La réglementation internationale du travail forcé et l’application de la « clause coloniale » au Congo belge (1930-1960)

The regulation of forced labour has remained a thorny issue for International Labour Organization. The tortuous drafting process of the Forced Labour Convention (No.29) and its resulting provisions are evidence of these difficulties. One of the key features of this Convention is the colonial clause. This article critically analyses this clause, which stems from a dual restriction of international labor law applicable to forced labour on personal and territorial levels. In particular, it offers a substantial analysis of the way the colonial clause was applied by Belgium to Belgian Congo.  In doing so, it highlights the clause’s shortcomings, which allowed Belgium to continue to subject “natives” of the Belgian Congo to certain forms of forced labor which, without the application of the colonial clause, would be contrary to Convention No. 29 on forced labour.