Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Mozambique (Ratification: 2003)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Mozambique (Ratification: 2018)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the implementing regulations of Act No. 6/2008 of 9 July establishing the legal framework applicable to preventing and combating trafficking in persons, which were intended to establish measures for awareness-raising, training, protection and the reintegration of victims, had not been adopted, but that a study ordered by the Prosecutor-General recommended the adoption of a plan of action in this area. It requested the Government to take the necessary measures to adopt a national plan to combat trafficking in persons with precise and coordinated measures and to describe the measures taken for the protection and reintegration of victims, in accordance with sections 20, 21 and 24 of Act No. 6/2008. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that on 11 December 2017 a draft national plan to prevent and combat trafficking in persons was presented by the Deputy Minister for Justice in order to improve the protection system through a comprehensive national strategy. The Government adds that the draft national plan includes specific objectives for the prevention of trafficking, protection of victims and sanction of perpetrators. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the national police carried out awareness-raising campaigns at community-level, as well as regular monitoring of places where trafficking in persons may occur, such as restaurants, plantations and mining operations. With regard to victim protection, the Government states that victims of trafficking can benefit from emergency shelters operating under the responsibility of the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Action, offering appropriate housing, medical and psychological assistance and sometimes vocational training. The Committee notes, from the 2018 annual report of the Prosecutor-General of the Republic submitted to the Assembly of the Republic, that several measures have been taken to raise awareness of trafficking in persons and for the training of state employees, more particularly judges and police officers, as well as to strengthen transnational cooperation with South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini. It notes that the number of victims of trafficking increased from 5 in 2017 to 26 in 2018, of whom 21 were victims of trafficking for labour exploitation. It notes, however, that the Prosecutor-General highlighted the need for concerted and increased efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, as well as the inappropriate legislative framework for sanctioning those perpetrators. The Committee further notes that, in their respective 2019 and 2018 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) expressed concern about: (i) Mozambicans and migrant workers, in particular those in an irregular situation, who have been victims of trafficking and forced labour, particularly in the mining, agriculture, construction, tourism and domestic work sectors; (ii) the insufficiency of the human and financial resources allocated to prevent and eradicate trafficking in persons, as well as of the training given to officials responsible for the implementation of anti-trafficking legislation; (iii) the very low number of prosecutions and convictions of cases of trafficking in persons and the complicity within the national police force from which some traffickers benefited; and (iv) the lack of effective procedures for early identification and referral of victims of trafficking, including undocumented migrants, the insufficient number and coverage of shelters for victims of trafficking, and the inadequacy of the medical and psychological assistance provided to them (CEDAW/C/MOZ/CO/3-5, 30 July 2019, paragraph 27 and CMW/C/MOZ/CO/1, 16 October 2018, paragraph 61). While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests it to strengthen its efforts to combat trafficking in persons and to adopt and implement without delay concrete and coordinated measures with a view to: (i) preventing trafficking in persons and raising awareness of the issue; (ii) reinforcing the capacities and training of the authorities responsible for the detection of situations of trafficking, carrying out investigations and initiating prosecutions; and (iii) punishing those responsible, including any complicit public officials. It also requests the Government to provide information on any progress made towards the adoption of the national plan to prevent and combat trafficking in persons and the implementing regulations of Act No. 6/2008, or any difficulties faced in that regard. It further requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken for the protection and reintegration of victims, in particular in the framework of sections 20, 21 and 24 of Act No. 6/2008. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide statistical data on the number and nature of investigations carried out, prosecutions initiated, court decisions handed down and penalties imposed under Act No. 6/2008 which establishes penalties of up to 16–20 years of imprisonment.

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