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Comments on "ILO mission opens talk
- Subject: Comments on "ILO mission opens talk
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 15:52:00
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<font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times" size=3D4><br>
<b>Comments on ILO press release, <br>
"ILO mission opens talks with Government in Myanmar
(Burma)"<br>
<br>
</b>According to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) press release
of 23 May 2000 (full text below), a technical cooperation mission from
the ILO has gone to Burma to hold discussions on the implementation of
the recommendations of a 1998 commission of inquiry which found the use
of forced and compulsory labour in that country to be widespread. The ILO
Director-General, Juan Somavia, is quoted as saying that "The sole
purpose of the visit of the team is to establish with the government a
credible plan of action to ensure the full implementation of the
commission's recommendations." <br>
<br>
The mission=92s mandate is thus not to inquire whether or not forced labour
exists in Burma -- the ILO considers that this has been proved (see
the report of its Commission of Inquiry into forced labour in Burma)
-- but to help bring the practice to an end.<br>
<br>
The Director-General could perhaps have been more specific regarding the
time frame, seeing that at its 87th session (June 1999) the ILO
Conference decided that " ... the Government of Myanmar should cease
to benefit from any technical cooperation or assistance from the ILO,
except for the purpose of DIRECT assistance to implement IMMEDIATELY the
recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry..." [emphasis
added]<br>
<br>
Given these restrictions, the invitation to the ILO mission implies that
the Burmese military has accepted the Commission=92s report and is eager to
implement the recommendations. This understanding is reinforced by the
statement in the press release that "the Government of Myanmar
(Burma) has provided assurances that the mission will be given full
cooperation to effectively carry out its responsibilities" i.e.
assistance in the immediate implementation of the recommendations.
No-one, of course, would believe that the honourable generals would stoop
to inviting the mission merely in order to soften the treatment they are
likely to receive at the ILO Conference (30 May-15 June).<br>
<br>
<br>
The major ILO recommendations are that:<br>
<br>
1) The legislation (Village and Towns Acts) which allows
civilian authorities to requisition compulsory labour should be amended
to bring it into line with the relevant ILO standards;<br>
<br>
2) =93In actual practice, no more forced or compulsory labour
be imposed by the authorities, IN PARTICULAR THE MILITARY=94 [emphasis
added];<br>
<br>
3) Penalties should be imposed on people who exact
forced labour;<br>
<br>
(see below for the full text of the recommendations)<br>
<br>
The key recommendation is No. 2 since, according to most reports and the
Commission=92s findings, it is the Burmese MILITARY which is largely
responsible for requisitioning forced labour.<br>
<br>
However, the Burmese military, for instance in the remarkable document,
=93Memorandum of the Government of Myanmar on the Report of the
Director-General to the members of the Governing Body dated 21 May 1999=94,
accessible on the ILO website at:<br>
<br>
</font><font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times" size=3D4 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><=
a=
href=3D"http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/gb/docs/gb276/gb-6=
-a2.htm"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/gb/docs=
/gb276/gb-6-a2.</a><a=
href=3D"http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/gb/docs/gb276/gb-6=
-a2.htm" eudora=3D"autourl">htm<br>
<br>
</a></u></font><font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times" size=3D4>is curiously
reluctant to acknowledge this particular recommendation. It prefers
rather to emphasise recommendation No. 1, to amend the Village and Towns
Acts, which permit village headmen and other CIVILIAN authorities
to requisition labour. Referring to this recommendation, military
spokesmen frequently cite Order 1/99 of 14 May 1999, =93Order Directing Not
To Exercise Powers Under Certain Provisions of The Towns Act, 1907 and
the Village Act, 1907=94 as demonstrating the SPDC=92s commitment to carryin=
g
out the ILO's recommendations. However, this Order also refers only to
civilian authorities, and the distribution list notably omits the
army. Since little or no forced labour is at the initiative of
civilian authorities and since, as the Commission mentioned, these Acts
are not cited by the officers who requisition forced labour, an emphasis
on the amendment of the Village and Towns Acts must be seen as a relative
red herring.<br>
<br>
In the SPDC Memorandum, recommendation No. 2, in an astonishing display
of semantic legerdemain, is subsumed under the first recommendation, and
made to say merely that the Order (presumably 1/99, which was not even
issued when the Commission=92s report was published in July 1998) should be
made public (see following paras and the Memorandum). <br>
<br>
<br>
According to the SPDC=92s Memorandum:<br>
<br>
=93The recommendations made by the Commission were: firstly, that the
Village Act and Towns Act be brought in line with Convention No.
29=85.=94<br>
<br>
=93The second recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry stipulates that
the Order be made public. ...=94<br>
<br>
=93The third recommendation says that penalties should be imposed for
persons under section 374 of the Penal Code for transgression. =85=94<br>
<br>
Nothing is said about military requisition of forced labour.<br>
<br>
<br>
I think the ILO team is going to have an interesting time in Rangoon.
Some observers think that =93The New Light of Myanmar=94 attack on the ILO
reported in a 24 May AFP wire (see text below) indicates that
unless the mission is nice to them, the generals may withdraw from the
ILO rather than face severe condemnation at the ILO Conference which
begins next week. However, the ILO Constitution (Article 1, para 5)
states
that:  =
; &nb=
sp; &=
nbsp;
<br>
"No Member of the International Labour
Organization may withdraw from the<br>
Organization without giving notice of its intention so
to do to the Director-General<br>
of the International Labour Office. Such notice shall
take effect two years after the<br>
date of its reception by the Director-General, subject
to the Member having at that<br>
time fulfilled all financial obligations arising out
of its membership. When a Member<br>
has ratified any international labour Convention, such
withdrawal shall not affect the<br>
continued validity for the period provided for in the
Convention of all obligations<br>
arising thereunder or relating thereto". So that
would not work. <br>
<br>
David Arnott, Geneva, 24 May 2000<br>
<br>
************************<br>
<br>
ILO PRESS RELEASE OF 23 MAY<br>
<br>
Public information<br>
<br>
ILO mission opens talks with Government in Myanmar (Burma)<br>
<br>
Tuesday 23 May 2000<br>
( ILO/00/18 )<br>
<br>
GENEVA (ILO News) - A technical cooperation mission of the International
Labour Office (ILO) is expected to begin discussions on Wednesday in
Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) with the Government of Myanmar on the
implementation of the recommendations of a 1998 Commission of Inquiry *,
which found the use of forced and compulsory labour in that country to be
widespread.<br>
<br>
The Director-General of the International Labour Office, Mr. Juan
Somavia, underlined in a recent letter to the Department of Labour of
Myanmar (Burma) that this technical cooperation effort is to be based on
the conclusions and the recommendations of the 1998 Commission. <br>
<br>
In a statement in Geneva today, Mr. Somavia stressed that "the sole
purpose of the visit of the team is to establish with the Government a
credible plan of action to ensure the full implementation of the
Commission's recommendations."<br>
<br>
This Commission, which examined over 6,000 pages of documents and heard
testimony from hundreds of persons, many with eye-witness experience of
forced labour practices, recommended that the Government take the
following steps: <br>
<br>
=95 that legislation, in particular the Village and Towns Acts, be brought
into line with the terms of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29),
which Myanmar (Burma) has ratified;<br>
<br>
=95 that no more forced or compulsory labour be imposed by the authorities,
particularly by the military;<br>
<br>
=95 that penalties which may be imposed for the exaction of forced labour
be strictly enforced, with thorough investigation, prosecution and
adequate punishment of those found guilty, in conformity with article 25
of the ILO Convention.<br>
<br>
Following a series of communications with the ILO, the Government of
Myanmar (Burma) has provided assurances that the mission will be given
full cooperation to effectively carry out its responsibilities.<br>
<br>
The implementation of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on
Forced Labour in Myanmar (Burma) has been discussed by the Governing Body
of the ILO on several occasions. At its most recent session in March, the
Governing Body invoked article 33 of the Constitution, recommending that
the International Labour Conference "take such action as it=20
may<br>
deem wise and expedient to secure compliance" if a government fails
to comply with the recommendations of a Commission of Inquiry. The
decision to invoke article 33 and place such an item on the agenda of the
International Labour Conference was unprecedented in the ILO's
history.<br>
<br>
The Governing Body has formulated a set of measures, which are to be
presented to the International Labour Conference. It is expected that the
current mission will also report to the Conference, which will meet in
Geneva from 30 May to 15 June 2000.<br>
<br>
The mission to Myanmar (Burma) is led by Mr. Francis Maupain, Special
Adviser to the ILO Director-General and will include officials from the
ILO headquarters in Geneva and from its regional office in Bangkok.<br>
<br>
&nbs=
p; &n=
bsp; =
* * * * * <br>
<br>
* Forced labour in Myanmar (Burma). Report of the Commission of Inquiry
appointed under article 26 of the Constitution of the International
Labour Organization to examine the observance by Myanmar of the Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), Geneva, 1998.<br>
<br>
**********************<br>
<br>
TEXT OF THE COMMISSION=92S RECOMMENDATIONS<br>
<br>
539. In view of the Government's flagrant and persistent failure to
comply with the Convention, the Commission urges the Government to take
the necessary steps to ensure:<br>
<br>
(a) that the relevant legislative texts, in particular the Village Act
and the Towns Act, be brought into line with the Forced Labour
Convention, 1930 (No. 29) as already requested by the Committee of
Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations and
promised by the Government for over 30 years,(1033) and again announced
in the Government's observations on the complaint.(1034) This should be
done without further delay and completed at the very latest by 1 May
1999;<br>
<br>
(b) that in actual practice, no more forced or compulsory labour be
imposed by the authorities, in particular the military. This is all the
more important since the powers to impose compulsory labour appear to be
taken for granted, without any reference to the Village Act or Towns
Act.(1035) Thus, besides amending the legislation, concrete action needs
to be taken immediately for each and every of the many fields of forced
labour examined in Chapters 12 and 13 above to stop the present practice.
This must not be done by secret directives, which are against the rule of
law and have been ineffective, but through public acts of the Executive
promulgated and made known to all levels of the military and to the whole
population. Also, action must not be limited to the issue of wage
payment; it must ensure that nobody is compelled to work against his or
her will. Nonetheless, the budgeting of adequate means to hire free wage
labour for the public activities which are today based on forced and
unpaid labour is also required;<br>
<br>
(c) that the penalties which may be imposed under section 374 of the
Penal Code for the exaction of forced or compulsory labour(1036) be
strictly enforced, in conformity with Article 25 of the Convention. This
requires thorough investigation, prosecution and adequate punishment of
those found guilty. As pointed out in 1994 by the Governing Body
committee set up to consider the representation made by the ICFTU under
article 24 of the ILO Constitution, alleging nonobservance by Myanmar of
the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29),(1037) the penal prosecution
of those resorting to coercion appeared all the more important since the
blurring of the borderline between compulsory and voluntary labour,
recurrent throughout the Government's statements to the committee, was
all the more likely to occur in actual recruitment by local or military
officials. The power to impose compulsory labour will not cease to be
taken for granted unless those used to exercising it are actually brought
to face criminal responsibility.<br>
<br>
540. The recommendations made by the Commission require action to be
taken by the Government of Myanmar without delay. The task of the
Commission of Inquiry is completed by the signature of its report, but it
is desirable that the International Labour Organization should be kept
informed of the progress made in giving effect to the recommendations of
the Commission. The Commission therefore recommends that the Government
of Myanmar should indicate regularly in its reports under article 22 of
the Constitution of the International Labour Organization concerning the
measures taken by it to give effect to the provisions of the Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), the action taken during the period
under review to give effect to the recommendations contained in the
present report. In addition, the Government may wish to include in its
reports information on the state of national law and practice with regard
to compulsory military service.<br>
<br>
Most of the relevant ILO documents can be found on<br>
</font><font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times" size=3D4 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><=
a=
href=3D"http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/gb/docs/gb277/inde=
x.htm#GB"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/gb/docs=
/gb277/index.htm#GB</a><br>
<br>
</u></font><font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times" size=3D4>and the Report of
the Commission of Inquiry is on<br>
</font><font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times" size=3D4 color=3D"#0000FF"><u><=
a=
href=3D"http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/gb/docs/gb273/myan=
mar.htm"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/gb/docs=
/gb273/myanmar.</a><a=
href=3D"http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/gb/docs/gb273/myan=
mar.htm" eudora=3D"autourl">htm<br>
<br>
</a></u></font><font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times"=
size=3D4>********************************<br>
AFP WIRE OF 24 MAY<br>
<br>
ILO mission to Myanmar opens amidst government vitriol <br>
<br>
YANGON, May 24 (AFP) - As a delegation of the International Labour <br>
Organisation began a first-ever mission to Yangon Wednesday, Myanmar's
ruling <br>
junta lashed out at the ILO as an undignified organization controlled by
big <br>
powers. <br>
<br>
The three-man delegation will hold talks for three days with the Myanmar
<br>
regime on implementation of ILO recommendations against forced labour,
<br>
alleged to be widely practised in the country. <br>
<br>
The ILO refused to comment on the specifics of its mission to Myanmar,
but <br>
businesspeople in Yangon said they expected ILO officials to tour their
<br>
factories to inspect for signs of forced or child labor. <br>
<br>
And diplomatic sources told AFP they expected representatives of the
junta <br>
to take ILO officials to visit several jails. <br>
<br>
But the state-controlled newspaper New Light of Myanmar dismissed the ILO
<br>
mission, saying the ILO "had lost its dignity" because it has
abandoned its <br>
"main function of setting down norms for workers' rights."
<br>
<br>
Instead, the New Light said, the ILO simply promotes the agendas of
"new <br>
colonialists" such as Britain and the United States, who try to
apply <br>
political pressure on Myanmar. <br>
<br>
"We pity the ILO," it said. <br>
<br>
Diplomatic sources said the Myanmar government's simultaneous slamming of
<br>
the ILO while allowing the organization into Yangon seemed
"counterproductive," <br>
but added that the junta becomes extremely defensive on labor issues.
<br>
<br>
An ILO commission of enquiry in a report in August 1999 found compulsory
<br>
labour in Myanmar was practised in a "systematic manner with a total
<br>
disregard for the human dignity, safety and health" of the people.
<br>
<br>
A study done by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions had
<br>
previously put the number of people in Myanmar subjected to different
forms <br>
of forced labour at more than 800,000. <br>
<br>
The ILO governing body ordered Myanmar's case to be raised at the <br>
organisation's assembly in June 2000, and in March invoked for the first
time <br>
an ILO article allowing it to recommend measures to oblige the offending
<br>
party to comply. <br>
<br>
It recommended that the Myanmar government ensure that its legislation is
<br>
brought into line with the terms of the 1930 forced labour convention
which <br>
Myanmar has ratified. <br>
<br>
It also urged the eradication of forced labour in the country and called
<br>
for rigorous prosecution and punishment of those found guilty of exacting
<br>
forced labour. <br>
<br>
Myanmar had already been marginalised in the ILO in an unprecedented
<br>
resolution last June. <br>
<br>
ILO delegates in June 1999 voted in an unprecedented move to de-facto
<br>
expel Myanmar because of its alleged widespread use of forced labour.
<br>
"This is as isolated as a country can get in an organization which
does not <br>
have a mechanism for expulsion," ILO spokesman John Doohan said at
the time. <br>
<br>
The New Light of Myanmar Tuesday said that it had never been expelled but
<br>
rather had voluntarily suspended its participation in the ILO until
"the ILO <br>
treats its members with equality and justice." <br>
<br>
On May 12, a meeting in Manila of Southeast Asian labour ministers said
<br>
Myanmar had agreed to accept an ILO mission. <br>
<br>
The Myanmar goverment had previously described ILO reports as partisan
and <br>
biased. <br>
<br>
Yangon's junta stands accused of a catalogue of human rights abuses=20
<br>
including rape, torture and holding political prisoners. The United
States <br>
and the European Union enforce a range of punitive sanctions including
<br>
trade and visa bans.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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