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

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - China - Macau Special Administrative Region (Ratification: 1999)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. 1. Trafficking in persons. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that several awareness-raising and training activities on labour rights, forced labour and trafficking in persons have been carried out, in particular for law enforcement authorities. The Human Trafficking Deterrent Measures Concern Committee, the inter-institutional body aimed at preventing trafficking in persons and facilitating victims’ access to assistance services, has also been actively involved in international cooperation. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that crimes related to trafficking in persons have been effectively suppressed and characterized by extremely low or even zero incidence rates for many years. It observes that, between 2021 and 2024, the Labour Affairs Bureau's enquiry hotline set up for “combating and preventing forced labour” received a total of 478 enquiries, mainly concerning consultations on labour laws, none of which resulted in the identification of potential victims or required further investigation. In this regard, the Committee notes from the MSAR Anti-Human Trafficking Report (2019–2023), published in August 2024, that according to the information provided by the Social Welfare Bureau no victim sought assistance during this period. It further notes, from the Government’s report, that between 2021 and 2024, three cases of trafficking in persons were filed by the Prosecutor's Office, involving a total of five adult victims. Two cases remain under prosecution, while in the third case one suspect was sentenced to four years and six months of imprisonment for the crime of trafficking in persons, under section 153-A of the Penal Code.

The Committee further notes that, in its 2022 concluding observations, the United Nations Human Rights Committee remained concerned about: (1) the very low number of prosecutions and convictions for trafficking in persons; (2) reports indicating that officials often consider a victim’s initial consent or “voluntary association” with a trafficker as sufficient proof that a crime of trafficking has not occurred; and (3) the tendency for most trafficking cases to be reclassified, during court proceedings, as offences of procurement, illegal lodging or assisting illegal immigration due to lack of evidence (CCPR/C/CHN-MAC/CO/2). The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to combat trafficking in persons both for sexual and labour exploitation and to provide information on the activities carried out by the Human Trafficking Deterrent Measures Concern Committee with a view to preventing trafficking, raising awareness, strengthening the capacity of law enforcement bodies, and providing assistance and support to victims. It further requests the Government to provide information on: (i) any specific measures taken to ensure the strengthen the proactive identification of victims of trafficking in persons, indicating the number of persons identified as victims and the type of assistance provided; and (ii) the number of investigations and prosecutions relating to trafficking in persons, the number of convictions handed down, and the penalties imposed under section 153-A of the Penal Code.

2. Vulnerable situation of migrant workers with regard to the exaction of forced labour. The Committee notes that, in their concluding observations, several United Nations treaty bodies have expressed concerned about: (i) migrant construction and domestic workers’ vulnerability to exploitative measures, such as recruitment fees, the withholding of passports and debt-based coercion; (ii) migrant domestic workers’ exclusion from minimum wage protection; and (iii) the absence of updated statistics on the number of complaints filed by migrant workers employed without contracts and on labour disputes (E/C.12/CHN/CO/3, 22 March 2023; and CCPR/C/CHN-MAC/CO/2). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to protect migrant workers from abusive practices and conditions of work that could amount to forced labour, including awareness-raising activities to inform them of their labour rights and the mechanisms available to assert those rights. Please also provide information on: (i) any measures taken to strengthen the monitoring of placement agencies and intermediaries as well as the inspection of working conditions in the sectors employing the highest numbers of migrant workers, including the proactive identification of possible forced labour situations, and the results of the inspections conducted; and (ii) any complaints or cases brought by migrant workers against employers or intermediaries concerning violations of labour rights in situations that could amount to forced labour, and their outcomes.