Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1944)

The Committee notes the Government's detailed report.

Article 2, paragraph 2(c). In its previous comments, the Committee referred to sections 17, 21 and 23 of the Act of 1956 respecting vagrants and rogues, which empowers the administrative authorities to order internment in a rehabilitation and labour establishment, an agricultural reformatory colony or a work camp, to reform vagrants and rogues or to put them out of harm's way. The Committee pointed out that, in accordance with the Convention, work can only be exacted from a person as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law. It requested information on the number of persons who, during a three-year period, had been the subject of such measures, the duration of the measures and the establishments in which those concerned had been detained.

The Committee also requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure a more restrictive definition of vagrancy in sections 1 and 2(a) of the above Act, since laws which define vagrancy and similar offences in an unduly extensive manner are liable to become, directly or indirectly, a means of compulsion to work, in violation of the Convention.

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report to the effect that, under the above provisions, security measures were applied to 476 persons in 1990, 560 persons in 1991 and 911 persons in 1992 and that they were for a duration of between 30 and 36 months.

Despite the fact that the above figures show a tendency for the application of such measures to increase, the Committee notes with interest from the information supplied by the Government that, although the Act respecting vagrants and rogues (which is intended to cover potentially dangerous situations in which no crime has been committed and which allows the jurisdiction of the courts to be transferred to the administrative authorities) has not yet been repealed, there are currently two petitions for the above Act to be declared unconstitutional, the texts of which were supplied by the Government. The Government adds that a draft Code of Sanctions has been submitted to Congress to determine competence for the imposition of sanctions, which would repeal the Act respecting vagrants and rogues.

The Committee hopes that in its next report the Government will be able to state that the above provisions have been repealed, thereby ensuring observance of the Convention on this point.