Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Benin (Ratification: 1961)

Article 1(c) of the Convention. Imposition of forced labour as a means of labour discipline. The Committee notes the adoption of the Maritime Code of the Republic of Benin (Act No. 2010-11 of 27 December 2010) which repeals the Merchant Shipping Code of 1968. The Committee notes with satisfaction that breaches of discipline to which its previous comments referred (such as, for example, absence without leave or refusal to obey an order) no longer give rise to imprisonment.

Article 1(a). Imposition of prison sentences involving the obligation to work as punishment for expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. 1. Legislation on the press and communications. The Committee previously noted the drafting of a bill grouping all legislative texts governing the press with a view to adapting them to the requirements of this sector and bringing them into line with international conventions, and it expressed the hope that this bill would be adopted in the near future. The Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention for many years to certain provisions of Act No. 60-12 of 30 June 1960 on the freedom of the press, under which various actions or activities relating to the exercise of freedom of expression are punishable by imprisonment. Furthermore, convicted prisoners may be assigned social rehabilitation work under the terms of section 67 of Decree No. 73-293 of 15 September 1973 issuing prison regulations. The Committee referred more specifically to the following sections of the Act: section 8 (deposit of a publication with the authorities before it is released to the public); section 12 (a ban on publications of foreign origin in French or the vernacular, printed within or outside the country); section 23 (causing offence to the Prime Minister); section 25 (publication of false reports) and sections 26 and 27 (slander and insults). For the same reasons, the Committee also drew the Government’s attention to the following provisions of Act No. 97-010 of 20 August 1997 liberalizing audiovisual communications and establishing special penal provisions for offences relating to the press and audiovisual communications: section 79(3) (seditious shouting or chanting against the lawfully established authorities in public places or meetings); section 81 (offence to the President of the Republic); and section 80 (any provocation against the public security forces aimed at distracting them from their duty of defending security or of obeying the orders given by their chiefs for the enforcement of military laws and regulations).

The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government states that the bill of the Code of Information and Communications has indeed been submitted to the National Assembly for adoption, but that it still contains a number of actions punishable by imprisonment, particularly that of causing offence to the President of the Republic. It is for this reason that media professionals have been involved in lobbying the Parliament. The Government stipulates that, for a number of years now, whenever courts have handed down prison sentences in this area, they have always been suspended sentences. Furthermore, the supervisory bodies of the media contribute towards guaranteeing respect for the ethical rules of media professionals and to avoid misdemeanours, which limits the number of cases involving an infringement of these rules brought before the courts.

The Committee expresses the firm hope that, in the course of adopting the Code of Information and Communications, the above-mentioned provisions in Acts Nos 60-12 and 97-010 will be amended or repealed in such a way that no penalty of imprisonment under which prison labour may be required may be imposed for the simple fact of expressing political opinions or for peacefully expressing opposition to the established political, social or economic system, in accordance with Article 1(a) of the Convention. Pending this revision, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the above-mentioned provisions of Acts Nos 60-12 and 97-010 by the national judicial authorities, also indicating the penalties imposed.

2. Legislation concerning political parties. Referring to its previous direct request, the Committee notes from information submitted by the Government that no prison sentence has been imposed on political leaders pursuant to the provisions of Title VI of the Charter of Political Parties (Act No. 2001-21 of 21 February 2001).