Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Czechia (Ratification: 1993)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Czechia (Ratification: 2016)

The Committee welcomes the ratification by Czechia of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930. Noting that the first report of the Government has not been received, the Committee hopes that the Government will provide detailed information on its application, in accordance with the report form adopted by the Governing Body.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. Programme of action. The Committee notes that according to the evaluation of the National Strategy for Combating Trafficking in Persons (the Strategy) for the period 2016–2019, most of its objectives have been fully reached. The Committee observes that the elaboration of the new Strategy for the period 2020–2023 was based on the findings of the evaluation of the previous strategy, the annual reports on the state of trafficking in persons as well as the recommendations from international bodies. The Committee notes that the three main goals of the new Strategy are the strengthening of the identification of victims of trafficking, the prevention and assistance provided to victims of trafficking, and the cooperation in combating trafficking in persons at national and international levels. The Government indicates that the Minister of the Interior shall submit the evaluation of the Strategy for the period 2020–2023, together with the draft Strategy for the next period, by 31 March 2023. The Committee welcomes the approach adopted for the elaboration of the new strategy for the period 2020–2023 and requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken for its implementation as well as on the outcome of its evaluation, indicating the results achieved, the difficulties encountered, and the measures taken to overcome them.

2. Penalties and law enforcement. The Committee notes from the information provided by the Government that under section 168 of the Penal Code criminalizing trafficking in persons, the number of detected crimes was 16 in 2017, 13 in 2018, 20 in 2019, and 18 in 2020. The Committee further notes that in 2017, 24 people were prosecuted and nine were convicted; in 2018, 15 people were prosecuted and 16 were convicted; in 2019, 26 were prosecuted and 12 were convicted; and in 2020, 20 were prosecuted and eight were convicted. The Committee notes that the Strategy for the period 2020–2023 identified among the tasks to be undertaken the creation of a unified list of indicators of trafficking in persons, education of stakeholders in the identification of victims, and training of police officers in this regard.

The Committee observes that, in its 2020 report, the Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) on the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by Czechia drew the Government’s attention to the need to increase the number of cases prosecuted in the field of trafficking in persons for the purpose of labour exploitation (paragraphs 234 and 255). The Committee further observes that the United Nations Human Rights Committee, in its 2019 concluding observations, expressed concern about the prosecution of trafficking crimes as pimping, and the ensuing significantly lower sentences (CCPR/C/CZE/CO/4, paragraph 30).

The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts and strengthen the training and the capacities of law enforcement bodies to ensure that cases of trafficking in persons, for the purpose of both labour and sexual exploitation, are identified and subject to thorough investigations, so as to facilitate the prosecution and imposition of effective and dissuasive penalties on perpetrators. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information in this regard as well as on the application of section 168 of the Penal Code in practice, including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions as well as the specific penalties applied.

3. Identification and protection of victims. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the number of potential victims of trafficking who received support under the Programme for Support and Protection of Victims of Trafficking was 24 in 2017, 17 in 2018, 15 in 2019, and 13 in 2020. The Government indicates that the purpose of this Programme is to provide support to victims, ensure protection of their human rights and, at the same time, motivate such victims to assist law enforcement bodies in the detection, prosecution, and conviction of offenders of trafficking in persons. The Committee observes from the website of the Department of Crime Prevention of the Ministry of the Interior, that upon the expiration of 60 days after entry to the Programme, victims of trafficking continue to benefit from the Programme only in case of their agreement to co-operate with law enforcement bodies in a criminal investigation into a trafficking in persons crime. In this respect, the Committee observes that, in its 2020 report, the GRETA concluded that the identification system of victims of trafficking risks leaving out those who are unable or unwilling to co-operate with the authorities in a criminal investigation (paragraph 162). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to ensure that appropriate protection and assistance is guaranteed to all victims of trafficking for both sexual and labour exploitation, irrespective of their acceptance to cooperate with law enforcement bodies. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of victims of trafficking identified and the number of those who received the services available within the framework of the Programme to Support and Protect Victims of Trafficking in Persons as well as the types of services provided (such as resident permits, recovery period, accommodation, andhealth services).