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

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Burundi (Ratification: 1963)

Article 1(b) of the Convention. Compulsory civic service for the purposes of economic development. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that under sections 2 and 8 of Legislative Decree No. 1/005 of 1 December 1996 establishing compulsory civic service, civic service consists of unpaid compulsory service for the State in areas of public interest or development, and that the refusal to perform it is liable to punishment in the form of imprisonment ranging from one month to one year. It noted that similar provisions are applicable to national defence, in particular Ministerial Ordinance No. 520/003 of 6 January 1997 concerning the organization of compulsory civic service in relation to national defence, and Legislative Decree No. 1/013 of 31 October 1997 issuing regulations governing persons engaged in compulsory civic service in the field of national defence. The Government indicated that, although Legislative Decree No. 1/005 of 1 December 1996 establishing compulsory civic service was still in force, civic service was not compulsory and has been discontinued since 2002. It also indicated that recruitment to the defence forces is voluntary. Recalling that Article 1(b) of the Convention prohibits the use of compulsory labour as a method of mobilizing and using labour for the purposes of economic development, the Committee encouraged the Government to repeal Legislative Decree No. 1/005 of 1 December 1996 so as to ensure conformity with the Convention.

The Committee notes the absence of information on this subject in the Government’s report. The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary steps to align legislation with the practice indicated, either by repealing the abovementioned texts or by deleting the provisions that stipulate the compulsory nature of these civic services and the applicable penalties for refusal. It requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard.