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Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - South Sudan (RATIFICATION: 2012)

Other comments on C029

Observation

2023

Direct Request

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Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee previously noted section 282 of the Penal Code of 2008 which criminalizes trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation outside South Sudan. It requested the Government to indicate the provisions in national legislation that would prohibit trafficking for labour exploitation, including within the borders of the country, as well as information on the measures taken to prevent and suppress all forms of trafficking in persons. The Committee notes that the Government refers in its report to section 11 of the Labour Act of 2017 which prohibits any person from organizing or assisting in the organization of illicit or clandestine movement of any persons into or out of South Sudan for performing work. The Government also indicates that no information is available concerning any decision or sanction imposed by the courts under section 282 of the Penal Code.

The Committee notes that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, in her report of May 2023, highlights the prevalence of trafficking in persons occurring in the context of extreme poverty, insecurity and continuing conflict and violence in South Sudan and the urgency for strengthening coordinated action to prevent and combat trafficking in persons for all purposes of exploitation. She also emphasizes the very limited assistance and protection available to trafficked persons and the need for urgent action to ensure safe accommodation, appropriate assistance and protection to victims. The Special Rapporteur indicates that South Sudan currently hosts 377,000 refugees and over 824,000 migrant workers and an estimated 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees are living in neighbouring countries making it the largest refugee crisis in Africa. This migration context, combined with limited access to livelihoods and safe, regular migration opportunities, both inward and outward, contribute to increased risks of trafficking in persons. There are reports of women and girls who are abducted and detained by State and non-state armed groups for sexual slavery and forced labour (A/HRC/53/28/Add.2).

While acknowledging the complexity of the situation on the ground, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to prevent and combat trafficking in persons for both sexual and labour exploitation by (i) adopting a legal framework encompassing all forms of trafficking in persons; ii) ensuring comprehensive prevention and awareness-raising activities, with a particular focus on refugees and returned refugees; (iii) ensuring appropriate assistance and protection to victims of trafficking; (iv) enhancing the capacities of the law enforcement bodies to identify situations of trafficking in persons, undertake prompt investigations and initiate prosecutions. It also requests the Government to provide information on the prosecutions carried out, the convictions handed down and the number and nature of penalties applied to perpetrators of trafficking in persons.

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