Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Rwanda (Ratification: 1962)

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Prison sentences involving compulsory labour imposed as a punishment for expressing political views. The Committee previously noted that, according to section 50(8) of Law No. 34/2010 of 12 November 2010 on the establishment, functioning and organization of Rwanda Correctional Service, an incarcerated person has the main obligation, inter alia, to perform activities for the development of the country, himself/herself and the prison. The Committee further took note of the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association who conducted an official visit to Rwanda in January 2014 (A/HRC/26/29/Add.2). The Special Rapporteur noted with concern the Government’s prevailing hostility towards peaceful initiatives by its critics and the existence of a legal framework that silences dissent. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur referred to several provisions of the Penal Code which provide for sanctions of imprisonment for persons expressing political views (sections 116, 136, 451, 462, 463, 468 and 469 of the Penal Code). Noting that any reference made to compulsory prison labour had been removed from the Penal Code, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken in order to harmonize the Code of Penal Procedure with the Penal Code. The Committee also requested the Government to provide a copy of the draft Ministerial Order on the nature of income-generating activities which can be performed by prisoners.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that Law No. 30/2013 of 24 May 2013 relating to the Code of Penal Procedure has removed the reference to compulsory prison labour. However, the Committee notes that section 50(8) of Law No. 34/2010 remains valid, under which an incarcerated person can be obliged to work for the development of the country, himself/herself and the prison. The Government also considers sections 116, 136, 451, 462, 463, 468 and 469 of the Penal Code as compatible with the Convention without providing further explanation, and indicates that there are no court decisions in this regard. However, the Committee notes that the UN Human Rights Committee expressed its concern in its concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of Rwanda of 2 May 2016, at the prosecution of opposition politicians, journalists and human rights defenders as a means of discouraging them from freely expressing their opinions (CCPR/C/RWA/CO/4, paragraphs 39 and 40).

The Committee once again recalls that Article 1(a) of the Convention prohibits the use of compulsory labour, including compulsory prison labour, as a punishment for peacefully holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. It once again draws the attention of the Government to the fact that the abovementioned sections of the Penal Code are worded in terms broad enough to lend themselves to the application as a means of punishment for peacefully expressing political views and, in so far as they are enforceable with sanctions of imprisonment which involve compulsory labour, they may fall within the scope of the Convention. The Committee further notes that the draft Ministerial Order on the nature of income-generating activities which can be performed by prisoners is not attached as indicated in the Government’s report. The Committee therefore requests the Government to ensure that no penal sanctions involving compulsory prison labour may be imposed on persons for peacefully expressing political views, for example, by amending section 50(8) of Law No. 34/2010 following the adoption of Law No. 30/2013. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the application of sections 116, 136, 451, 462, 463, 468 and 469 of the Penal Code in practice, including any legal proceedings defining or illustrating their scope. The Committee finally once again requests the Government to provide a copy of the draft Ministerial Order on the nature of income-generating activities which can be performed by prisoners.