Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Haiti (Ratification: 1958)

While noting the difficult situation prevailing in the country, the Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report, due since 2015, has not been received. In light of its urgent appeal launched to the Government in 2019, the Committee proceeds with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee previously welcomed the adoption of the 2014 Act on Combating Trafficking in Persons, which provides for penalties of imprisonment for trafficking in persons for labour and sexual exploitation as well as for the establishment of a National Committee Against Trafficking in Persons (CNLTP) in charge of coordinating activities aimed at preventing and combating trafficking, and protecting the victims. The Committee also noted that the Act provides for the creation of a Special Fund against Trafficking in Persons to finance activities against trafficking in persons, with particular emphasis on assistance to victims. The Committee took note of the observations of the Confederation of Public and Private Sector Workers (CTSP), received in 2017 and 2018, referring to the lack of resources allocated to combat human trafficking.

The Committee notes from the 2016 national report of the Government to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations that, the CNLTP was established in 2015 (A/HRC/WG.6/26/HTI/1 paragraph 82). It also notes from the observations of the Confederation of Public and Private Sector Workers (CTSP) received on 4 September 2019 that the CNLTP does not have the necessary resources to discharge its mandate. The CTSP also indicates that in several cases suspected traffickers of persons have been released. The Committee notes that, according to a press release of the International Organization for Migration, the Haitian Border Police (POLIFRONT) has received support for the rehabilitation of its bases, 175 individuals have been arrested by the POLIFRONT between January 2018 and August 2019 and at least more than a thousand victims of trafficking have received assistance. The Committee further notes that, its 2016 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women referred to the continued practice of trafficking of women at the borders with the Dominican Republic, which only rarely is subject to investigation by the Police (CEDAW/C/HTI/CO/8-9, paragraph 23).

The Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts to provide the CNLTP and other entities in charge of the application of the anti-trafficking legislation with the necessary resources to fulfil their functions; and to take measures to ensure that cases of trafficking in persons for both labour and sexual exploitation are identified, investigations carried out, and prosecutions initiated. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on investigations carried out, judicial proceedings initiated and convictions handed down under the 2014 Act on Combating Trafficking in Persons, as well as on the difficulties encountered by the competent authorities in that respect. Lastly, the Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the activities undertaken by the CNLTP, as well as on the measures taken to identify and provide adequate protection to the victims of trafficking, particularly women.

Articles 1(1) and 25. Legal and institutional framework to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms. The Committee notes the adoption, in 2020, of a new Penal Code, which contains provisions which criminalize different practices that amount or could amount to forced labour: section 396 provides for sanctions of imprisonment for obtaining from a vulnerable or dependent person the provision of services without payment or with a compensation that is not adequate to the type of service performed; section 397 provides for sanctions of imprisonment for subjecting a person in a situation of dependency or vulnerability to working and housing conditions contrary to human dignity; section 374(3) criminalizes the act of forcing a person to engage or continue to engage in prostitution; and section 394 provides for penal sanctions for forcing others to beg. The Committee welcomes the adoption of these penal provisions, which complement the prohibition of forced labour contained in the Labour Code as well as the prohibition of trafficking in persons contained in the 2014 Act on Combating Trafficking in Persons.

The Committee notes that in its 2019 observations, the CTSP refers to the lack of a national policy to eradicate the practices of forced labour in a systematic manner as well as the lack of resources and capacity of the labour inspectorate that is not in a position to carry out inspections in all sectors of the economy.

The Committee recalls that, under the Convention, States are required to develop a comprehensive legal and policy framework to combat forced labour in all its forms. The Committee hopes that the measures taken by the Government to strengthen the legislative framework will be accompanied by the necessary measures for its effective implementation. In this regard, the Committee encourages the Government to continue taking measures aimed at ensuring that law enforcement bodies and other relevant entities are provided with the necessary resources and capacities to identify and bring to an end forced labour practices, sanction the perpetrators and provide protection and assistance to the victims. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on prosecutions and judicial decisions handed down under the above-mentioned provisions of the Penal Code, in particular sections 396 and 397.