[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
Mizzima: ILO mission to have full a
--------------2F452F1C64C45B275EDDA55E
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
ILO mission to have full access in Burma
September 2, 2001; Durban (South Africa)
Mizzima News Group (www.mizzima.com)
The authorities in Burma have assured the International Labor
Organisation (ILO) that it will have the freedom of access to the
places and people it want to meet during the visit of its high level
delegation to the military run-country, according to ILO
Director General Mr. Juan Somavia.
Without mentioning the exact date, the ILO Director General today once
again confirmed that a high level delegation of ILO is visiting Burma
soon as "a mission of objective assessment" on the forced labor
situation in the country.
"Through a series of the decisions taken by the Conference and in
dialogue with the government of Burma/Myanmar, the government changed
its legislation in relation to forced labour. But the governing body
of ILO made the point that unless there was possibility of an
objective assessment of the impact and the implications of the
legislation, it was really difficult for the issue to be taken up
in positive way. After some conversation with the government of
Myanmar, it was decided that a mission of objective assessment would go
there," said Mr. Somavia.
Mr. Juan Somavia was responding to a question of a journalist in the
press briefing this afternoon in Durban.
He is leading the ILO delegation to the World Conference Against
Racism in Durban, South Africa.
"I think that the high level quality of the mission will ensure that
they will observe, they will know what to ask, they will know what to
look, and we will have a good report back. And the authorities have
given us the assurance that they will have freedom of access to
whatever they want to talk to, and wherever they want to go."
The military government in Burma is currently under pressure from
the International Labour Organisation to end the use of forced
labour in the country. The international labour rights groups and
opposition Burmese groups have accused the military government of using
the forced labor widely in Burma. Meanwhile, an informed source in
Rangoon said that the government has been taking actions against some
military officers who committed the forced labor but it is not willing
to make any public announcement on that effect.
The ILO mission is composed of Sir Ninian Stephen, former
Governor-General of Australia; Nieves Roldan-Confessor, former
Philippines Secretary of Labour and Employment; Mr. Kulatilaka
Arthanayake Parinda Ranashinghe, former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka;
and Mr. Jerzy Makarczyk of Poland, a judge with the European Court of
Human Rights.
--------------2F452F1C64C45B275EDDA55E
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">
<html>
<center><b><font color="#000099"><font size=+1>ILO mission to have full
access in Burma</font></font></b></center>
<p><i><font color="#CC0000">September 2, 2001; Durban (South Africa)</font></i>
<br><i><font color="#CC0000">Mizzima News Group <a href="http://www.mizzima.com">(www.mizzima.com)</a></font></i>
<p>The authorities in Burma have assured the International
Labor Organisation (ILO) that it will have the freedom of access
to the places and people it want to meet during the visit of
its high level delegation to the military run-country,
according to ILO Director General
Mr. Juan Somavia.
<p>Without mentioning the exact date, the ILO Director General today once
again confirmed that a high level delegation of ILO is visiting
Burma soon as "a mission of objective assessment" on
the forced labor situation in the country.
<p>"Through a series of the decisions taken by the Conference
and in dialogue with the government of Burma/Myanmar, the government changed
its legislation in relation to forced labour. But the governing body
of ILO made the point that unless there was possibility of an
objective assessment of the impact and the implications of
the legislation, it was really difficult for the issue
to be taken up in positive way. After some conversation
with the government of Myanmar, it was decided that a mission of objective
assessment would go there," said Mr. Somavia.
<p>Mr. Juan Somavia was responding to a question of a journalist
in the press briefing this afternoon in Durban.
<p>He is leading the ILO delegation to the World Conference
Against Racism in Durban, South Africa.
<p>"I think that the high level quality of the mission
will ensure that they will observe, they will know what to ask, they
will know what to look, and we will have a good
report back. And the authorities have given us the assurance
that they will have freedom of access to whatever
they want to talk to, and wherever they want to go."
<p>The military government in Burma is currently
under pressure from the International Labour Organisation
to end the use of forced labour in the country.
The international labour rights groups and opposition
Burmese groups have accused the military government of using the forced
labor widely in Burma. Meanwhile, an informed source in Rangoon said
that the government has been taking actions against some
military officers who committed the forced labor but it is
not willing to make any public announcement on that effect.
<p>The ILO mission is composed of Sir Ninian Stephen, former
Governor-General of Australia; Nieves Roldan-Confessor,
former Philippines Secretary of Labour and Employment;
Mr. Kulatilaka Arthanayake Parinda Ranashinghe, former
Chief Justice of Sri Lanka; and Mr. Jerzy Makarczyk of
Poland, a judge with the European Court of Human Rights.
<br> </html>
--------------2F452F1C64C45B275EDDA55E--