Observation (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 refer to matters raised previously.

Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention. Purely military character of work exacted in the context of compulsory military service. The Committee has previously emphasized that the conception of compulsory military service in Colombia (Act No. 1861 of 2017 regulating the recruitment service and the monitoring and mobilizing of the reserve), which may be exacted in various forms, is broader than the exception allowed by the Convention. Thus, the various activities that the conscripts may undertake as part of the military service are not of a purely military character and are therefore not in conformity with the exception allowed in Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention, which excludes from its scope of application only work or service exacted in virtue of compulsory military service laws for work of a purely military character. The Committee highlighted in particular the situation of persons who have completed secondary education who carry out their military service in the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC), and conscripts who carry out activities relating to the conservation of the environment and of natural resources in the “environmental” service.

The Committee recalls that compulsory military service in Colombia is of 18 months’ duration or 12 months for graduates of secondary education and comprises four stages: basic military training, training in productive work, application in practice of the basic military training and a period of rest. Under section 16 of Act No. 1861 of 2017, at least 10 per cent of personnel in each intake shall complete “environmental” service, that is, support activities aimed at protecting the environment and natural resources.

With regard to compulsory military service in the INPEC, the Government indicates in its report that within the framework of the agreements concluded between the Ministries of National Defence and of Justice and the INPEC a certain number of secondary education graduates are divided into four auxiliary contingents in the INPEC prison guard service. After three months’ prison-specific training, the auxiliaries assist in the basic penitentiary centre activities of security, custody, surveillance and treatment of prisoners.

With regard to environmental service, the Government refers to Decree No. 977 of 7 June 2018, under which the Ministry of National Defence, in coordination with the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, sets out guidelines for basic support activities aimed at protecting the environment and renewable natural resources, as an extension of the constitutional mission of the Military Forces and the National Police. The Government indicates that within the framework of its mandate, the National Police has a specialized branch of Environmental and Natural Resource Police, responsible for assisting the competent authorities in the defence and protection of the environment. In accordance with Act 1861 of 2017, the National Police included the protection of the environment and natural resources among the activities to be carried out by the police auxiliaries during their military service in the Institution.

With respect to the training in productive work, the Government indicates that the Ministry of National Defence and the National Apprenticeship Service establish the types of training for productive work available to military service conscripts, giving priority to training that is in line with each institution’s mission. The aim is to contribute to the promotion and strengthening of human talent, training, updating, certifying and increasing levels of qualification and developing technical and technological occupational skills.

The Government considers, as a social duty of young people towards the country, that both the services provided by the secondary education graduates in the INPEC, and the experience of the police auxiliaries within the environmental services, offer a useful opportunity to develop skills that will allow them to enter the world of work. The Government adds that with the de-escalation of the armed conflict, military service has evolved from military to social service in urban areas. Nevertheless, it retains its particular character due to the presence of armed groups, which puts the physical integrity of all members of the security forces at constant risk. For this reason, the Government considers that Act 1861 of 2017 has provided benefits and safeguards to the conscripts, it being necessary for military service in its various forms to be maintained, as an effective tool for achieving the goals of the State.

The Committee notes the explanations provided by the Government and recognizes that Governments may have a legitimate need to establish a compulsory military service. The Committee recalls in this regard that military service is outside the scope of the Convention, but conditions have been placed on this exception to prevent it from being diverted from its fundamental purpose and used to mobilize conscripts for public works or other tasks that are not of a purely military character. While recognizing and valuing the social and environmental considerations underlying the diversification of the tasks undertaken as part of compulsory military service, the Committee recalls that these tasks are nonetheless undertaken within a framework of legal obligation of service deriving from compulsory military service.

Therefore, the Committee trusts that the Government will take the necessary measures to review the legislation regulating obligatory military service in the light of the provisions of Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention, under which any work or service extracted in virtue of compulsory military service laws must be of a purely military character. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the total number of conscripts who are enlisted in compulsory military service, the number of conscripts who perform their service in the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC), the number of conscripts who perform it in the “environmental” service and the number of conscripts who undertake occupational training, together with the duration of the training.

The Committee recalls that the Government may avail itself, should it so wish, of the technical assistance of the ILO, with a view to resolving the difficulties raised concerning the application of the Convention.

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