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Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Honduras (RATIFICATION: 1957)

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Observation

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The Committee notes the observations of the Honduran National Business Council (COHEP), received on 30 August 2022.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Vulnerability of persons displaced by reason of forced labour. In previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to protect persons displaced by reason of violence in relation to the risk of forced labour. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication in its report of the creation of the General Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Reason of Violence (DIPPDIV) within the Human Rights Secretariat. The DIPPDIV provides training for public employees on the human rights of displaced persons and provides technical assistance to local government authorities for the implementation of municipal response mechanisms to forced displacement. In 2019 and 2020, the DIPPDIV also implemented a project to identify and respond to the immediate needs of persons subject to forced displacement. The Committee notes that, in its 2022 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women expressed concern at the forced displacement of indigenous women and girls and their labour exploitation in the context of development projects on indigenous lands (CEDAW/C/HND/CO/9). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities undertaken by the General Directorate for the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Reason of Violence (DIPPDIV) and by municipal authorities to protect internally displaced persons and provide them with assistance with a view to preventing them from becoming victims of forced labour. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures adopted for the protection of displaced indigenous women. In view of the importance of the availability of information on the scope and characteristics of internal displacement by reason of violence, in order to provide better guidance for measures to prevent forced labour in this context, the Committee requests the Government to provide the data compiled by the DIPPDIV on this subject.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25. Trafficking in persons. 1. Plan of action. In reply to its previous comments, the Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the activities undertaken by the Inter-Institutional Commission against Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons (CICESCT) in the context of the implementation of the Strategic Plan to Combat the Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Persons in Honduras 2016–22, with particular reference to workshops, training, exchanges of experience on trafficking in persons and information materials in the Misquito and Garifuna languages. Between 2018 and 2021, a total of 135,359 people were trained on this subject.

The Committee welcomes the publication of annual reports by the CICESCT containing detailed information on the measures adopted to combat trafficking in persons and their principal results. The 2021 CICESCT national report refers to capacity-building and training activities for key persons in the prevention and action to combat trafficking in persons, such as the staff of protection centres, education professionals, members of local committees, community leaders and personnel in the health, migration and justice services, among others. Awareness-raising activities were also carried out targeting vulnerable groups, including girls, boys, students, women, persons with disabilities, the indigenous population, migrants and the LGTBI population. The CICESCT report focuses, among the principal challenges, on the development and approval of the second Strategic Plan for the next five years and the need to establish a mechanism to enable municipal governments to take over the coordination of action at the local level. In its observations, the COHEP refers to the budgetary and logistical limitations of the CICESCT in the discharge of its functions and recommends the allocation of resources for the development of an information system on trafficking in persons.

The Committee encourages the Government to continue taking the necessary measures to strengthen the capacities of the Inter-Institutional Commission against Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons, including at the financial and logistical levels, so that it can continue to fulfil its functions. It requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the adoption of the second Strategic Plan to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons, based on the findings and recommendations of the CICESCT report and the contributions made by the various actors involved; and (ii) the measures adopted to strengthen the participation of municipal authorities in the implementation of action to prevent and combat trafficking in persons.

2. Investigation and prosecution. With reference to the investigations and judicial proceedings initiated in cases of trafficking in persons for sexual or labour exploitation, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that during the period 2018–21 there were 304 complaints and 91 sentences were handed down for the crimes of trafficking in persons and commercial sexual exploitation. The penalties imposed by the courts vary between sentences of imprisonment for between three and 21 years, as well as the removal of other rights. The Government indicates that the judicial proceedings for these cases differ in each instance depending on their specific characteristics and complexity, and that there is therefore no direct correlation between the number of complaints, the cases prosecuted and the sentences handed down. It adds that, under the terms of section 40 of the Act to combat trafficking in persons, which provides for the right of victims to the restoration of their rights, the Immediate Response Team (responsible for identifying and providing assistance to victims), together with the CICESCT, is continuing to follow judicial proceedings with a view to seeking compensation, at the request of the victims. However, in most cases, victims indicate that they do not wish to follow up the prosecution as it generates anxiety and stress for them. With specific reference to the identification of cases of trafficking for labour exploitation, the Government indicates that the Secretariat of Labour and Social Security has developed training tools and operational procedures for labour inspectors to identify, address and denounce the crime of trafficking in persons.

The Committee notes the COHEP’s indication that, although Honduras is one of the most advanced countries in the region in the prosecution of crimes of trafficking in persons, it is important to continue strengthening capacities and specialization in the prosecution of these crimes and to avoid belated investigations. It emphasizes the importance of promoting the creation of courts that are specialized in trafficking in persons and of strengthening the specialized units of the Office of the Public Prosecutor and the national police.

The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures adopted to strengthen the capacity of the labour inspection services, the police and the justice system to identify and investigate cases of trafficking in persons, and for their prosecution, with an indication of the challenges encountered by these institutions and the progress achieved. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the investigations carried out, the prosecutions initiated and the penalties imposed in cases of trafficking for both sexual and labour exploitation.

3. Protection of victims. The Committee notes that, according to the 2021 CICESCT national report, a total of 101 victims of trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation were rescued (20 were rescued abroad and 81 within the national territory). It notes that the Immediate Response Team is continuing to take action for the protection of victims with three objectives: (i) promoting the development of institutional management and inter-institutional coordination mechanisms for the detection and identification of victims; (ii) strengthening the capacities of the institutions responsible for the protection of victims; and (iii) strengthening protection and assistance mechanisms for the comprehensive care of victims. The primary care measures provided to victims during the first 72 hours include medical and psychosocial care, legal assistance, food and housing. After the first 72 hours, secondary care measures are provided with the aim of supporting victims in the longer term, and include issuing temporary residence permits for foreign nationals, repatriation or refuge, study and work opportunities, reintegration and the restoration of their rights. In 2021, the Immediate Response Team provided 25,000 services to victims and their families. The Government emphasizes that the interventions of the Immediate Response Team and the CICESCT focus on victims, their families and in some cases their community with a view to ensuring the reduction of risk and vulnerability factors, and the achievement of the basic conditions for their reintegration. With reference to the Victim Care Fund, the Government indicates that is it one of the major challenges because it still does not have a budget for its operation. The Committee encourages the Government to continue to take measures for the provision of protection and assistance to victims, and in this regard requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted for the allocation of resources to the Victim Care Fund. It also requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on the number of victims of trafficking in persons who have been rescued and reintegrated.

Article 25. Application of penal sanctions in the case of other forced labour practices. The Committee previously welcomed the criminalization in the 2019 Penal Code of the crime of slavery, including sexual slavery and forced prostitution (section 139), exploitation under conditions of slavery or servitude (section 221) and unlawful labour exploitation (section 292). The Committee notes that in 2021 the Unit to Combat People Smuggling, Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons of the Office of the Public Prosecutor issued an indictment for the crime of exploitation under conditions of servitude combined with the crime of unlawful labour exploitation, and other related crimes. The Government adds that better knowledge of these crimes by the population is still necessary so that they can be denounced. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to improve knowledge of the crimes set out in sections 139, 221 and 292 of the Penal Code among labour inspectors, the police, prosecutors and magistrates, and to raise the awareness of society concerning the practices involved in these crimes. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the investigations initiated, judicial proceedings, rulings and sentences imposed under these penal provisions.

Article 2(2)(c). 1. Prison labour for private enterprises. The Committee recalls that, under the terms of the national legislation regulating the prison system, prison labour is compulsory and may be contracted out to private individuals or entities (section 75 of the Act of 2012 respecting the national prison system and section 5 of the Act of 2015 respecting work by detainees and the imprisonment of highly dangerous and aggressive persons). Having previously noted the Government’s indication concerning the existence of oral agreements between private enterprises and detainees for the performance of work, the Committee requested the Government to specify the manner in which detainees give their consent to work for private enterprises.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there is currently no agreement between the National Prison Institute and private enterprises for the performance of commercial activities in prisons. There is only a contract awarded to a private enterprise for the provision of tortillas, which are prepared by detainees for the enterprise. The Government adds that no consultations or surveys have been carried out to identify the interest of detainees in engaging in this type of work.

The Committee recalls that for prison work performed for private enterprises to be in conformity with the Convention, the prisoners concerned have to give their free, formal and informed consent. Moreover, the work has to be carried out under conditions which approximate those of a free labour relationship, as provided in the national prison legislation.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which in practice prisoners who work for private enterprises in prisons provide their free, formal and informed consent to the work. In this regard, it requests the Government to indicate whether in future prisons are planning to conclude contracts with private enterprises for the use of prison labour and the conditions of such contracts.

2. Sentences of community service. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there are no agreements with private enterprises for the performance of sentences of community service by prisoners, as envisaged in section 50 of the Penal Code.