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Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Angola (RATIFICATION: 1976)

Other comments on C029

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 requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure the effective application of Act No. 3/14 of 10 February 2014 on crimes related to money laundering, which criminalizes slavery, forced prostitution and trafficking in persons for sexual and labour exploitation (sections 18, 19 and 21) and of Presidential Decree No. 235/14 of 26 November 2014 establishing a Multisectoral Commission to combat Human Trafficking responsible for the protection, assistance, recuperation, rehabilitation and integration of victims of trafficking. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report on this subject, the Committee trusts that the Government will indicate the measures taken to prevent and combat trafficking in persons for sexual and labour exploitation and to protect victims. Please indicate whether these measures form part of a national strategy to coordinate the action of the relevant bodies and specify the activities undertaken by the Multisectoral Commission to combat Human Trafficking. Lastly, the Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the investigations carried out, prosecutions and the penalties imposed in cases of trafficking in persons.

Article 2(2)(c). Civic service. The Committee notes that the General Labour Act (Act No. 7/15 of 15 June 2015) prohibits forced or compulsory labour and includes among the exceptions to forced labour, work or services carried out exclusively by virtue of military laws or civic service of general interest performed voluntarily. Moreover, under the terms of section 10 of the General Military Service Act (Act No. 1/93 of 26 March 1993) and section 7 of the Act on national defence and the armed forces (Act No. 2/93 of 26 March 1993), conscientious objectors may perform their compulsory military service in the form of civic service, although the implementing regulations are still to be adopted. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether general civic service has been instituted and, if so, to provide a copy of the legislation adopted in this regard as a basis for assessing whether such a service remains within the limits of the exception to forced labour for military service provided for in Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention.

Article 2(2)(d). Powers of requisition. For many years, the Committee has been requesting the Government to take the necessary measures to repeal Orders Nos 12/75 of 15 October 1975 and 44/83 of 21 May 1983, which set out powers to requisition workers that go beyond those authorized under Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention. Under the terms of these Orders, an emergency industrial committee is empowered to requisition technicians from public or private enterprises for the period deemed necessary to resolve problems, and to call up, in the form of requisitioning, workers whose occupation corresponds to the training needs of special youth brigades, through their assignment to such brigades for a period of 90 days. While noting the Government’s previous indication that these texts had fallen into abeyance and been tacitly repealed, the Committee considers that a formal abrogation of these texts is necessary to avoid any juridical ambiguity and to ensure that positive law reflects practice. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken for this purpose.

Article 25. Application of effective criminal penalties. The Committee notes Presidential Decree No. 154/16 which establishes fines for contravening the provisions of the General Labour Act. The Committee observes that section 8 of this Decree provides that the practice of forced or compulsory labour constitutes an offence punishable by a fine equivalent to five to ten times the average monthly wage at the firm. The Committee recalls in this respect that, in accordance with Article 25 of the Convention, the penalties imposed on those found guilty of having exacted forced labour must be punished for committing a penal offence with penalties that are really adequate and strictly enforced. As the penalties provided for in section 8 of the General Labour Act do not fully meet these requirements, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the penal provisions which could be used to penalize the exaction of forced labour. In this regard, the Committee hopes that the Government will take into account the provisions of Article 25 of the Convention when revising the Penal Code.