Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2020, publiée 109ème session CIT (2021)

Convention (n° 29) sur le travail forcé, 1930 - Niger (Ratification: 1961)
Protocole de 2014 relatif à la convention sur le travail forcé, 1930 - Niger (Ratification: 2015)

The Committee welcomes the ratification by Niger of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, which bears witness to the Government’s commitment to prevent and eliminate all forms of forced labour.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention, and Article 1(1) of the Protocol. Effective measures to combat slavery and similar practices. 1. Systematic and coordinated action. The Committee has been examining the issue of the persistence of slavery-like practices in Niger for many years. The Committee has welcomed the Government’s commitment to combating these practices, including with the technical assistance of the Office provided within the framework of the support project to combat forced labour and discrimination (the PACTRAD project). Nevertheless, although noting the existence of a legislative framework that criminalizes slavery, the Committee observed that the institution initially established to coordinate action to combat slavery-like practices, the National Commission to Combat the Vestiges of Forced Labour and Discrimination, lacked the resources to discharge its functions. The Committee considered that the Government should intensify its efforts to bring an end to slavery-like practices and take the necessary measures for the adoption of a national strategy to combat slavery.

In its report, the Government indicates that it has opted for an overall plan to combat trafficking in persons and forced labour by reinforcing the presence of the Ministry of Labour within the National Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons (CNLTP) and through the closer involvement of the social partners. It also refers to the activities carried out within the framework of the PACTRAD II project, the general objective of which is to contribute to a significant reduction in the number of victims of forced labour, with the immediate objective of the progressive elimination of the vestiges of slavery. In this context, technical meetings for the exchange of information have been organized so that the various actors have a better knowledge of the priorities and means of intervention used by each of them.

The Committee notes this information. While noting the Government’s indication that it has adopted an overall approach to combating trafficking in persons and forced labour within the framework of the National Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Committee recalls that the issues of trafficking in persons and the vestiges of slavery have their own characteristics and require different specific action. Action to combat trafficking in persons was defined and provided with a framework by Ordinance No. 2010-86 of 16 December 2010 on action to combat trafficking in persons and is covered by a national plan of action implemented by the National Agency for action to combat trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants (ANLTP/TIM) (see, in this respect, the Committee’s comments in its direct request). The crimes and offences of slavery were introduced into the Penal Code in 2003, without an overall strategy being established to combat these practice. The Committee has previously emphasized the complexity of the factors underlying the persistence of slavery-like practices and the need for a specific response. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures for the adoption of a national policy and plan of action to combat slavery and slavery like practices with a view to ensuring the adoption of systematic and coordinated action by the competent authorities and the determination of the objectives to be achieved and the measures to be taken. Please indicate in this regard the manner in which employers’ and workers’ organizations are consulted. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the authority that will be competent for the implementation of this policy and to specify the measures taken to ensure that it has the resources to discharge its functions throughout the national territory.

2. Article 2 of the Protocol. Prevention. Awareness-raising, education and information (clauses (a) and (b)). The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the training and awareness-raising activities organized within the framework of the PACTRAD II project for traditional chiefs, journalists in the public and private press, universities and the National School of Administration, with a view to promoting a change of mentality and behaviour. It notes that, following the theoretical and practical training provided to the Association of Traditional Chiefs of Niger (ACTN), the Association adopted a plan of action to combat forced labour and similar practices. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that, in the context of the Bridge technical cooperation project, it is planned that the ANLTP/TIM will undertake studies on the situation of slavery in locations where vestiges of slavery still persist with a view to the adoption of a strategy to combat slavery.

The Committee recalls that the availability of reliable data on the nature and incidence of slavery-like practices in Niger is an essential prerequisite. It strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary measures to undertake, with the assistance of the Office, a study on the situation with regard to slavery and slavery practices to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of such practices, and particularly the multidimensional nature of the relationship that exists between victims and their masters. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the awareness-raising activities carried out for the various competent authorities and actors concerned, as well as the population. Please indicate the manner in which these activities target zones and populations that are at risk.

Action to address the root causes of slavery (clause (f )). The Committee welcomes the various types of action undertaken within the framework of the PACTRAD II project to address the root causes of slavery. It notes in particular the measures taken which led to the creation of community schools (MODECOM) in areas in which communities with slave origins are established, with a view to promoting their emancipation; the organization of a campaign in fairs to draw up birth certificates and identity documents to combat the marginalization of these populations by enabling them to have access to their rights (the right to vote, education and other services); and support services for the independence of households of slave origins in the commune of Tajaé.

The Committee requests the Government to continue taking measures to address the root causes of the vestiges of slavery-like practices, with an indication of the framework within which the activities are carried out and the manner in which they are coordinated. It requests it to specify whether programmes are specifically targeted at former slaves or the descendants of slaves with a view to ensuring they have sufficient means of subsistence so that they do not fall back into a situation of dependence in which they are vulnerable to the exploitation of their labour. In this regard, the Committee also refers to its comments under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), in which it emphasized the importance of combating the discrimination and stigmatization of which former slaves and the descendants of slaves are victims, including in relation to access to productive resources, such as land, so as to enable them to have a job or engage freely in their activities.

3. (Article 3 of the Protocol). Identification and protection of victims. With regard to the identification and protection of victims, the Committee notes that the information provided by the Government mainly concerns the measures adopted or envisaged for the victims of trafficking in persons. It emphasizes in this regard that the victims of slavery are in a situation of economic and psychological dependence which requires specific action by a series of actors in society to detect cases of slavery and help victims to leave their situation of dependence. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the victims of slavery are identified and released and that they benefit from protection that is adapted to their situation so that they can rebuild their lives outside the slave-master relationship. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the situations that are denounced, the number of potential victims identified, those who have benefited from protection, the nature of such protection and the institutions that have provided such assistance.

4. (Article 4 of the Protocol). Access to justice and compensation. The Committee previously noted that the Penal Code empowers any association that has the objective of combating slavery and similar practices to bring civil action for compensation for the damages caused by offences related to slavery (section 270-5). It also noted that vulnerable people who do not have the necessary income can benefit from legal and judicial assistance administered by the National Agency for Legal and Judicial Assistance. The Government indicated that this assistance constitutes significant progress in allowing victims to re-establish their rights. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the manner in which in practice legal assistance is provided to persons identified as potential victims of slavery. It requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the various actors (civil society associations, the forces of order and the National Agency for Legal and Judicial Assistance) cooperate to ensure that victims are in practice able to assert their rights and have access to justice. The Committee also requests the Government to ensure that victims have easy access to appropriate compensation mechanisms for all the damages that they have suffered.

5. (Article 25 of the Convention and Article 1(1) of the Protocol). Imposition of effective penal sanctions. The Committee notes that, since the adoption of the provisions criminalizing slavery in 2003 (Act No. 2003-025 of 13 June 2003, which introduced sections 270-1 to 270-5 on slavery into the Penal Code), very little information has been provided on the prosecutions brought and the sentences handed down against those engaging in slavery. The Government refers to several training activities undertaken between 2013 and 2017 in the defence and security forces within the framework of training modules on human rights, and to awareness-raising activities on trafficking in persons for actors in the criminal justice system. The Committee notes this information and once again emphasizes the need to carry out more targeted activities on the subject of slavery and the related legislative provisions. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacities of the forces of order, the prosecution services and the judicial authorities to ensure that cases of slavery are identified, evidence collected and prosecutions initiated so that those responsible for such practices are punished under the terms of sections 270-1 to 270-5 of the Penal Code. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on this subject in its next report.

The Committee notes that a new ILO technical cooperation project (the BRIDGE project) has been implemented since the beginning of 2020 and that its objectives include support for the preparation of a national plan to combat slavery and similar practices, and the reinforcement of a coordination mechanism. The plan also includes activities intended to raise awareness of this issue and the inclusion of victims of slavery in projects to facilitate their independence and social integration. The Committee hopes that the assistance of the Office will support the Government in the implementation of the recommendations set out above.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.