CMNT_TITLE

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Dominica (RATIFICATION: 1983)

Other comments on C029

Observation

Direct Request

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Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the adoption of the Transnational Organized Crime (Prevention and Control) Act 2013, Act 13 of 2013. Section 8(1) of the Act incorporates the offence of trafficking in persons, defined as the situation in which a person, for the purpose of sexual or labour exploitation of another person, organizes or facilitates the entry, exit from or receipt into Dominica of another person, through means including threats or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, deception or fraud, the abuse of power or the position of vulnerability, or the giving or receiving of payments or of a benefit to obtain the consent of a person who has control over another person. In addition, under section 8(5) of the Act, the person who, for the purpose of exploitation, recruits, transports, transfers, harbours or receives another person by any of the above-mentioned means also commits the offence of trafficking in person. The Committee observes that, according to section 13 of the Act, the penalty for trafficking in person consists of a fine or imprisonment for 15 years or both (increased penalty when the victim is a child). In addition, the Court may order the offender to pay to the victim a restitution that covers the costs of medical and rehabilitation treatment, the necessary transportation and housing, lost income, legal costs and compensation for emotional distress, pain and suffering. The Committee wishes to recall that according to Article 25 of the Convention, penalties imposed by the law for the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour must be adequate and strictly enforced. The Committee has considered in that respect that a fine does not constitute an effective sanction in light of the seriousness of the violation and the fact that the sanctions needs to be dissuasive (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 319). The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 8(1) and (5) of the Transnational Organized Crime (Prevention and Control) Act of 2013, including information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions handed down under such provisions, as well as on the nature of the penalties imposed on perpetrators. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of cases in which a Court has ordered the payment of a restitution to a victim of trafficking in persons. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to prevent trafficking in persons, to ensure proper identification by law enforcement bodies of cases of trafficking for both sexual and labour exploitation, and to provide protection to the victims.

Idle persons. The Committee previously noted that according to section 49(1) of the Small Charges Act, Chapter 10:39 any person being able wholly or in part to maintain himself by work or by other means, and wilfully refusing or neglecting to do so, is deemed an idle and disorderly person and liable to imprisonment for one month. For a number of years, the Committee has been requesting the Government to take the necessary measures to bring this provision into conformity with the Convention. The Committee notes from the 2020 Reply of the Government to the list of issues raised by the United Nations Human Rights Committee that section 49(1) of the Small Charges Act will be dealt with in the next law review and that it has not been used to imprison anyone (CCPR/C/DMA/RQAR/1 para. 63). The Committee wishes to recall that provisions concerning vagrancy and similar offences, if defined in an unduly extensive manner, are liable to become a means of compulsion to work and may even result in a situation similar to that where the law imposes a general obligation to work (General Survey on the eradication of forced labour, 2007, paragraph 88). The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend or repeal section 49(1) of the Small Charges Act in order to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention, and to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 2(2)(c). Prison labour. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that under section 61(2) of the Prison Rules, Chapter 12:70 of the Revised Laws of Dominica 1990, work by prisoners for the private benefit of any person is prohibited except when authorized by the Superintendent of Prisons. The Committee notes that according to the website of the Ministry of National Security & Home Affairs, a Prisons Services Division was established under the Prisons Act, Chapter 12:70. The Committee also notes from the information available on the website of the Dominica Prison Service that programmes for inmates have been put in place in the area of carpentry and woodwork, as well as farming and animal husbandry. The Committee further notes that under sections 59 and 60 of the Prison Rules, prisoners shall be required to engage in useful work for not more than 10 hours a day and may receive payment for such work. According to section 20 of the Prisons Act, prisoners employed outside the walls of a prison shall be subject to the prison regulations and shall be deemed to be in custody of the Superintendent in like manner as they were within the prison. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the Superintendent of Prisons has authorized that prisoners be hired to or placed at the disposal of private entities.