Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - United Republic of Tanzania (Ratification: 1962)

Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Use of conscripts for non-military purposes. The Committee previously noted that section 23(1) of the National Defence Act, 1966, provides that the employment of the Defence Forces may be authorized in rendering assistance to the civil authorities where such assistance is required to prevent loss of life or serious loss of, or damage to, property, or for other purposes when the public interest so requires. The Government indicated that while the Defence Forces Regulations did not contain provisions defining such “other purposes” for the employment of the Defence Forces, according to the existing practice, when the Regional Commissioner is satisfied that the employment of the Defence Forces is required for public interest, the regional commissioner may request authorization for their employment. The Committee requested the Government to provide information about the existing practice of the employment of the Defence Forces for non-military purposes.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, in practice, the Defence Forces are deployed to provide assistance to civil authorities and communities at large in time of tragedies such as floods, landslides, accidents and any other tragedy that can cause communities particular suffering. The Government indicates that the Defence Forces participated in a rescue operation when a ship sunk in Lake Victoria in 1996, following a train accident in the Dodoma Region in 2003 and in the construction of bridges when floods occurred in the Kilsoa District in 2010. The Committee observes that the abovementioned circumstances correspond to cases of emergency as provided for by Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention, which exempt from its provisions “any work or service exacted in cases of emergency” including, inter alia, a calamity or threatened calamity such as floods and any circumstances that would endanger the existence or the well-being of the whole or part of the population.

Article 25. Penalties. Trafficking in persons. The Committee notes the information from the UN Country Team in Tanzania in a compilation report prepared by the Officer of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the Human Rights Council for the Universal Periodic Review of 25 July 2011, that the country is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking and that the incidence of internal trafficking is higher than that of transnational trafficking, largely from rural to urban areas (A/HRC/WG.6/12/TZA/2, paragraph 32). In addition, referring to its comments made under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the Committee notes that the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act was adopted in 2008. Pursuant to section 4 of the Act, trafficking in persons is an offence, punishable, upon conviction, to a fine of between Tanzanian shillings (TZS) 5 million and TZS100 million (approximately US$3,172 to $63,577), or to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years and not more than ten years, or both. Pursuant to section 5 of the Act, a person who promotes, procures or facilitates the commission of trafficking in persons commits an offence, and is liable upon conviction to a fine of between TZS2 million and TZS50 million (approximately $1,272 to $31,083), or to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year, but not more than seven years or to both. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of sections 4 and 5 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act in practice, particularly with regard to the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and the specific penalties imposed. It also requests the Government to provide information on measures taken in practice to combat trafficking in persons, including measures to provide appropriate training for law enforcement officials, border officials and the judiciary in order to strengthen their capacity to combat trafficking.

Zanzibar

Articles 1(1) and 2(1). National service obligations. The Committee previously noted that Decree No. 5 of 1979 established a service known as the Jeshi la Kujenga Uchumi (JKU), whose function was the training of young citizens to serve the nation and, in particular, the employment of servicemen, inter alia, in various agricultural and industrial activities, as well as in social and cultural activities, including social development. The members of the service were those enlisted or seconded from the civil or military service, as well as persons who were called up to serve; pursuant to sections 5, 6 and 10 of the Decree, persons other than public officers or married women were liable to be called up under the menace of penal sanctions, to serve for an initial period of not less than three years for Form III leavers and one year for Form IV, V and VI leavers and post-secondary school leavers. The Committee subsequently noted that Decree No. 5 of 1979 had been replaced by the JKU Act (No. 6 of 2003), which entered into force in 2005, and noted the Government’s indication that under the 2003 Act, the persons concerned are free to choose whether to join the service or not. It requested a copy of the JKU Act of 2003.

The Committee notes that section 9 of the JKU Act of 2003 states that the JKU shall be composed of members employed on permanent terms, voluntary servicemen and members seconded from the civil or military service upon their request. The Committee notes with interest that, pursuant to section 14(1) of the JKU Act of 2003, persons who have completed compulsory education may, if they so wish, be enlisted as voluntary servicemen to serve in the JKU. Section 14(3) states that any person who has attended Form VI education or above may, if they so wish, have their name enlisted in the register and shall be liable to be called upon to serve in the JKU. The Committee therefore observes that, pursuant to the JKU Act of 2003, service in the JKU is on a voluntary basis.