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Serious concerns over the Government of Niger's position on
slavery
In 2003, the Government of Niger responded positively to the problem
of slavery in the country by recognising that the phenomenon of
slavery "has not been totally eradicated" and by taking
appropriate legislative action. Consequently, on 5 May 2003, changes
to the Penal Code were adopted by the National Assembly and subsequently
approved by the President as Act No. 2003 - 025 on 13 June 2003.
These changes to the Penal Code make slavery a criminal offence
and those responsible for enslaving another person, including accomplices,
face a term of imprisonment of between 10 and 30 years and a fine.
The Prime Minister subsequently wrote to the Minister of the Interior
who then wrote to chiefs and district administration heads requesting
the law be implemented and the Minister of the Interior also informed
the appropriate authorities of the amendments to the Penal Code
in a circular on 12 July 2003. However, the fact that the law was
not printed in the Official Journal until April 2004 undermined
the implementation of this new legislation and to date no legal
proceedings have been initiated by the authorities against anyone
for their involvement in slavery during the last year.
While the Government accepted that slavery persisted in Niger and
recognised the gravity of the issue, the Government questioned,
both in the Committee of Experts report (2004) and at the International
Labour Conference Standards Committee (2004), whether the figures
quoted, which are derived from the research carried out by the non-governmental
organisation, Timidria, were accurate, describing them as "fairly
exaggerated" and "excessive". Recently the Government
has denied that slavery exists and has arrested the president of
Timidria, Ilguilas Weila, and his colleague Alassane Biga.
Slavery in Niger
Timidria's research (carried out in 2002-03) is the most comprehensive
survey to date, involving over 11,000 face-to-face interviews in
six regions of the country (Agadez, Tahoua, Maradi, Zinder, Tillabery
and Dosso).
The research showed that those interviewed were able to identify
individuals by name as their masters. Those interviewed generally
worked directly for their master in exchange for minimal amounts
of food and a place to sleep, which would typically be a shelter
that they had built themselves. In response to a question asking
who makes the decision on your marriage, 84 per cent (8,310 people)
said that their master was solely responsible for the decision,
while 82 per cent (6,103 people) replied that their master was solely
responsible for the decision on whether their children attended
school.
The 1926 United Nations Slavery Convention defines slavery
as "the status or condition of a person over whom any or all
of the powers attaching to the rights of ownership are exercised."
Clearly, the vast majority of the 11,000 people interviewed are
slaves under this definition as they have identified someone as
their master and that person is in a position to demand their labour
for no pay and decide whether or not their children go to school
and whom they marry.
It must be stressed that the Government has not carried out research
of its own which contradicts the findings of Timidria's research
nor given its own estimate of the extent of the phenomenon as requested
by the ILO Committee of Experts (2004). It should also be noted
that Timidria's survey is not an exhaustive study of all those who
are in slavery in these particular regions or in the country as
a whole. Thus, rather than exaggerating the problem, this research
provides us with what is likely to be a minimum baseline of the
number of people in slavery in Niger. Indeed following the publication
of the study, a further 5,402 people came forward to Timidria and
claimed that they were slaves.
More recently, a six-member mission from Timidria (including Ilguilas
Weila who is also a member of the National Commission for Human
Rights and Fundamental Liberties) documented the continuing use
of slavery during a mission to Agadez, Zinder, Maradi and Tahoua
(13 - 20 February 2004). The mission identified 86 slaves and noted
that the practice was not being challenged by the authorities.
Furthermore, in July 2004 Timidria informed Anti-Slavery International
that they had identified 802 new cases of slavery. Of these, 793
were in the village of Babou Saye
(approximately 65 kilometres from Niamey). Village representatives
invited Timidria to Babou Saye where Timidria registered 440 women
and 353 men as slaves, however, nothing has been done to assist
them to date due to a lack of resources.
Anti-Slavery International has gathered numerous first-hand accounts
by slaves documenting the abuses they suffer. Women have spoken
of living in constant fear of abuse, and rape is common. The master
exerts psychological control by telling his slaves if they do everything
he demands they will go to heaven. Women consider themselves the
master's property and so they submit completely to his demands for
sex. The male slaves are unable to help as they risk serious beatings
and exclusion from heaven.
Masters also consider they have the right to demand the marriage
dowry of their former slaves (which consists of bed, tent, kitchen
utensils) and when a slave dies the master can demand the inheritance,
even if the former slave has children. Since Timidria started awareness
raising in Talamcis, villagers have begun to refuse to hand over
their dowries or inheritance. However, the masters continue to make
demands for money or chores.
Aminata (a woman who ran away from her master) told of a woman
who had a plait torn from her head and her livestock seized by her
family's former master as she had refused to hand over 80 goats
which she had inherited from her father. Timidria took the case
to the local magistrate in Tchintabaraden. The magistrate ordered
the master to return the animals. Another practice that continues
in relation to marriage is when a girl finds a suitor, the suitor
has to go to the master and ask for the girl's hand, often the master
will demand the dowry or money in exchange for his consent.
This information highlights the fact that slavery is a significant
problem in Niger, which the Government needs to address through
a co-ordinated plan of action to combat the problem. The Government
has not yet undertaken a national survey to map the prevalence of
slavery in the country nor organised awareness raising and educational
activities for the population on its rights and duties (which should
include those arising out of the new law). Both these proposals
were made in the study conducted under the auspices of the ILO in
2001 and adopted by the Government.
Government's U-turn on the issue of slavery
After not having taken any measures to release or rehabilitate slaves
in 2004, in 2005 the Government seemed to have made a significant
step forward when it agreed to take part in an historic ceremony
to mark the end of slavery in the country. The ceremony was to be
hosted by the National Human Rights Commission on 5 March 2005,
and held near the Mali border in In Atès in Tillabery, where
the chief of In Atès would announce that all of the slaves
in his area would be free. This would have freed over 7,000 people
. However, the slaves were not freed and the Government used the
"ceremony" as an opportunity to warn slave masters not
to release their slaves officially stating that if they do, they
will be subject to 30 years in prison. Timidria and others also
reported government intimidation, preventing slaves from attending
the ceremony.
On 28 April 2005, the Government arrested Ilguilas Weila, president
of Timidria, and five other people for "propagating false information
on slavery and attempting to raise funds illegally". These
charges appear to be related to the planned but failed attempt to
release 7,000 slaves in a ceremony in In Atès. Subsequently,
the Government has accused Timidria of trying to fraudulently obtain
£2,000,000 from Anti-Slavery International, which we can categorically
say is not the case.
Recommendations
The shift in position by the authorities is striking as prior to
March 2005 the Government had not only recognised slavery as being
a problem but had taken positive steps to address it.
With this in mind we would like to make the following recommendations:
- That the Government of Niger establishes a national observatory
made up of representatives from the Government, human rights and
civil society non-governmental organisations, which will develop
an action plan to release and rehabilitate all those living in
conditions of slavery. This action plan should include public
information campaigns regarding the new law, access to education
programmes and the provision of economic alternatives to former
slaves.
- That observatory should submit regular reports to the Government
of Niger and other inter-governmental bodies on progress made
in implementing the law, including training of officials, awareness
raising initiatives and the number of people charged and successfully
prosecuted under the new law.
-
That governments in the region facing similar problems should
ensure that appropriate laws to prohibit and punish slavery
exist in their countries and are properly enforced.
-
That Messrs Weila and Biga are immediately and unconditionally
released.
1The number of slaves came from the master himself,
who declared he and his fellow chiefs in the area had 7,000 slaves.
2 Fax from the Nigerien Ambassador, 18 May 2005.
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