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

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Egypt (Ratification: 1955)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. 1. Trafficking in persons. National Action Plan. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the fourth National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking was adopted for the period 2022–2026 and is based on four-pillar approach “1+3Ps” (Prevention, Prosecution, Protection, and Partnership), with a focus on vulnerable groups like young people, children, and migrants. The Committee also notes the detailed information provided concerning the tools produced and the awareness-raising activities organized through various media campaigns in 2023 and 2024, including newspaper and TVs. In 2023, roughly 620 persons in different governorates, including 25 senior officials and members of the House of Representatives, benefited from these activities. Moreover, the National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Persons (NCCPIM&TIP) issued the “Guide to Protect Egyptian Workers Abroad from Human Trafficking” to make these workers aware of their legal rights and to protect them from all forms of exploitation considering the local, regional and international developments, in addition to clarifying the role of the relevant ministries in this area.

The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to prevent and combat trafficking, including through the implementation of the relevant objectives and actions of the 2022–2026 Strategy. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard as well as on the results achieved, the challenges identified, and the measures envisaged to overcome them.

Protection and assistance to victims. The Committee welcomes the adoption, in 2024, of Presidential Decree No. 349 concerning the organization of the Fund for Assisting Victims of Trafficking in Persons. This fund is tasked with providing financial assistance to victims, supporting the implementation of the National Strategy for Combating Trafficking in Persons, and financing psychological, medical, and social support programmes.

The Committee further notes from the 2024 IOM Brief that, in cooperation with the National Coordinating Committee, the first regional shelter for women and girls, operational since 2010, has assisted 87 Egyptian and non-Egyptian victims with psychosocial, legal, and counselling services. Plans are under way to expand the shelter’s capacity to 20 victims and to establish the first regional shelter for male victims with a capacity of 12 persons. The IOM has requested the support of the Ministry of Interior to ensure that the National Referral Mechanism for victims of trafficking (NRM) is extended to male adults and minors who are victims of trafficking.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that all victims of trafficking are provided with adequate assistance and that the Fund for Assisting Victims of Trafficking is provided with adequate resources to fulfil its function. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the number of victims benefiting from the Fund; (ii) whether the shelter for male victims of trafficking is operational; and (iii) whether the National Referral Mechanism has been effectively extended to cover male adults and minors who are victims of trafficking.

Prosecution and application of penal sanctions. The Committee notes that training programmes were organized for law enforcement officials on the relevant legal procedures, as well as for judges and prosecutors on the penalties prescribed under the law. A database on trafficking and related issues was established, alongside the creation of specialized police units to combat trafficking and the training of specialists in the reintegration of victims. The Government further indicates that, in 2023, 281 individuals were investigated in 111 cases on charges of trafficking in persons. This included 170 males and 111 females, and 14 individuals of foreign nationalities. Moreover, 28 cases of trafficking in persons were reported, resulting in 15 convictions and, in four cases, the court sentenced the defendants to life imprisonment and a fine. The rest of the convictions ranged from 3 to 10 years prison term and a fine.

The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the strengthening of the law enforcement bodies for the identification of cases of trafficking both for labour and sexual exploitation. Please indicate the number of investigations carried out and prosecutions initiated, as well as the number of convictions and nature of sanctions imposed.

2. Freedom of career military personnel to leave their service. The Committee recalls that according to section 140 of Act No. 232 of 1959 on the Service and Promotion of Officers of the Armed Forces, military officers’ service may not be terminated until the application for resignation is accepted: The Committee observed that applications may be rejected without any criteria being established in the Act.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that members of the career military personnel may submit requests for resignation to a competent body through the prescribed legal and administrative channels. Such requests are then referred to a higher authority, where a decision is taken either by the competent Officers’ Committee or by the Organization and Administration Authority of the Armed Forces. The Government further explains that each resignation request is subject to acceptance or rejection by the competent authority, following an evaluation of the reasons put forward. The decision is taken in light of considerations deemed relevant by the Ministry of Defence, particularly regarding the need to safeguard the readiness of military personnel to discharge their duties in response to prevailing circumstances.

Moreover, where a resignation request is rejected, the applicant may lodge an appeal before the Military Appeals Department of the Military Justice Authority which is an independent judicial authority. According to the Government, this procedure is designed to provide individuals with multiple avenues of recourse while ensuring that the protection of individual rights does not prejudice the public interest.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s explanations regarding the procedure for submitting applications for resignation, including the possibility of lodging an appeal. The Committee observes nonetheless the lack of information on the criteria applied in deciding whether such requests are accepted or rejected. In this respect, the Committee points out that provisions preventing termination of employment of indefinite duration by means of notice of reasonable length is to turn a contractual relationship based on the will of the parties into service by compulsion of law and is thus incompatible with the Convention. The Committee emphasizes that career members of the armed forces, having voluntarily enlisted, should not be denied the right to leave the service in peacetime within a reasonable period, either at fixed intervals or upon giving prior notice. The Committee therefore requests once again the Government to indicate the criteria applied in accepting or rejecting a resignation presented in conformity with section 140 of Act No. 232 of 1952, as well as the number of cases in which such resignations were refused and the grounds for refusal.