Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2004, publiée 93ème session CIT (2005)

Abolition of slave-like practices

1. For a number of years, the Committee has been examining, in relation to the application of the Convention, information concerning the practices of abduction, trafficking and forced labour affecting thousands of women and children in the regions of the country where an armed conflict is under way. The Government was requested to provide detailed information on the measures taken to combat the practice of forced labour through abduction of women and children and to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators.

2. The Committee takes note of the Government’s report received in October 2004 and of the Information Note about the activities of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) supplied in January 2004, as well as of the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2004. It also notes the observations dated 31 August 2004 received from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) concerning the application of the Convention by Sudan, which were transmitted to the Government in September 2004 for such comments as might be considered appropriate. As the Government’s report received in October 2004 contains no reference to these serious observations, the Committee requests that the Government communicate its comments with its next report.

Conference Committee on the Application of Standards

3. The Committee notes that, in its conclusions adopted in June 2004, the Conference Committee again expressed its deep concern at continuing reports of abductions and slavery, particularly in the region of south Darfur, and considered it necessary to invite the Government to take effective and quick measures to bring to an end these practices and to punish those responsible, thus ending the impunity. While noting the positive measures taken by the Government, the Conference Committee expressed the firm hope that the Government’s next report would describe the concrete results obtained and recalled that the Government could request technical assistance of the ILO.

United Nations bodies

4. The Committee notes that, in its decision 2004/128 of 23 April 2004 on the situation of human rights in Sudan (E/CN.4/DEC/2004/128), the UN Commission on Human Rights expressed its deep concern about the situation in Sudan, and in particular in Darfur - Western Sudan, and called upon the Government to actively promote and protect human rights and international humanitarian law throughout the country. The Committee also notes a report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons "Mission to the Sudan - the Darfur crisis" (E/CN.4/2005/8 of 27 September 2004), in which he points out that "what the world is witnessing in Darfur has been occurring in the southern part of the country for almost the entire period of the civil war, including the burning of villages, killings, destruction and looting of property, the use of tribal Arab militias, the massive displacement of people from their land and abduction of children and women" (paragraph 16). The Committee further notes a report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on a situation of human rights in the Darfur region of Sudan (E/CN.4/2005/3), in which he referred to "sexual slavery" and "enforced prostitution" which "constitute crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against the civilian population" (paragraph 69). According to the recommendations contained in the report, "violations of human rights and international humanitarian law must be thoroughly and swiftly investigated and perpetrators must be brought to justice" (paragraph 97).

Comments from workers’ organizations

5. In the observations of 2004 referred to above, the ICFTU contested the Government’s statement to the Conference Committee in June 2004 that "abductions have stopped completely". The ICFTU refers to a report on a situation in Darfur issued by Amnesty International in July 2004, which contained information obtained from eyewitness accounts, concerning cases of abduction of women and children by the Janjaweed militia, including some cases of sexual slavery. Referring to the information received from various sources, including the United States Department of State country report on Sudan, the ICFTU alleges that abductions, which have been documented in previous years, have continued in 2003 and 2004. It also shares the views expressed by the Eminent Persons Group in its report of 2002 that these abductions are "the product of a counter-insurgency strategy" pursued by the Government, which "has failed to acknowledge its own responsibility for acts committed by militias and other forces under its authority".

6. Referring to a statement by the Government representative to the Conference Committee that there was no proof regarding the number of abducted persons and that the estimates confused cases of abduction with other cases of displaced persons, the ICFTU stressed that, according to the Dinka Chiefs Committee (DCC) estimates, there are some 14,000 people who have been abducted, and that this figure has been accepted by the CEAWC. According to the estimates from the CEAWC, DCC and other sources, there are still 10,000 abducted people waiting to be identified and reunited with their families. As regards prosecutions of those responsible for abductions, the ICFTU pointed out that it was not aware of any prosecutions brought to date and that, according to the Eminent Persons Group report, with regard to slavery and abductions, there had been no prosecution of a criminal case in the Sudanese courts during the past 16 years.

7. While welcoming the positive developments, such as the conclusion of three peace agreements in May 2004, the ICFTU expressed the view that it would not automatically lead to an end of abductions and associated human rights violations, as recent events in Darfur had demonstrated, and called on the Government to state publicly that all these practices are illegal and to give priority to prosecuting all those responsible for new abductions and those who are not cooperating with the CEAWC.

The Government’s response

8. In its 2004 report, the Government reiterates its condemnation of all forms of slavery and forced labour and confirms its commitment to cooperate with international organizations to eradicate the phenomenon of abductions. Further to the information on CEAWC field work activities supplied to the ILO in January 2004, the Committee notes from the Government’s report received in October 2004 and from the statement of the Government representative to the Conference Committee in June 2004 that, during the period from March to May 2004, the CEAWC was able to retrieve, with the Government’s funding, more than 1,000 abductees who rejoined their families, including those in the areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The Government also repeats its previous statement that abduction has stopped completely. Referring to the above observations of 2004 by the ICFTU, in which this statement has been contested, the Committee hopes that the Government will respond to these observations and will continue to provide information on the application in practice of Presidential Decree No. 14 of 2002 on the re-establishment of the CEAWC, indicating, in particular, the number of abducted persons identified and released and the number of perpetrators prosecuted.

9. The Committee notes from the Government’s report and from the discussion at the Conference Committee that, in May 2004, the Government of Sudan signed three peace protocols, including a protocol on power-sharing, which contains provisions on human rights and fundamental freedoms and refers in this connection to international instruments, including those concerning the rights of the child and abolition of slavery. The Government stated that the implementation of these agreements would lead to the solution of the problems raised.

10. While noting these positive developments and the Government’s renewed commitment to resolve the problem, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts with vigour in order to combat the practice of the exaction of forced labour through abduction of women and children, which is conducted on such a massive scale in the country. The Committee observes once again the convergence of allegations and the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the practices of abduction and the exaction of forced labour. The Committee observes that the situations concerned constitute gross violations of the Convention, since the victims are forced to perform work for which they have not offered themselves voluntarily, under extremely harsh conditions and combined with ill-treatment which may include torture and death. The Committee considers that the scope and gravity of the problem are such that it is necessary to take urgent action that is commensurate in scope and systematic.

Article 25 of the Convention

11. In its earlier comments, the Committee noted that, under article 162 of the Criminal Code, abduction is punishable by ten years’ imprisonment, and requested the Government to take measures to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators. However, in its 2002 report the Government expressed the view that any prosecution that may be made against abductors at the present stage would lead to the collapse of the recommendations of tribal conciliation meetings being held among the various tribes concerned by abduction cases in an attempt to eradicate the phenomenon of mutual abduction within a framework of peaceful coexistence among tribes. The Committee notes from the Information Note about the activities of the CEAWC supplied in January 2004, as well as from the statement of the Government representative to the Conference Committee in June 2004, that the CEAWC was of the opinion that legal action was the best measure to eradicate abductions, while the tribes, including the DCC, had requested the CEAWC not to resort to legal action unless the amicable efforts of the tribes had failed.

12. The Committee points out once again that such an approach could have the effect of ensuring impunity for abductors who exploit forced labour. Recalling that, under Article 25 of the Convention, "the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced", the Committee trusts that the necessary measures will be taken in the near future to ensure that legal proceedings are instituted against perpetrators and penal sanctions are imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, as required by the Convention.

13. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indications in its 2002 report concerning the setting up by the Minister of Justice of special courts for the prosecution of abductors of women and children. The Committee hopes that the Government will provide, in its next report, information on the functioning of these courts in practice, indicating the number of courts established and the number of prosecutions made, and supplying sample copies of court decisions.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 93rd Session.]