Article 8:
The Republic shall direct its policy towards ensuring for all citizens, without discrimination, opportunities for employment and livelihood under just and humane conditions, and towards promoting safety, health and welfare facilities in employment.
Article 11:
(a) All persons are born equally free and independent and have certain natural, inherent and inalienable rights, among which are the right of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of pursuing and maintaining the security of the person and of acquiring, possessing and protecting property, subject to such qualifications as provided for in this Constitution.
Article 12:
No person shall be held in slavery or forced labor within the Republic, nor shall any citizen of Liberia nor any person resident therein deal in slaves or subject any other person to forced labor, debt bondage or peonage; but labor reasonably required in consequence of a court sentence or order conforming to acceptable labor standards, service in the military, work or service which forms part of normal civil obligations or service exacted in cases of emergency or calamity threatening the life or well being of the community shall not be deemed forced labor.
Article 13:
(a) Every person lawfully within the Republic shall have the right to move freely throughout Liberia, to reside in any part thereof and to leave therefrom subject however to the safeguarding of public security, public order, public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others.
CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA 1986 (PDF)
- Offense. A person is guilty of kidnapping if he unlawfully removes another from his place of residence or business, or a substantial distance from the vicinity where he is found, or if he unlawfully confines another for substantial period in a place of isolation, with any of the following purposes:
(a) To hold for ransom or reward;
(b) To use him as a shield or hostage;
(c) To hold him in a condition of involuntary servitude;
(d) To facilitate commission of any felony or flight thereafter;
(e) To inflict bodily injury on or to terrorize the victim or another; or
(f) To interfere with the performance of any governmental or political function.
- Grading. Kidnapping is a felony of the first degree unless the actor voluntarily releases the victim alive and in a safe place prior to trial, in which case it is a felony of the second degree.
- When removal or confinement is unlawful. A removal or confinement is unlawful within the meaning of this section if it is accomplished by force, threat, or deception, or in the case of a person who is under the age of 14 or incompetent, if it is accomplished without the consent of a parent, guardian or other person responsible for general supervision of his welfare.
- 14.51. Felonious restraint
A person commits a felony of the third degree if he knowingly:
(a) Restrains another unlawfully in circumstances exposing him to risk of serious bodily injury; or
(b) Restrains another with the purpose of holding him in a condition of involuntary servitude.
- 14.52. False imprisonment
A person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if he knowingly restrains another unlawfully so as to interfere substantially with his liberty.
PENAL CODE 1976 (PDF)
Section 1: Definitions
100 “Trafficking In Persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a person by means of the threat or use of force or other means of coercion, or by abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or by the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
102 “Exploitation” shall mean:
(a) keeping a person in a state slavery;
(b) Subjecting a person to practices similar to slavery;
(c) Compelling or causing a person to provide forced labor or services;
(d) keeping a person in a state of servitude, including sexual servitude;
(e) Exploitation of the prostitution of another;
(f) Engaging in any other form of commercial sexual exploitation, including but not limited to pimping, pandering, procuring, profiting from prostitution, maintaining a brothel, child pornography;
(g) Illicit removal of human organs.
103 “Slavery” shall mean the status or condition of a person over whom any or all the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.
104 “Practices similar to slavery” are defined in the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of slavery, the Slave Trade, and institutions and practices Similar to Slavery and include, in general, debt bondage, serfdom, forced or servile marriages and delivery of children for exploitation.
105 “Forced labor” shall mean labor or services obtained or maintained through force, threat of force, or other means of coercion or physical restraint.
106 “Servitude” shall mean a condition of dependency in which the labor or services of a person are provided or obtained by threats or serious harm to that person or another person, or through any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause the person to believe hat, if the person did not perform such labor or services, that person or another person would suffer serious harm.
110 Debt bondage shall mean the status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge by the debtor of his or her personal service or those of a person under his or her control as a security for debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined.
Section 2: trafficking in persons
That form and immediately after the passage of this ACT, recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a person by means of the threat or use of force or other means of coercion or by abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or by giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation shall be a criminal offense within the Republic of Liberia.
Section 3: restitution
Where a defendant is convinced of trafficking in persons under section 5, the court shall order the defendant to pay restitution to the victim for:
a)Costs of medical and psychological treatment;
b)Costs of physical and occupation therapy and rehabilitation;
- c) Costs of necessary transportation, temporary housing;
- d) Lost income;
- e) Attorney’s fees and other costs such as victim advocate fees;
- f) Compensation for emotional distress, pain, and suffering;
- g) Any other loss suffered by the victim.
Section 5: criminal offense
Whoever engages in or conspires to engage in, or attempts to engage in, or assists another person to engage in or organizes or directs other persons to engage in "Trafficking in persons" shall be sentenced as defined in Section 7.
Section 6: convicted trafficker
Persons. convicted of the crime of transporting a person for the purpose of that person’s prostitution shall be punished in accordance with’
Section 7, but the presence of any one of the following aggravating factors can permit a. longer sentence up to a maximum of 20 years:
- a) Transporting two or more person s at the same time;
- b) Permanent or life-threatening bodily injury to a person transported;
- c) Transporting one or more children;
- d) transportation as part of the activity of an organized criminal group.
Section 7: sentence
A court of competent jurisdiction shall sentence a person convicted of the crime of trafficking in persons to a minimum of one-year imprisonment.
- a) if the convicted person used, threatened use, or caused another to use or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, 2 years shall be added to the minimum sentence.
- b) if a trafficked person suffers a serious bodily injury, or if the convicted person commits a sexual assault against a trafficked person, 5 years shall be added to the minimum sentence;
- c) if the trafficked person has not attained the age of 18 years, 5 years shall be added to the minimum sentence;
- d) if, in the course of trafficking or subsequent exploitation, the convicted, person recklessly caused a trafficked person to be exposed to a life threatening illness or if the convicted person intentionally caused a trafficked person to become addicted to any drug or medication, 5 years shall be added to the minimum sentence;
- e) if a trafficked person suffers a permanent or life threatening injury, 10 years: shall be added to the minimum sentence;
- f) if a trafficked person dies as a result of the trafficking, the sentence shall be between 20 years and life imprisonment;
- g) if the trafficking was part of the activity of an organized criminal group, 3 years shall be added to the minimum sentence;
- h) if the trafficking was part of the activity of an organized criminal group, and the convicted person organized the group or directed its activities, 5 years shall be added to the minimum sentence.
i) If the trafficking occurred as a result of abuse of power or position of authority, including but not limited to a parent or guardian, teacher, children’s club leader, or any other person who has been entrusted with the care or supervision of the child, 3 or 5 years shall be added to the minimum sentence.
ACT TO BAN TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 2005 (PDF)
In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise:
- o) forced or compulsory labour means all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty, and for which that person did not offer himself voluntarily;
- 2.2 Freedom from forced or compulsory labour
- a) No person in Liberia shall be subjected to forced or compulsory labour, provided however that this does not prohibit work or service:
- i) exacted in consequence of compulsory military service laws of general application, provided that the work or service in question is of a purely military character;
- ii) which forms part of the normal civic obligations of a citizen;
iii) exacted as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law, provided that:
(a)it is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority; and
(b)no person is hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations;
- iv) 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; or
- v) which is in the nature of 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.
- b) A person shall not directly or indirectly cause, permit or require any person to perform forced labour.
- 2.3 Freedom from the worst forms of child labour
- a) Except as elsewhere provided in this Act, no person shall employ or cause a child to be employed.
- b) Without limiting the scope of the preceding provision, the following forms of work by children are absolutely prohibited:
- i) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
- ii) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
iii) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties; and
- iv) Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or welfare of children.
- c) The Minister may make regulations which identify work prohibited under paragraph b) iv), and other forms of work for children that shall be absolutely prohibited.
- d) A person shall not directly or indirectly cause, permit or require a child to participate in a form of work which is absolutely prohibited by or pursuant to this section.
- 2.15 Remedies for contravention of fundamental rights
- a) A person who is the victim of a violation of a right protected by this Chapter may lodge a complaint under section § 9.2.
- b) A registered trade union or registered employers’ organization, acting on behalf of a member of that trade union or registered employers’ organization, may lodge a complaint under section § 9.2 alleging a violation of a right protected by this Chapter.
- c) A labour inspector may use the provisions of sections § 8.4 or § 9.1 to enforce compliance with the provisions of this Chapter.
- d) Upon a finding by the Ministry or a court, as the case may be, that any requirement of this Chapter has been breached, the Ministry or court may order any of the remedies specified in section § 9.5.
- 8.4 Power to issue compliance notice
- a) If a labour inspector reasonably believes that a person:
- i) is violating a provision of:
(1) this Act, other than Part Six or any regulations made under that Part;
(2) the regulations;
(3) a minimum wage order; or
(4) an applicable collective agreement; or
- ii) has violated such a provision in circumstances that make it likely that the contravention will continue or be repeated, then the labour inspector may issue to the person a written compliance notice requiring the person to stop and/or to remedy the contravention or likely contravention.
- b) A compliance notice shall:
- i) state the basis for the labour inspector’s belief on which the issue of the notice is based;
- ii) specify the provision that the labour inspector considers is being or has been contravened or of which a contravention is threatened;
iii) specify a date by which the person is required to remedy the contravention, which shall not be more than 28 days from the date of the compliance notice; and
- iv) set out the procedures under this Act to enforce compliance with the notice.
- 9.5 Decision by the Ministry
- a) At the conclusion of a hearing the Ministry shall state its findings of fact.
- b) The Ministry may dismiss a complaint if it finds that the respondent has not engaged in the violation that is the subject of the notice.
- c) If the Ministry finds that a respondent has committed or is committing a violation of any provision of this Act, it:
- i) shall issue and cause to be served on the respondent an order requiring them to:
(1) cease and desist from continuing such violation; and
(2) take such affirmative and remedial action as is specified in the law or as, in the judgment of the Ministry, will effectuate the purposes of this Act; and
- ii) may order the respondent to pay a fine not exceeding $500.
- d) The powers of the Ministry in this section operate in addition to its powers under section § 14.10.
- e) An order of the Ministry issued under this section shall include a requirement for the respondent to report on the manner of compliance.
- f) A respondent shall comply with an order of the Ministry under this section, and shall report on their compliance in such terms as the order may require.
g) The Ministry shall keep on file a copy of all orders it makes in proceedings under this Chapter. DECENT WORK ACT 2015 (PDF)