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Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Freedom of career members of the armed forces and public servants to leave the service. Recalling that public servants, including voluntary career personnel of the armed forces, cannot be deprived of the freedom to leave the service within a reasonable period, either at specified intervals or with previous notice, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide further information on the following points.

Career members of the armed forces. According to the provisions of Title VI (Service relations) of Ordinance No. 99-62 of 20 December 1999 issuing the conditions of service of military personnel in the armed forces of Niger and of the national gendarmerie, non-commissioned officers, members of the gendarmerie and rank and file members of the armed forces are covered by renewable fixed-term contracts (or commissions). Officers remain in active service up to the age limit for their grade. According to section 21 of the Ordinance, the resignation of career members of the armed forces is subject to the approval of the appointing authority (as was the case under Decree No. 079‑23/PCMS/MDN of 1 March 1979). The authority could therefore refuse the resignation of a member of the armed forces, thereby compelling him to continue in service. In these circumstances, the Committee requests the Government to specify the duration of the contracts of non-commissioned officers, members of the gendarmerie and rank and file members of the armed forces, and to indicate the manner in which these contracts are renewed, stating whether these persons may resign before the expiry of the contracts. It also requests the Government to provide information on the procedure to be followed by officers wishing to resign, and on the principles applied by the competent authority in ruling on applications to resign.

Public servants. According to section 52 of Ordinance No. 89-18 of 8 December 1989 issuing the general regulations of the public service, and section 153 of its implementing decree (Decree No. 91-110/PRN/MFP/T of 26 June 1991), the appointing authority must decide within four months whether to accept or reject a public servant’s application to resign. The Government previously indicated in this regard that the acceptance of the resignation of public servants and members of the armed forces and the gendarmerie, while still subject to a time limit, depends on the post in question and its technical or strategic importance for the public administration or the army. The Committee recalls that public servants or members of the armed forces can be required to remain in their jobs only in the event of an emergency within the meaning of Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention. In these circumstances, and so that it can be assured that these public servants may leave their service within a reasonable period, either at specified intervals or with previous notice, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide further information on the application in practice of the abovementioned provisions of the conditions of service of the military personnel of the armed forces of Niger and the national gendarmerie, and the general regulations of the public service, indicating the grounds on which the appointing authority may refuse a resignation.

Indirect compulsion to work in the event of vagrancy. According to sections 177 and 178 of the Penal Code, vagrants, which are defined as persons of unknown abode or means of subsistence, who as a rule exercise no trade or occupation, shall be punished by a sentence of imprisonment of three to six months. The Committee stressed that legal provisions that punish vagrancy and define it too broadly are liable to become a means of direct or indirect compulsion to work and therefore requested the Government to amend sections 177 and 178 of the Penal Code to ensure that only persons who disrupt public order by unlawful acts may be liable to penalties. Noting that the Government has provided no information on this matter in its report, the Committee hopes that it will take the necessary steps to bring the provisions of sections 177 and 178 of the Penal Code into conformity with the Convention as soon as possible.

Trafficking in persons. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to indicate whether it had taken or was envisaging measures to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking of persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation and exploitation of their labour, and whether the public authorities were meeting any difficulties in this regard. It noted from the report submitted by the Government to the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women that an inter-ministerial committee had been set up in February 2006 to draft a national plan to combat trafficking in women and children. In its concluding observations on the report, the abovementioned committee expresses concern about occurrences of trafficking in the guise of marriage, trade in women commoners and the practice of slavery, and about the lack of information concerning the extent of trafficking of women and girls (see documents CEDAW/C/NER/CO/2 and CEDAW/C/NER/Q/2/Add.1). In the absence of information from the Government on this matter, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide detailed information on the nature of such trafficking and the measures taken or envisaged to combat it, including the adoption of specific legislative provisions criminalizing and sanctioning trafficking in persons, and measures to raise public awareness and protect the victims.