Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Cameroon (Ratification: 1960)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, in its report, concerning the actions taken to combat trafficking in persons, namely: (1) the adoption of Order No. 009/CAB/PM of 10 February 2023 on the establishment, organization and functioning of the platform for exchange and consultation between the Government and civil society to combat trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants; and (2) awareness-raising and capacity-building activities for stakeholders, such as a poster campaign organized in 2024 at the Yaoundé and Douala international airports and the establishment in 2022 of a hotline to facilitate the reporting of cases of trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants. The Committee also notes the Government’s participation, along with 53 other countries, in Operation FLASH-WEKA to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling, conducted jointly by the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-INTERPOL) and the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), which has led to the identification of new exploitation networks leaving Central Africa for Europe, the Middle East and Asia and resulted in the deployment of investigation teams to certain production units, enterprises, travel agencies and other commercial structures located in Yaoundé and the surrounding area. This operation has led to the arrest of more than a thousand people worldwide and the rescue of several thousands of victims.

The Committee welcomes the Government’s efforts to combat trafficking in persons. It observes, however, that the Government does not provide any information on the judicial proceedings initiated or the court decisions handed down in cases of trafficking. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in persons and requests it to provide information on: (i) the activities carried out by the platform for exchange and consultation between the Government and civil society to combat trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants, as well as by the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Human Beings; and (ii) the progress made in developing a national action plan to combat trafficking in persons. It also requests the Government to provide information on measures taken to strengthen the capacities of law enforcement bodies (police, labour inspectorate and Public Prosecutor’s Office) to better identify cases of trafficking and prosecute perpetrators, and to protect and assist victims. Please provide statistical information on reports of cases of trafficking, including those made through the hotline that has been set up, as well as on the investigations opened, prosecutions brought and the penalties imposed under section 342-1 of the Penal Code.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1). 1. Freedom of members of the armed forces to leave their employment. The Committee recalls that, for many years, it has been drawing the Government’s attention to sections 53 and 55 of Law No. 80/12 of 14 July 1980 issuing the general conditions of service of members of the armed forces, as amended by Law No. 87/023 of 17 December 1987, under which career members of the armed forces serving as officers who are recruited by competition, sign a contract of indefinite duration, and their resignation may be accepted only on exceptional grounds. The Committee notes with regret the repeated lack of information on this point, with the Government once again indicating that statistical information will be provided at a later date. The Committee recalls that persons in the service of the State, including career members of the armed forces, should have the right to leave the service in peacetime within a reasonable period, either at specified intervals or with prior notice, subject to conditions that may normally be required to ensure the continuity of service. Consequently, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that any request for resignation is examined on the basis of this principle, and to provide any available statistical information on this subject (number of resignation requests submitted, number of resignations accepted or refused and, if applicable, information on the grounds for refusal).

2. Conditions of work amounting to forced labour. Indigenous people. In response to its previous comments concerning allegations that members of indigenous communities face precarious working conditions akin to forced labour, the Government indicates that several measures have been taken to promote the socio-economic integration of indigenous people, particularly through the Pygmy Peoples Development Plan and the Stock-Raising Development Programme for the Mbororo. Moreover, outreach activities have been carried out concerning Decree No. 2022/ 5074/PM of 4 July 2022 establishing the procedures for monitoring the social compliance of projects aimed at protecting the general population and socially vulnerable persons, including indigenous peoples, particularly against the adverse human and social consequences generated, directly or indirectly, by public and private projects. The Government adds that awareness-raising activities have also been carried out on the rights of indigenous women and girls and gender-based violence in the eastern region of Cameroon, in collaboration with the Cameroon Human Rights Commission (CDHC), as well as more generally, at the national level, on the rights of indigenous peoples, particularly at celebrations of the International Day of Indigenous Peoples.

The Committee takes due note of the measures taken by the Government to prevent violence against members of indigenous communities and to promote their socio-economic integration. It observes, however, that in its statement of 9 August 2022, the CDHC expressed deep concern about the exploitation of indigenous populations by majority communities. Furthermore, in its latest concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed particular concern about reports of labour exploitation of indigenous peoples (CERD/C/CMR/CO/22-23, 26 May 2022). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to continue promoting the socio-economic integration of members of indigenous communities and to raise their awareness of their rights and ensure adequate protection to enable them to address the competent authorities when they are victims of exploitation at work. Please also indicate the measures taken to monitor the regions and sectors in which cases of forced labour could be identified.

Article 2(2)(b). Community service forming part of civic obligations. The Committee recalls that, under the terms of Law No. 2007/003 of 13 July 2007, instituting national service contributing to development, this civic service comprises: (1) a compulsory period, lasting 60 days, which may be extended under conditions set by decree of the President of the Republic; and (2) a voluntary period, which lasts six months and is renewable. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the terms and conditions for participation in the compulsory period and the voluntary period of civic service are set at the beginning of each financial year by order of the Minister of Youth and Civic Education. In this regard, the Government refers to Order No. 009-2024/A/MINJEC/CAB and Order No. 010-2024/A/MINJEC/CAB of 6 March 2024. The Government adds that the compulsory period, which takes place in ad hoc regional centres, consists of theoretical training modules, exchanges with resource persons, skills development activities and community service. The nature and location of community service depend on each ad hoc centre and are based on the needs and realities of each municipality: cleaning up public spaces, reforestation, and so on The Committee notes that, according to information provided by the Government, in 2024, the compulsory training period brought together 1,500 young people across all ten centres; and that since the programme was launched in 2014, the National Civic Service Agency Contributing to Development has trained more than 14,048 young people across the country.

In order to assess the scope of the obligations imposed under the national civic service contributing to development, the Committee requests the Government to indicate how participants in the compulsory civic service training period are selected and the consequences of refusing to join the civic service. It also requests a copy of any decree implementing Law No. 2007/003, as well as the latest orders issued by the Minister of Youth and Civic Education at the beginning of each financial year regulating the selection of participants and the organization and nature of their work. Lastly, please continue to provide information on the number of persons required to perform civic service each year, as well as specific examples of community service performed during the compulsory training period.

Article 2(2)(c). Hiring of prison labour to private entities. The Committee recalls that persons serving a prison sentence are obliged to work (section 24 of the Penal Code) and that Decree No. 92-052 of 27 March 1992 issuing the prison regulations authorizes the hiring of prison labour to private enterprises and individuals (sections 51–56). Neither of these legislative texts, nor Order No. 213/A/MINAT/DAPEN of 28 July 1988 establishing certain conditions concerning the use of prison labour, requires the informed, formal consent of the prisoner hired to private enterprises and/or individuals. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the provisions of Decree No. 92/052 are almost never applied due to a lack of implementing regulations. The Government adds that this issue is currently being discussed in the Ministry of Justice. The Committee trusts that, as part of the ongoing discussions in the Ministry of Justice, the Government will take the necessary steps to ensure, both in law and in practice, that free, formal and informed consent is required from convicts to work for private entities. It requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of these discussions and on any progress made in revising Order No. 213/A/MINAT/DAPEN of 28 July 1988 establishing conditions concerning the use of prison labour and the rates for their hire.

Article 2(e). Minor communal services. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide information on the application of section 150 of Law No. 2019/024 of 24 December 2019 establishing the General Code for decentralized territorial authorities, which provides that the municipality may request the assistance of the population. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate how it ensures that work imposed on the population by the municipality or traditional chiefs remains within the limits of the exception provided for in Article 2(e) of the Convention concerning minor communal services, namely work on a small scale regarding which the members of the community have been consulted, and which is performed in the direct interest of the community.Please provide copies of any texts regulating the organization and execution of works that may be required of municipalities.