Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

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

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. In reply to the Committee’s comments, the Government indicates in its report that the labour inspectorate and the labour courts see virtually no cases of forced or compulsory labour, let alone trafficking in persons of which workers are victims. In its report presented on the application of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the Government also indicates that the National Anti-Trafficking Unit regularly involves law enforcement officials in its training programmes on trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, and that trafficking in persons in all its forms is severely punished under the law. Between 2013 and 2018, the budget of the National Anti-Trafficking Unit was increased from 20 million to 85 million CFA francs and its staff was reinforced. An electronic data collection system, known as SYSTRAITE, has been in place since 2016 and members of the judiciary have gained knowledge of it through training. The Committee further notes that, according to information available on the website of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, for several years, the phenomenon of forced prostitution has been on the rise in the south-eastern Kédougou region of Senegal. Hundreds of young women from all over the region are victims of trafficking. The traffickers promise them jobs as models, hairdressers and restaurant or domestic workers. Most of them have their travel documents confiscated and are then forced into prostitution on behalf of traffickers in order to reimburse the so-called travel expenses. In this regard, the Committee notes that, in its report of 31 July 2019 presented to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Government indicates that awareness-raising activities have been organized with the support of partners, particularly in the gold panning sites where trafficking for sexual exploitation purposes takes place (Kédougou Region). The annual report of the National Anti-Trafficking Unit, submitted to the Prime Minister on 25 January 2018, summarizes the situation of trafficking in Senegal and comprises recommendations on policies to be implemented. The National Anti-Trafficking Unit also commissioned a study on trafficking in persons through domestic servitude, as well as a study to review the specific normative framework on trafficking in persons, conduct a documentary review of trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling and victim protection, analyse data on the phenomenon and formulate recommendations. The latter proposes a new law that incorporates the definition of article 3 of the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. As for the SYSTRAITE data collection system, the experimental phase covers judicial proceedings and will be tested in five pilot regions in 2019 (see CEDAW/C/SEN/8, paragraphs 74 and 77–79). The Committee also notes that, in its national report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council of 30 August 2018, the Government indicates that Senegal is now implementing its third two-year action plan to combat trafficking in persons, covering the period 2018–2020. Capacity-building for the judiciary and other officials continues and the number of specialized justice officials is growing (see A/HRC/WG.6/31/SEN/1, paragraphs 38–40). The Committee also notes that, in its most recent concluding observations, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern at the extremely limited number of prosecutions and convictions under Act No. 2005-06, of 10 May 2005, on combating trafficking in persons and similar practices, particularly the exploitation of women and children (CCPR/C/SEN/CO/5, 7 November 2019, paragraph 30). The Committee therefore urges the Government to increase its efforts and to take measures with a view to ending, preventing and combating trafficking in persons for both sexual and labour exploitation. Furthermore, the Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to strengthen the capacity of the law enforcement bodies, including the labour inspectorate, in order to enable them to better understand and identify practices of trafficking in persons for purposes of sexual and labour exploitation and to prosecute the perpetrators. The Committee requests the Government to communicate information on the measures taken to coordinate their efforts and the results achieved so that traffickers are effectively prosecuted and victims can receive adequate protection and assistance to assert their rights and reintegrate. Please also indicate the number of legal proceedings initiated and, if applicable, a copy of any court decisions handed down, and the penalties imposed. Noting that the study commissioned by the National Anti-Trafficking Unit proposes a new law on trafficking in persons, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any legislative changes that have occurred. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of the action plan to combat trafficking in persons and information on its implementation, as well as a copy of the most recent annual report of the National Anti-Trafficking Unit on the results achieved in this regard.

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