Title: Ratification of Convention on Forced Labour Proclamation No. 336/2003

Note: while Convention on Forced labor (No. 29) had been effective since May 01, 1932 following of ratification by two state members, Ethiopia ratified the convention 70 years later. Still there are major economies which have not ratified the convention such as United States of America and China (The Convention will enter into force for China on 12 Aug 2023).

Scope of Application:  It is applicable on all forms of forced or compulsory labor within the territory of Ethiopia with exception of (as per Article 2 of the convention):

(a) any work or service exacted in virtue of compulsory military service laws for work of a purely military character;

(b) any work or service which forms part of the normal civic obligations of the citizens of a fully self-governing country;

(c) any work or service exacted from any person as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law, provided that the said work or service is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority and that the said person is not hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations;

(d) any work or service exacted in cases of emergency, that is to say, in the event of war or of a calamity or threatened calamity, such as fire, flood, famine, earthquake, violent epidemic or epizootic diseases, invasion by animal, insect or vegetable pests, and in general any circumstance that would endanger the existence or the well-being of the whole or part of the population;

(e) minor communal services of a kind which, being performed by the members of the community in the direct interest of the said community, can therefore be considered as normal civic obligations incumbent upon the members of the community, provided that the members of the community or their direct representatives shall have the right to be consulted in regard to the need for such services.

Type of law: Proclamation

Key words: Forced labor, Compulsory labor, Convention No.29, ILO

Date of Adoption by ILO Conference: June 28, 1930

Entry into force: May o1, 1932

 Date of Ratification by Ethiopia: May 08, 2003

Language: Proclamation in Amharic and Convention in English

Related Document:

More Info: https://www.ilo.org/global/standards/lang–en/index.htm