the defence and construction of the nation.

The Committee drew the Government’s attention to Article 2, paragraph 2(a), of the Convention which provides that work or service exacted in virtue of compulsory military service laws is excluded from the scope of the Convention only when it is imposed for work of a purely military character. Work exacted from recruits as part of national service, including work related to national development, is not purely military in nature. The Committee referred in this context to paragraphs 24 33 and 49 62 of its General Survey of 1979 on the abolition of forced labour.

According to the Government, the practice of imposing on recruits work which is not purely military in nature has fallen into disuse. The Committee notes that, in its last report, the Government expressed its intention of repealing Act No. 16 of 1981 on compulsory national service.

The Committee hopes that the necessary steps will be taken to repeal the above Act in order to bring the national legislation into conformity with the Convention.

4. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to section 17 of Act No. 31 80 of 16 December 1980 on guidance for youth under which the party and mass organizations would gradually create all the conditions for the formation of youth brigades and the organization of youth workshops.

The Committee notes that, according to the Government, these practices no longer exist. It observes, however, that the abovementioned Act has not been repealed.

The Committee noted that a draft decree on voluntary work for young people was in the process of being approved, and requested specific information on the type of tasks performed, the number of persons concerned, the duration and conditions of their participation.

The Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to bring the national legislation into line with the Convention and to provide a copy of the decree on voluntary work for young people as soon as it is adopted, together with relevant information.

5. Trafficking in persons. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that child trafficking exists between Benin and Congo for the purpose of forcing the children to work in Pointe Noire in trading (fixed and itinerant) and domestic work. According to the Government, the receiving families force the children to work in unimaginable conditions: they have to work all day, are frequently beaten and subjected to all kinds of hardships. The Government has recognized that such acts are contrary to human rights and has taken a number of measures to curb child trafficking.

The Committee asks the Government to examine the situation of children working in Pointe Noire in the light of the Convention and to provide full information on their working conditions, specifying their age, the circumstances in which this trafficking takes place and working conditions in Congo.

The Committee also asks the Government to indicate which provisions of the national legislation punish trafficking in people and what measures are taken to ensure that the penalties are strictly applied to those responsible for imposing forced labour.

6. The Committee notes the results of the Government’s inquiry into traditional forms of slavery in the district of Ouesso. The Committee notes that, according to the abovementioned inquiry, no form of forced labour exists among pygmies and Bantus in the plantations of the North.

7. The Committee asks the Government to provide copies of the Penal Code, the Code of Penal Procedure and the Order regulating the operation of prisons and prison labour.