Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Central African Republic (Ratification: 1960)

Article 1, paragraph 1, and Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. 1. Freedom of military service personnel to leave the service of the State. In reply to the comments of the Committee, the Government indicates that military service personnel, having attained 15 years of service, may request a leave of absence for personal reasons. The Committee reminds the Government that legal or statutory provisions which prohibit a worker employed for an indefinite duration, or for a very long period, to terminate his or her employment by means of notice of reasonable length have the effect of transforming a contractual relationship based on the free will of the parties into service by compulsion of law, and are consequently incompatible with the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to please indicate how, in practice, the right of career military service personnel to leave the service in peacetime before 15 years has elapsed is guaranteed, specifying the procedure that must be followed and, if necessary, the sanctions incurred by those personnel who leave the service prior to the end of that period. Please supply copies of relevant statutory provisions.

2. Trafficking in persons. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee regrets that the Government has provided no information on measures taken with a view to preventing, suppressing and punishing the trafficking in persons for purposes of exploitation. The Government indicates only that the Penal Code in the course of adoption provides for sanctions for trafficking in persons. The Committee hopes that this Code will very soon be adopted and that it will contain provisions that specifically penalize trafficking in persons for purposes of labour or sexual exploitation and also make provision for suitable penal sanctions. It further hopes that in its next report the Government will be able to provide concrete information on measures taken to combat the phenomenon of trafficking in persons, whether they be on the level of prevention (awareness-raising activities undertaken for vulnerable populations), prosecution (activities carried out for police forces and prosecuting authorities), or protection of victims. Please indicate whether judgements have already been issued by criminal courts and sanctions imposed on persons convicted for this crime.

3. Exploitation of the labour of Aka indigenous peoples known as “Pygmies”. The Committee notes the report of the African Commission’s Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities, adopted in 2008 following a research and information visit to the Central African Republic in January 2007. The Committee notes that, according to this report, the practice of “Pygmies’ masters”, or slavery-like practices, still persist in certain regions of the Central African Republic. These consist of an individual or a family holding Aka individuals or entire Aka families in their home or on their lands. The provision of gifts and the incurring of debts means that many of these relationships with the “Pygmies” become relationships of servitude.

This may relate, in particular, to a “master” paying a “Pygmy’s” dowry, to providing him with second-hand clothes, or to representing or defending him before the authorities. According to the report, all these services in reality only serve to create and maintain the “Pygmies” dependency on their “master”. In return for the “assistance” provided, the “Pygmies” carry out work in the fields for their “masters” for little or no remuneration. The masters’ generally expect their “Pygmies” to undertake all kinds of work, at any time of the day and under any condition. In some cases, the “master” also owns the labour his “Pygmies” may provide to third parties for payment. The Committee notes that the Working Group of the African Commission on Indigenous Populations/Communities recommends that the Government set up a national commission with the mandate to investigate alleged cases of slavery-like practices still affecting Aka indigenous peoples, and to take all necessary measures to combat impunity, so that “Pygmies” masters are held responsible for their actions towards the Aka peoples. The Committee hopes that in its next report the Government will provide detailed information about the situation of these peoples in light of the protection guaranteed by this Convention. Please indicate the measures taken to ensure that these peoples are not subjected to work to which they have not consented or are not able to provide a valid consent.

Article 25. Application of adequate penalties. Noting that under provisions of the Labour Code recourse to forced labour may be sanctioned solely by a fine (sections 4 and 228 of the Labour Code, read together), the Committee has drawn the attention of the Government to the penal nature of the sanctions which must be applied to the exaction of forced labour, in accordance with Article 25 of the Convention. The Committee hoped that the question of really adequate sanctions would be examined in the framework of the process of reform of the Penal Code that was under way. In its report the Government indicates that the draft Penal Code validated in March of 2007 was now in the hands of the Government for conveying to the National Assembly with a view to final adoption. It specifies that penal sanctions are provided for in terms of trafficking in persons. The Committee notes this information and hopes that the Penal Code that is going to be adopted will, in addition to provisions prohibiting the trafficking in persons, contain a general provision, according to which the imposition of any form of forced labour shall be punishable by penal sanctions that are really adequate.