By ratifying the Protocol, Djibouti pledges to take effective measures to prevent forced labour, protect the victims and guarantee that they have access to justice.

Djibouti’s ratification is evidence of its ongoing determination to fight forced labour. Indeed, when it joined the International Labour Organization in 1978, Djibouti immediately ratified the two ILO conventions on forced labour, Conventions Nos 29 and 105, which have been ratified to date by 178 and 175 countries, respectively.

The Protocol also stipulates that specific action is to be taken against trafficking in persons. In 2007, in fact, Djibouti adopted legislation penalizing trafficking in persons. It supplemented the legal and institutional framework in 2016 with legislation adopting a more comprehensive approach to anti-trafficking activities, establishing a national watchdog body, strengthening the assistance and protection afforded to victims during judicial proceedings (giving them, for example, the possibility to ask to remain on the national territory), and making it possible to prosecute and penalize corporate entities and to confiscate their assets.