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

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Côte d'Ivoire (Ratification: 1961)

Impact of compulsory prison labour on the application of Article 1(a), (c) and (d) of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee observed that any person sentenced to imprisonment is forced to work, with the exception of persons convicted of military offences. It referred to section 46 of the Penal Code, which provides that sentences involve imprisonment, but persons sentenced to detention are not compelled to work; section 68 of Decree No. 69-189 of 14 May 1969 issuing the prison regulations, which provide that convicted prisoners are required to work; and section 680 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which establishes the same obligation to work, and specifies that it applies to persons sentenced to imprisonment for crimes or common law offences. In view of the compulsory nature of the labour of persons sentenced to imprisonment, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the application in practice of certain provisions of the Penal Code, which provide for imprisonment for offences which might fall within the scope of Article 1(a), (c) and (d) of the Convention.

The Government indicates in its report that the reference to compulsory labour in prison contained in section 46 of the former Penal Code has been removed in the new Penal Code of 2019 (Act No. 2019-574 of 26 June 2019), in order to resolve any ambiguity. The Government refers in this respect to sections 42 and 43 of the Penal Code, which provide that a prison sentence shall be served in accordance with the law and that imprisonment shall be served in a prison. The Government also refers to section 68 of the Decree regulating prisons and section 724 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 2018 (which uses the same wording as section 680 of the former Code of Criminal Procedure), and indicates in this connection that the labour referred to in these provisions is not a sentence as such, but a means of serving the sentence, and that this labour offers benefits to convicted prisoners. The Government further indicates that the provisions providing for the compulsory nature of labour in prison contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Decree regulating prisons have not been applied in the last three years.

The Committee therefore observes that, while the reference to the obligation to work of persons sentenced to imprisonment has been removed from the Penal Code, it remains in the Code of Criminal Procedure of 2018 (section 724: "persons sentenced to imprisonment for crimes or common law offences shall be required to work") and is still in force in the 1969 Decree issuing the prison regulations. The legal basis for imposing labour on a person sentenced to imprisonment thus remains. In this respect, the Committee recalls that Article 1(a), (c) and (d) of the Convention prohibits the imposition of any form of compulsory labour, including compulsory prison labour, as a punishment for expressing political views or views opposed to the established political, social or economic system, as a means of labour discipline or for having participated in strikes.

In this respect, the Committee observes that the provisions of the former Penal Code providing for the imposition of prison sentences (including the obligation to work) in circumstances that could fall within the scope of the Convention have been retained in the 2019 Penal Code. The provisions in question are as follows:

With respect to Article 1(a) of the Convention (work imposed as a punishment for expressing political views or views opposed to the established political, social or economic system):

• – section 182: possession, distribution, sale or public display, for propaganda purposes, of tracts or bulletins of foreign origin or inspiration, such as to harm the national interest;
• – section 183: publication, dissemination, disclosure or reproduction by whatever means of false information which results in, or could result in, … the undermining of public morals or the discrediting of institutions or their functioning;
• – sections 197–199: participation in a prohibited demonstration, participation in the organization of an unauthorized or prohibited demonstration, and organization of an unauthorized or prohibited demonstration;
• – sections 264–270: insults directed at the President of the Republic or the Vice-President of the Republic, heads of state and representatives of foreign governments, and insults directed at national emblems and public authorities;
• – section 367: insults through an information system.

With respect to Article 1(c) (labour imposed as a means of labour discipline):

• – section 295: negligence by a civil servant causing delays, slowdowns or disruption that seriously affects the functioning of the public service in which he/she works.

Lastly, with respect to Article 1(d) (labour imposed as a punishment for having participated in strikes):

• – section 342: threats or deception intended to cause or maintain a concerted work stoppage with a view to forcing an increase or decrease in wages or undermining the free exercise of industry or work.

The Committee trusts that the Government will take the necessary measures to continue bringing its legislation into line with the practice indicated, by expressly indicating in the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Decree regulating prisons that labour in prison is voluntary. In the meantime, the Committee requests the Government to ensure that no prison sentence, which involves compulsory labour under national law, may be imposed under the above provisions of the Penal Code on persons for expressing certain political views, or their opposition to the established political, social or economic system, as a means of labour discipline or as a punishment for having participated in strikes. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the effect given in practice to the above provisions of the Penal Code, specifying the number of prosecutions initiated under these provisions, the charges brought and the sentences imposed.