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

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Colombia (Ratification: 1969)

The Committee notes the observations of the National Employers Association of Colombia (ANDI), received on 31 August 2021. It also notes the joint observations of the Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC) and the Single Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT) and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), received on 1 September 2021. The Committee notes that the observations received relate to issues already raised.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee previously welcomed the measures taken by the Government to combat trafficking in persons and protect victims within a broad and coordinated policy, and requested the Government to continue taking measures to implement the second national strategy to combat trafficking in persons.

The Government reports the adoption of a new strategy to combat trafficking in persons for 2020–2024. The Committee welcomes the fact that the strategy is the product of a participative process with the Inter-institutional Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons and based on input from the evaluation of the previous strategy. Apart from reinforcing the normal lines of action (coordination, protection, investigation, data, prevention, international cooperation), the strategy widened its coverage to include other elements/areas, such as the question of restoring the rights of victims, care for migrant populations, or the inclusion of areas with no State presence.

The Committee also notes the abundant and detailed information provided by the Government on:

• – Data and analysis of the trafficking phenomenon. In this regard, the Government specifies that Colombia is one of the epicentres of trafficking in persons in two ways: the first, where persons, principally women, are tricked and taken abroad for the purpose of exploitation; and the second, because Colombia is at the crossroads of transfer of victims coming from other countries in Latin America. Out of the 1208 victims who between 2008 and June 2021 benefited from protection and care services, the large majority are women (961), Colombian women (1051), Venezuelan women (110), victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation (708), forced labour (247) or servitude (23), externally trafficked (975), or internally trafficked (223). According to the Government, a major risk of vulnerability has been identified which is related the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among persons already in a precarious situation (the lowest wages, informal sectors, irregular migrants, temporary workers);
• – the formulation of a psychosocial aid protocol for victims of trafficking;
• – action by the Office of the Public Prosecutor (FGN), through the Delegate for Citizen Security and the Delegate against Organized Crime (two posts held by women) which have specialized attorneys to prosecute trafficking cases, as well as various specialized judicial police. Work was undertaken to characterize the criminal phenomenon, so as to facilitate the investigation of cases, with the aim of increasing effective prosecution and to provide differentiated care to victims;
• – improved access to justice for victims, through telephone, written and electronic channels administrated by the FGN Contact Centre, which provides a system helping complainants to register information, with a view to having better quality data at the outset of investigations;
• – complaints and prosecutions coming through the Office of the Public Prosecutor: between July 2017 and May 2021, there were 718 complaints, corresponding to 531 victims, which resulted in 614 prosecutions, with 40 completed rulings.

The Committee notes, according to the Government, that among the main obstacles to the investigation of trafficking identified are the lack of in-depth knowledge and approach to cases among legal system actors, the refusal by victims to take part in the stages of the criminal procedure and the invisibility of certain cases, which makes it difficult to make the problem visible and attack criminal networks. The Committee also observes that although the CTC, CUT and CGT recognize the measures taken in respect of awareness-raising, training, complaints and investigation, they emphasize the acute need to determine the effects and results of these measures to establish whether they are having a real impact on protection of the most vulnerable, restoring the rights of victims and reducing levels of forced labour.

The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to prevent the trafficking of Colombian citizens abroad and to combat the trafficking of persons on national territory, and requests it to indicate the measures adopted under the main lines of action in the national strategy (in particular prevention, protection, data collection and international cooperation). The Government is also requested to provide information on the protection given to victims, including measures for remedy and rehabilitation, and on the measures to encourage them to collaborate in the investigations and criminal proceedings. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to strengthen the system for identification of trafficking, as well as on the legal proceedings undertaken against perpetrators and the convictions handed down.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1). Vulnerable workers in illegal mines and risk of forced labour. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government regarding activities to prevent trafficking in persons in regions of the country where mining takes place, as well as on the preventive visits and reactive inspections undertaken by the labour inspectorate of the territorial directorates and the penalties imposed.