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

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Observation

Direct Request

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Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. In response to the Committee’s request regarding the application in practice of Act No. 27-14 on combating trafficking in persons, the Government indicates in its report that the National Committee for the Coordination of Anti-Trafficking Measures (hereinafter the National Committee), which was set up in 2018, presented its first national report in 2022. According to this report, 723 persons were prosecuted for trafficking in persons between 2017 and 2020. In 2019, 17 persons found guilty of trafficking in persons received prison sentences of under one year, 27 persons received prison sentences of one to five years and 24 persons received prison sentences of six years or more. Also according to the report, 719 trafficking victims were identified between 2017 and 2020 (414 men and 305 women; 536 Moroccan citizens and 183 other nationalities). Furthermore, among the victims identified, 367 persons were victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, 63 of exploitation through begging and 44 of trafficking for servitude.

The Government also indicates that a draft integrated national action plan involving all governmental and non-governmental actors is being prepared by the National Committee.

The Committee also notes that the Government, in its report of August 2022 submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council as part of the universal periodic review, refers to a number of measures taken to combat trafficking in persons and provide care for victims, including: (i) the setting up of a unit in the Public Prosecution Service for monitoring cases of trafficking in persons; (ii) the establishment at the appeal court level of a network of deputy public prosecutors specializing in trafficking cases; (iii) the creation of a special team of social assistants in the courts to provide care for victims; (iv) the provision of healthcare for trafficking victims; and (v) the holding of training courses and workshops for persons involved in combating trafficking in persons (A/HRC/WG.6/41/MAR/1). The Committee further notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its concluding observations of July 2022, refers to insufficient protection for trafficking victims, including in terms of availability of specific shelters for victims, and a lack of information on the identification and registration of migrant victims of trafficking (CEDAW/C/MAR/CO/5-6).

The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to reinforce the identification of cases of trafficking in persons, for both sexual and labour exploitation, and to provide effective protection and assistance for victims. It requests the Government to indicate the actions taken and the services established for this purpose. In this context, the Committee expresses the firm hope that the draft national action plan to combat trafficking in persons will be adopted in the near future, and requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard and on the action taken by the National Committee for the Coordination of Anti-Trafficking Measures. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to continue taking the necessary steps to ensure that the perpetrators of trafficking in persons incur criminal penalties that constitute an adequate deterrent, and to provide information on the number of investigations conducted and prosecutions initiated with respect to trafficking in persons, and also on the penalties imposed pursuant to Act No. 27-14 on combating trafficking in persons.

Article 2(2)(d). Requisitioning of persons. The Committee previously urged the Government to repeal or amend the Dahir of 13 September 1938 authorizing the requisitioning of persons to meet national needs, so as to limit powers of requisitioning only to circumstances that would endanger the lives or normal living conditions of the whole or part of the population.

The Committee observes that the Government merely indicates once again that the application of the Dahir of 13 September 1938, although belonging to the category of legal texts dating back to the protectorate period, remains closely linked to the Constitution of 2011, which establishes the principle of solidarity in bearing the burden arising from situations of force majeure. The Committee notes with regret that the Government does not appear to envisage measures to repeal or amend the above-mentioned Dahir.The Committee recalls that when the provisions authorizing the requisitioning of labour in cases of force majeure are formulated in such broad terms that they could be applied to a wide range of circumstances other than force majeure in the strict sense, they go beyond the exception provided for in Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention. The Committee expects the Government to take measures without delay to amend or repeal the Dahir of 13 September 1938 so as to strictly limit powers of requisitioning of persons to circumstances that would endanger the lives or normal living conditions of the whole or part of the population.

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