CMNT_TITLE

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Guinea (RATIFICATION: 1959)

Other comments on C029

Observation

2018

Direct Request

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Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee duly notes the adoption of Act No. 2016/059/AN of 26 October 2016 enacting the Penal Code, under which trafficking in human beings is prohibited and the perpetrators of the offence of trafficking shall be liable to imprisonment of three to seven years and a fine of 500,000 to 10 million Guinean francs (section 323). Sections 325–328 of the Penal Code establish aggravating circumstances for the offence of trafficking in persons. The Committee notes that, according to the 2016 evaluation report on national mechanisms to combat trafficking in persons and provide assistance to victims in Guinea, published by the ACP–EU (African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Union) Migration Action programme, implemented by the International Organization for Migration, Guinea is simultaneously an origin, transit and destination country for trafficking in persons (page 9). The Committee observes that the Government, in its report on the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), indicates that the Anti-Trafficking Division at the Central Office for Combating Organized Crime (OCLCO), which is mandated to research, identify and bring before the courts the perpetrators of offences directly or indirectly linked to organized crime, has brought before the courts 15 cases of trafficking and 17 alleged perpetrators of trafficking in persons over the last two years. The Government also indicates in its report on Convention No. 182 that the Office for the Protection of Gender, Childhood and Morality (OPROGEM) identified six cases of trafficking in 2017, of which two involved adult victims.

The Committee notes the adoption of Decree No. D/2017/039/PRG/SGG of 17 February 2017 establishing the National Committee against Trafficking in Persons and Related Practices (CNLTPPA) and its remit, structure, composition and operation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its September 2018 report to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations, that the CNLTPPA is the body responsible for implementing, formulating and developing policies, programmes and projects to combat trafficking in persons and related practices (CCPR/C/GIN/Q/3/Add.1, paragraph 91). Following the implementation of the National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons 2009–11, which was extended until 2013, the 2016 report of the ACP–EU Migration Action programme provided recommendations for the development of a new operational plan of action against trafficking in persons. It recommended the Government to focus its new plan of action, inter alia, on improving mechanisms for the prevention of trafficking and the protection of victims and collecting and analysing national data on trafficking in persons. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the application in practice of the provisions of the Penal Code on trafficking in persons, including an indication of the number of victims of trafficking and the number and nature of prosecutions and penalties imposed. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the adoption and implementation of a national plan of action to combat trafficking in persons and on the activities conducted by the CNLTPPA to combat trafficking in persons.

Article 2(2)(c). 1. Prison labour made available to private individuals. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, under section 78 of Decree No. 247/72/PRG of 20 September 1972 on the establishment and structure of the prison administration and section 79 of Decree No. 624/PRG/81 of 13 November 1981 supplementing Decree No. 247/72/PRG, the work of prisoners consists, apart from menial labour in the service of the prison, of workshop activities inside the prison, and this work can be transferred on secondment to individuals upon signature of an agreement with the administrative authority under the technical supervision of the contractor’s representative. This work can also consist of labour outside the prison in fields and on public worksites. The Committee noted that no provisions of the abovementioned Decrees require the consent of detainees for work carried out for private individuals and requested the Government to include in the national legislation provisions requiring the formal consent of detainees to work for private entities and guarantees demonstrating the existence of working conditions similar to those of a free working relationship, particularly in terms of remuneration and occupational safety and health.

The Committee notes with interest that the provisions of section 78 of Decree No. 247/72/PRG and section 79 of Decree No. 624/PRG/81 were repealed by Decree No. 2016/309/PRG/SGG of 31 October 2016 establishing the prison regulations. The Committee requests the Government to send a copy of Decree No. 2016/309/PRG/SGG of 31 October 2016 establishing the prison regulations.

2. Community service imposed as an alternative or supplementary penalty to a prison sentence. The Committee notes that section 38 of Act No. 2016/059/AN issuing the Penal Code establishes community service as an alternative penalty to imprisonment. It notes that, under section 43 on the offences that may incur a prison sentence of up to one year, the court may, after establishing the sentence, order the convicted person, rather than carrying out that sentence, to carry out between 200 hours (25 days) and 240 hours (30 days) of unpaid community work for a public entity or an association authorized to conduct community work. The Committee notes that, under sections 144 and 146, unpaid community work may also be imposed in the case of a suspended sentence combined with an obligation to perform community service, either for a public entity or for a private entity with a public service mandate or an association authorized to conduct community work. Sections 44 and 144 provide that the penalty of community service and a suspended sentence combined with an obligation to perform community service cannot be handed down to the defendant if he or she objects or is not present at the hearing.

Noting that, under sections 43, 144 and 146 of the Penal Code, a penalty of unpaid community service may be imposed for the benefit of a private entity, the Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on the type of work involved and to give examples of authorized private entities in which community service is performed.

Article 2(2)(d). Cases of emergency. The Committee previously referred to section 517(11) of the Penal Code of 1998, which provides that any persons who refuse or neglect to perform service work or to provide assistance required of them in certain specific circumstances shall be liable to a prison sentence and a fine. It emphasized that some of the circumstances set out in this section cannot be considered cases of emergency within the meaning of Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention, particularly cases of banditry, looting, blatant criminal activity, public disturbance or judicial execution.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the provisions of section 517(11) have been replaced by section 299 of the Penal Code of 2016, which provides that any person refraining from taking or eliciting action, without risk to himself or herself or others, to prevent a crime that poses a danger to public security, shall incur a prison sentence of two years and a fine of 10 million Guinean francs. The Committee also notes that section 983 of the Penal Code of 2016 provides for a fine for refusing or neglecting to respond, without good grounds, to a requisition from a magistrate or a judicial police official acting within his/her mandate, or a requisition from a competent administrative authority, in the case of a disturbance of the public order or vandalism or any other situation posing a danger to the public. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 299 and 983 of the Penal Code.