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NEWS - Companies Must Examine Myanm
Companies Must Examine Myanmar Operations-Amnesty
Reuters
19-AUG-98
LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters)- Amnesty International said on
Thursday
that companies investing in Myanmar can no longer claim
ignorance of
widespread forced labour and should ensure their operations
in the
country do not violate human rights.
The London-based human rights group issued its statement a
day
after the International Labour Organisation (ILO) accused
Myanmar's
military government of systematically forcing women, chldren
and the
elderly to work for the army.
Foreign companies often set up joint ventures with the army,
Amnesty
said, adding that hundreds of forced labourers were killed
or left for
dead if they tried to escape or were no longer capable of
working.
"The directors of these companies must seriously examine
their
operations in Myanmar to ensure that their presence is not
contributing
to human rights violations," Amnesty said.
The report by the ILO-- the United Nations labour body--
would inspire
consumers, shareholders and the public to hold companies
which do
business in Myanmar to account, Amnesty said.