Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 2005)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee previously noted the adoption of the Organic Law against trafficking and smuggling of persons (Act No. 263 of 31 July 2012) and the implementing regulations (Decree No. 1486 of 6 February 2013) which define the fundamental components of trafficking in persons and provide for penalties.

The Committee notes the adoption of the Plurinational Policy against trafficking and smuggling of persons for 2013–17 and the National Action Plan for 2015–19. The Committee also notes the Government’s general indication, in its report, that, in the framework of the Multisectoral Plan for the integral development of the fight against trafficking and smuggling of persons for 2016–20, several actions are being implemented to prevent, control and sanction trafficking in persons, while providing support and promoting the reintegration of victims. The Committee notes that, as highlighted in the National Action Plan, Bolivia is principally a source country for trafficking for purposes of both sexual and labour exploitation within the country, mainly in the sugar cane and nut harvesting industries, domestic work, mining and begging. A significant number of Bolivians are also subjected to trafficking for labour exploitation abroad, mainly in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, in sweatshops, agriculture, textile factories and domestic work. The Committee refers, in this regard, to its last observation on the application of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), where it noted that, according to studies published by the Organization of American States (OAS), many victims of trafficking are Bolivian women who are taken to other countries as domestic workers and sometimes become victims of labour exploitation. It notes that, in September 2018, the La Paz Departmental Human Rights Ombudsperson (Defensoría del Pueblo) indicated that during the last few years the number of trafficking victims increased by 92.2 per cent, with 70 per cent of the victims being girls and young women aged from 12 to 22 years. According to its 2016 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) indicated that between 2012 and 2015, 1,038 persons were prosecuted for trafficking but only 15 of them were convicted. The Committee notes that, in its last annual reports, the Public Prosecutor indicated that 701 cases of trafficking were registered in 2016 and 563 cases in 2017, but that no information is available on the number of persons convicted or judicial decisions handed down in that respect. The Committee further notes that, in its last concluding observations, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) of the United Nations was concerned about the high and growing number of cases of trafficking in human beings, in particular women and children in border areas, as well as of cases of internal trafficking of indigenous women for purposes of forced prostitution, in particular in areas in which major development projects are being implemented. The CEDAW recommended to undertake an assessment of the situation of trafficking in Bolivia as a baseline for measures to address trafficking and to improve the collection of data on trafficking disaggregated by sex, age and ethnicity (CEDAW/C/BOL/5-6, 28 July 2015, paragraphs 20 and 21). The Committee notes with concern the low number of convictions regarding trafficking in persons, despite the significant number of cases brought to justice. It accordingly urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that all persons who engage in trafficking are subject to prosecutions and that in practice, sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the number of criminal proceedings initiated, persons convicted and penalties imposed on the basis of Act No. 263 against trafficking and smuggling of persons. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken to effectively combat trafficking in persons, including through awareness-raising activities and enhanced access to justice, in the framework of the National Action Plan for 2015–20 and the Multisectoral Plan for 2016–20. Lastly, noting the Government’s statement that several actions are being implemented to support victims of trafficking, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken to protect victims of trafficking and to facilitate their access to immediate assistance and remedies, as well as the number of victims who have been identified and have benefited from such assistance.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.