Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

Initial report submitted by Sao Tome and Principe under article 73 of the Convention, due in 2018 * , * * , ** *

[Date received: 21 November 2023]

I.Methodology

1.The report presented here covers the period from 2017 to 2022, and included contributions from a Multisectoral Technical Team, made up of representatives from the following institutions:

Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Human Rights/Human Rights Office;

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Communities;

Ministry of Health and Social Affairs;

Ministry of Labor and Employment;

Ministry of Education, Culture and Science;

Ad hoc Interministerial Commission for Human Rights in Sao Tome and Principe;

Social Protection, Solidarity and Family Directorate;

Migration and Border Services;

General Directorate of Customs;

Platform for Human Rights and Gender Equality;

Sao Tomean Association of Women Jurists;

Santomean Association for Family Promotion.

2.The team worked according to the general guidelines established by the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, in close collaboration with the ad hoc Interministerial Commission for the preparation of this report.

3.The process of drafting the report favored a participatory approach and consultation with the different actors involved in the promotion of human rights, including national and international governmental, non-governmental and civil society organizations, during which the contributions, findings and observations of those involved were taken into account.

4.In order to collect the data, a document review was carried out and the information made available by the Advisory Committee, whose functions and attributions are to participate in the collection of information and in the analysis sessions of the report, was processed.

5.The process concluded with an extended workshop with the multisectoral team, enabling the first report to be drawn up.

II.Replies to the list of issues prior to reporting (CMW/C/STP/QPR/1)

A.Reply to paragraph 1 of the list of issues

6.According to the 2003 Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, it has always enshrined respect for rights, freedoms and guarantees. To this end, Article 13/2 states that the rules contained in international conventions, treaties and agreements validly approved and ratified by the respective competent bodies shall be in force in the Sao Tomean legal order after their official publication and for as long as they are internationally binding on the Sao Tomean state.

7.Article 13/3 – The norms contained in international conventions, treaties and agreements validly approved and ratified by the respective competent bodies take precedence, after their entry into force in the international and internal order, over all internal legislative and normative acts of infra-constitutional value.

8.In addition, the Constitution of the Republic provides in Article 16, no. 1 and 2 that Sao Tomean citizens residing abroad enjoy the same rights and duties as other citizens, and enjoy the care and protection of the State, as well as Art. 17, no. 1, which states “that foreigners and stateless persons residing or present in Sao Tome and Principe enjoy the same rights and duties as other citizens and enjoy the care and protection of the State”.

9.These fundamental rights include: the “Right to Life” Article 22, the “Right to Personal Integrity” Article 23, Freedom to leave any State and to return to one’s State of origin, Prohibition of Torture or Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Freedom from Slavery, Servitude and Forced Labor, Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion, Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Right to Privacy, the right to equality with nationals of the state concerned before the courts, the right to liberty and security of person, the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law, the rights of migrants deprived of their liberty, the right of children of migrant workers to a name, a birth registration and a nationality, among many other rights conferred by the Constitution on Migrant Workers and the members of their Families.

10.The Labor Code approved by Law no. 6/2009 of April 11 (which replaced the old Law no. 6/92 adopting the Legal Regime of Individual Working Conditions) established in articles 296 to 302 of Chapter XI the conditions for migrants to work in Portugal.

11.It is important to note that Article 296(2) states that “migrant workers have the right to equal treatment and opportunities with nationals”, while Article 6 states that they are subject to the provisions of the Labor Code. We can therefore affirm that the rights safeguarded for nationals will be the same for migrants, and the Constitution of the Republic has established this. Furthermore, we can affirm that the legislation in our legal system, especially the Constitution of the Republic, the Labor Code, the Penal Code, and other laws respect and safeguard the rights of foreigners who are “migrant workers” in national territory.

12.With respect to bilateral and multilateral agreements on the rights of migrant workers and members of their families concluded with other states, the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe concluded the “Agreement on Mobility between the Member States of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries - CPLP”, initialled in Luanda, Republic of Angola, on July 17, 2024, between Member States of that community. The Government and the Republic of Ghana also signed the “Agreement on the Exemption of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic, Service/Official and Ordinary Passports”.

B.Reply to paragraph 2 of the list of issues

13.With regard to policies and strategies adopted to guarantee the protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families, as well as specific targets, objectives and deadlines defined to effectively monitor progress in the realization of these rights, the country has not developed any specific policies aimed at this group.

14.Likewise, it does not have the human, technical and financial resources allocated to its application, nor the results obtained.

C.Reply to paragraph 3 of the list of issues

15.It is the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Human Rights, through the Human Rights Office, created in 2014, which, among other activities, coordinates the activities of the Interministerial Human Rights Commission (IACHR). The latter, in turn, is an observer member of the Network of Ombudsmen, Human Rights Commissions and other National Human Rights Institutions of the Communities of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), recognized by the other NHRIs and the African Union.

D.Reply to paragraph 4 of the list of issues

16.Regarding the migratory situation or migratory movements, we know that during the period between 2017 and 2023, 79,068 and 101,237 Saint Lucians entered and left the country. However, we have no information on the current situation of all those who left.

17.With regard to foreign citizens who used our services to legalizethemselves,duringtheperiod described above, the country granted a total of 2683 Certificates of Residence toforeigncitizens.

E.Reply to paragraph 5 of the list of issues

18.To date, Sao Tome and Principe has not established an independent mechanism, such as a National Human Rights Commission, in accordance with the Paris principle, despite its notorious commitment to creating this desired institution.

F.Reply to paragraph 6 of the list of issues

19.Since the ratification of the Convention, there has been no campaign to raise awareness of its existence.

G.Reply to paragraph 7 of the list of issues

20.The State Party has not adopted any specific measures to promote the implementation of training programs on the human rights of migrant workers and members of their families, for example on issues such as gender sensitivity and children’s rights, which are aimed at civil servants who provide legal and consular assistance to nationals of the State Party abroad, in relation to migration and related issues such as discrimination, abuse and exploitation in the workplace, detention, pre-trial detention, immigration detention, arrest, expulsion and repatriation. All the work that has been carried out in this regard has been aimed at the general population, including migrant workers and members of their families.

H.Reply to paragraph 8 of the list of issues

21.Regarding cooperation and relations between the State party, civil society organizations and other social partners concerned with the rights of migrant workers with regard to the implementation of the Convention, we would like to inform you that civil society organizations are always taken into consideration, invited to join working groups, and are not only participating now in the drafting of this report, but also in previous ones, including awareness-raising campaigns, due to the important role they play in society.

I.Reply to paragraph 9 of the list of issues

22.We have no record of any private employment agency recruiting migrant workers to work abroad. What does happen is that some foreign companies do directly hire both foreigners and nationals to work abroad. And this process does not come from a private employment agency.

J.Reply to paragraph 10 of the list of issues

23.To date, the convention in question has not been directly invoked in the courts. According to information from the Ministry of Labor, the majority of foreign workers in Sao Tome and Principe have already signed employment contracts. The rest are owners of their own businesses, “patrões”. As a result, the foreigners who come to their offices are usually looking for additional information and clarification on procedures, which they are given. Therefore, they have no record of reports of violations of their rights.

K.Reply to paragraph 11 of the list of issues

24.As stated in answer number 1, the Constitution and the Labor Code equate foreigners with nationals and for this reason they benefit from the same rights and duties.

L.Reply to paragraph 12 of the list of issues

25.The State Party has no record of cases of exploitation of migrant workers or their families, in a regular or irregular situation, in particular workers in the agricultural and service sectors, nor of cases of domestic servitude, forced labor or sexual exploitation of the group in question, in particular women and children, in areas of travel or tourism. Therefore, the measures that have been applied to prevent and combat these phenomena are domestic legislation and the convention itself, which applies to everyone.

M.Reply to paragraph 13 of the list of issues

26.We have no measures to record.

N.Reply to paragraph 14 of the list of issues

27.Yes, immigration offenses are criminalized in Sao Tome and Principe, since in the national territory everyone is equal, susceptible to the same rights and responsibilities.

O.Reply to paragraph 15 of the list of issues

28.Normally, citizens who enter national territory legally and do not regularize their stay in the country, becoming irregular, after notification by the Migration and Border Service to appear at the Institution, the possibility is granted to initiate a regularization process, based on article 97 of the Law nº5/2008.

29.If the foreigner concerned is unable to regularize their stay in National Territory, the Service invites you to leave on a voluntary basis using Article 73 of Law 5/2008, and notifying the diplomatic representation of their country, if any.

30.If the passport of the individual concerned has expired and there is a diplomatic representation of your country on national territory, it is advisable to even renew the document. If you have no representation your country’s diplomatic service, the S.M.F. will issue a safe conduct. If the foreigner refuses to leave voluntarily, we have recourse to Article 74, of the aforementioned Law, which supports administrative expulsion, in which the State is responsible for the whole process, until the foreigner leaves of the national territory.

P.Reply to paragraph 16 of the list of issues

31.All the foreigners who have been detained in Sao Tome and Principe have been in the only Prison and Social Reintegration Services facility we have in the country, under the same regime and conditions as nationals.

32.By way of example, you can see in the table below a nominal list of Ex. Reclused Foreigners who attended the PSRS between 2007 and 2022.

33.Here you can see what kind of crimes they have been detained for, and based on this you can see that no foreigner has been detained for the crime of illegally staying in national territory.

N°	Sex	Entry date	Crimes	Marital Status	First-time offender/ Repeat offender	Age	Profession	Behaviour	Nationality	Residence	Departure date
1	M	06/07/2007	Grand theft	Single	First-time offender		Stonemason	Regular	Angolan	Sao Tome	06/12/2007
2	F	11/07/2018	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender	54 years old	Dealer	Regular	Brazilian	Sao Paulo Brazil	11/03/2019
3	F	16/12/2019	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender	20 years old	Prostitution	Regular	Brazilian	Brazil	06/01/2020
4	M	01/10/2021	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender	43 years old	Merchant	Regular	Brazilian	Brazil	29/06/2022
5	M	01/10/2021	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender	37 years old	Dealer	Regular	Brazilian	Brazil	29/06/2022
6	M	26/08/2015	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender	36 years old	Mechanic	Regular	Cape Verdean	Cape Verde	24/08/2020
7	M	24/11/2015	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender	27 years old	Fisherman	Regular	Cape Verdean	Cape Verde	18/09/2020
8	F	05/01/2018	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender		Teacher	Regular	Ecuadorian	Ecuador	20/11/2018
9	M	08/08/2018	Alteration of the Rule of Law	Divorced	First-time offender		Sawyer	Regular	Spanish		23/07/2019
10	M	08/08/2018	Alteration of the Rule of Law	Divorced	First-time offender		Merchant	Regular	Spanish		25/07/2019
11	M	08/08/2018	Alteration of the Rule of Law	Divorced	First-time offender		Sawyer	Regular	Spanish		25/07/2019
12	M	15/05/2015	Sexual abuse	Divorced	Repeat offender	75 years old	Retired	Regular	French	Sam Grabriel	16/08/2017
13	M	26/11/2013	Passing counterfeit currency	Married	First-time offender		Merchant	Regular	Welsh	Gabon	28/03/2014
14	M	02/02/2007	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender		Business	Regular	Bissau-Guinean	Guinea Bissau	08/02/2007
15	M	18/06/2019	Drug trafficking	Married	First-time offender	45 years old	Merchant	Regular	Mozambican	Vargem	26/07/2019
16	M	17/06/2019	Drug trafficking	Married	First-time offender	56 years old	Merchant	Regular	Mozambican	Atrás da Cadeia	26/07/2019
17	M	19/09/2017	Reception	Single	First-time offender		Dealer	Regular	Nigerian	Budo Budo	30/01/2018
18	M	09/11/2017	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender		Sailor	Regular	Nigerian	Nigeria	18/04/2018
19	M	05/01/2018	Drug trafficking	Single	Repeat offender	55 years old	Hoteliers	Regular	Nigerian	Atrás da Cadeia	08/05/2018
20	M	16/03/2018	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender		Dealer	Regular	Nigerian	Cova Água	08/11/2018
21	M	12/01/2018	Money Laundering	Single	First-time offender	32 years old	Banknote Collector	Regular	Nigerian	Hotel Miramar
22	M	12/01/2018	Money Laundering	Single	First-time offender	38 years old	Banknote Collector	Regular	Nigerian	Hotel Miramar
23	M	11/07/2018	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender	45 years old	Merchant	Regular	Nigerian	Vila Dolores	01/11/2018
24	M	18/07/2020	Drug trafficking	Single	First-time offender	44 years old	Dealer	Regular	Nigerian	Ponta Mina	26/07/2019
25	M	31/08/2020	Drug trafficking	Married	Repeat offender	50 years old	Dealer	Regular	Nigerian	Vila Dilores	02/06/2021
26	M	24/06/2013	Smuggling	Single	First-time offender		Ship Captain	Regular	Turkish	Türkiye	02/10/2013
27	M	24/06/2013	Smuggling	Single	First-time offender		Ship Captain	Regular	Ukrainian	Ukraine	02/10/2013

Nationality	Sex
Male	Female
Angolan	1	0
Brazilian	2	2
Cape Verdean	2	0
Ecuador	0	1
Spanish	3	0
French	1	0
Welsh	1	0
Bissau-Guinean	1	0
Mozambican	2	0
Nigerian	9	0
Turkish	1	0
Ukrainian	1	0
Sub-total	24	3
Total	27

Q.Reply to paragraph 17 of the list of issues

34.The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe has embassies in the following countries:

African continent	European continent	American continent	Asian continent
Republic of Gabon	Republic of Portugal	Embassy in Washington	People’s Republic of China
Republic of Equatorial Guinea	Kingdom of Belgium	Permanent Mission to the United Nations
Republic of Angola
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Kingdom of Morocco

R.Reply to paragraph 21 of the list of issues

35.In addition to the embassies, the Border Migration Service has a website (www.smf.st), where information is available, as well as the electronic services provided by the institution, forms, applicable legislation and some information of public interest.

S.Reply to paragraph 22 of the list of issues

36.The institution responsible for labor issues is the Ministry of Labor, through the General Labor Inspectorate.

T.Reply to paragraph 23 of the list of issues

The right to participate in the public affairs of the State Party

37.Based on Article 59 of the CRSTP, all citizens have the right to equal and free access to public office.

38.Article 16(1) and (2) of the CRSTP states that “every Sao Tomean citizen who resides or is abroad shall enjoy the same rights and be subject to the same duties as other citizens, except insofar as this is incompatible with absence from the country. Sao Tomean citizens living abroad enjoy the care and protection of the state”.

39.Article 17(1) of the CRSTP states that “foreigners and stateless persons residing or present in Sao Tome and Principe enjoy the same rights and are subject to the same duties as Sao Tomean citizens, except with regard to political rights, the exercise of functions and other rights and duties expressly reserved by law for national citizens”.

40.Paragraph 2 of the same article also states that “foreigners may only exercise public functions if they are predominantly of a technical nature, unless there is an international agreement or convention”. On the other hand, paragraph 3 of the same article stresses that “the law may grant foreign citizens residing in national territory, under conditions of reciprocity, active and passive electoral capacity for the election of members of local authority bodies”.

The exercise of the right to vote in the State Party

41.Article 2(2) of Law no. 06/2021, the Electoral Law, published in DR no. 13/2021 (I Series), of February 15, states that the exercise of suffrage depends on registration in the electoral register.

42.Law no. 08/2021, Law on the Right to Suffrage and Voter Registration,published in DR. no. 13/2021 (i series), of February 15, provides in its article 6that“allcitizenshavetherighttopromotetheirregistrationinthecensus,as well as to verify that they are registered and, in case of error or omission, torequesttherespectiverectification”.Article7ofthesamelaw,inparagraph1, also states that “registration in the electoral register is compulsory for allcitizens residing in the national territory and is carried out ex officio by therespective registration authority”. In paragraph 2, registration in the electoralregisterisalso compulsoryforallSaoTomeancitizensinthediaspora,wherethere is a significant community, in consultation with the diplomatic andconsularrepresentationofSaoTomeandPrincipe.

The right to passive suffrage in the State Party

43.CRSTP in article 58 - all citizens over the age of eighteen have the right to vote, with the exception of the incapacities provided for in the general law.

44.Law no. 06/2021, the Electoral Law, published in DR no. 13/2021 (I Series), of February 15, in article 10 - “Every citizen who has active electoral capacity enjoys passive electoral capacity”.

45.Therefore, active electoral capacity (Article 6) is understood to mean all Sao Tomean citizens over the age of eighteen, except as provided for in the following article.

46.Article 9 of the law also states that Sao Tomean citizens residing abroad have active electoral capacity, exercising their right to vote at the respective diplomatic representation of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe or at the centers set up under the terms assigned to the National Electoral Commission by law.

47.Law no. 08/2021, the Right to Suffrage and Voter Registration Law, published in DR. no. 13/2021 (i series), of February 15, in article 12, provides for the census to have a geographical unit:

(a)On national territory: The Districts and the Autonomous Region of Principe;

(b)Abroad: The country of residence, if there is diplomatic or consular representation of the State of Sao Tome, according to the table below.

Number of voters and polling stations by district and diaspora

Districts	Nº of voters	Gender	No. of polling stations
Male	Female
Água -Grande	40 942	19 093	21 849	87
Mé-Zochi	26 855	13 112	13 743	60
Lobata	11 082	5 639	5 443	29
Cantagalo	10 552	5 354	5 198	30
Lembá	8 766	4 430	4 336	24
Caué	4 448	2 394	2 054	16
RAP	5 964	32 25	2 739	16
Total	108 609	53 247	55 362	262

Diaspora	Nº of voters	G ender	No. of p olling s tations
Ma le	Female
Angola	3 254	2 057	1 197	8
Belgium/Luxemburg	153	89	64	2
Cabo Verde	481	295	186	5
France	204	94	110	2
Gabon	1 498	703	795	9
Guinea Equatorial	216	147	69	3
Portugal	7 378	3252	4 126	16
United Kingdom	1 508	749	759	5
Total	14 692	7 386	7 306	50
Grand total	123 301	60 633	62 668	312

U.Reply to paragraph 24 of the list of issues

48.The General Directorate of Customs deals specifically with imports and exports. Therefore, within the framework of the plan for the first ten years of the 2063 Agenda, it directs that all member states of the African Union should initiate policies that promote migration flows and more responsible workforces, including the protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families.

49.As far as customs procedures are concerned, particularly when importing and/or exporting, we have to say that both nationals and migrants are subject to the same fees and the same procedures for customs clearance and export. As far as providing the necessary information is concerned, the Customs Directorate has an official Facebook page where some information is published. Diplomas and regulations with information on imports and exports are available at some STP embassies abroad.

V.Replies to paragraphs 25 and 26 of the list of issues

50.We would like to highlight the two agreements mentioned in question number two (2).

W.Reply to paragraph 27 of the list of issues

51.As stated in Article 6 of Law 7/04 (Social Protection Framework Law), citizenship social protection covers the resident population who find themselves in a situation of lack or diminished means of subsistence and are unable to fully assume their own protection, namely:

(a)People or families in serious poverty;

(b)Women in disadvantaged situations;

(c)Children and adolescents with special needs or in situations of risk;

(d)Elderly people in a situation of physical or economic disability and isolation;

(e)People with disabilities, at risk or socially excluded;

(f)Unemployed people in marginalized situations.

52.Children, as one of the key target groups, are protected by Citizenship Social Protection, with the Directorate for Social Protection, Solidarity and Family as a fundamental pillar; the institution responsible for social policies to protect the most vulnerable groups and those at risk of social exclusion.

53.In terms of the cases of migrant minors accompanied in transit, the Directorate for Social Protection, Solidarity and the Family (DPSSF) does not confirm the existence of this phenomenon, which is flagged up by the institution. What has been evident for years is the existence of abandoned minors or those left by their parents to close relatives, grandparents, uncles, cousins, etc. This phenomenon has been gaining more emphasis with the opening up of circulation in Europe through Portugal, and has consequently made this social problem even worse, putting minors in a more vulnerable situation, especially those who don’t benefit from foreign currency remittances.

54.The Directorate for Social Protection, Solidarity and the Family has no specific action to mitigate this phenomenon, but it does have some programs and actions that it has been implementing with the help of partners (WB, UNICEF), such as the Vulnerable Family Program (PFV), a conditional cash transfer program aimed at households in extreme poverty. It benefits 2,543 households throughout the country, and we are currently working to finalize the expansion phase with the aim of reaching 4,500 households in extreme poverty. Another program that makes sense to highlight, as part of the subcomponent of the current VFP (PSRRC), is the Parental Education Program (PEP), which aims to adopt positive parenting practices in favor of the child. In the PEP, we have been working on various topics that are fundamental to the holistic development of the child, with around 173 training sessions attended by 2064 parents who are beneficiaries of the PFV. In addition to these programs, we have actions to promote and protect the rights of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse, mistreatment, neglect, physical violence and abandonment; the social report is produced and sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which in turn initiates the judicial process by sending it to the court, which applies the Civil Guardianship Mediation (19 cases have already been sent this year).

X.Reply to paragraph 32 of the list of issues

55.Regarding migratory movements, we know that during the period between 2017 and 2023, 79,068 and 101,237 Saint Lucians entered and left the country.

56.The entry and stay of foreigners in national territory is governed by Law No. 5/2008 and Decree Law No. 11/2009, which establish the following requirements:

(a)To obtain a Certificate of Residence through Independent Professional Activity:

Application duly completed and notarized;

Copy of passport and residence visa, or other visa used to enter the country, national territory;

Consular card;

Birth certificate;

Criminal record of country of origin in Portuguese;

Medical certificate;

Certificate of Residence (requested from the district council of the district where the person resides);

Tax status certificate (issued by the tax office);

Debt Clearance Certificate (issued by the Social Security);

The company’s single window if you are an entrepreneur;

Lease agreement for the company and also for the house where the person lives interested party, approved by the Ministry of Finance;

If you are an owner, you must present the urban contribution payment from the last year;

(b)To obtain a CR through a Subordinate Professional Activity:

Application duly completed and notarized;

Copy of passport and residence visa, or other visa used to enter the country, national territory;

Consular card;

Birth certificate;

Criminal record of country of origin in Portuguese;

Medical certificate;

Certificate of Residence (requested from the district council of the district where the person resides);

Tax status certificate (issued by the tax office);

Debt Clearance Certificate (issued by Social Security);

Company formation;

Employment contract, approved by the Directorate of Employment and Training professional or a declaration;

Rental contract for the company and also for the house where the person lives interested party, approved by the Ministry of Finance;

If you are an owner, you must present the urban contribution payment from the last year;

(c)Obtaining a residence card through family reunification:

These are all the documents mentioned above in point a), with the addition of one term of responsibility, copy of residence card or residence visa and declaration of service from the person who issued the certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate and, in the case of minors, birth certificate;

(d)Obtaining a residence card through Voluntary Service:

These are all the documents mentioned above in point a), with the addition of the employment contract between the volunteer and the NGO, constitution of the church or NGO, if is the owner of the NGO, you will have to present the property register and Diário da Republic that proves the legalization of the NGO.

Y.Reply to paragraph 33 of the list of issues

57.In general, from the interviews conducted with foreigners in Sao Tome and Principe, we observed that they feel comfortable here, they are very well integrated into society, whether it be those who have businesses or companies set up, or those who carry out subordinate professional activities.

58.They know our laws and procedures, our customs, our culture (we even have a Lebanese citizen who is our greatest example of integration, as he not only does business here, but is also a singer. He sings and speaks our Forro creole, and more).