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SPDC REPLY TO ILO COI (r)



REPLY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MYANMAR (THE "GOVERNMENT") TO THE REPORT OF THE
ILO COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO FORCED LABOUR IN MYANMAR (COI)


CONTENTS

(1) ILO GOVERNING BODY AGENDA ITEM GB.273/5

(2) APPENDIX TO (1): REPLY TO THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE ILO      BY THE
"GOVERNMENT" (VIA THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR)

(3) NOTE BY THE BURMA PEACE FOUNDATION

(4) THE COI's RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

(5) ONLINE AND PAPER COPIES OF THE REPORT

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(1) 

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE 

Governing Body 

GB.273/5
273rd Session
Geneva, November 1998
-------------------------------------------------------------

FIFTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Report of the Commission of Inquiry established to examine 
the complaint concerning the observance by Myanmar of the Forced Labour
Convention, 1930 (No. 29), made by delegates to the 83rd Session (1996) of
the Conference under article 26 of the Constitution of the ILO 

1. The Commission of Inquiry established by the Governing Body at its 268th
Session (March 1997) in accordance with article 26, paragraph 4, of the
Constitution following the filing of a complaint by 25 Workers' delegates
to the 83rd Session (June 1996) of the International Labour Conference,
adopted its report on 2 July 1998. Copies of the report have already been
sent to the members of the Governing Body.

2. The report was communicated to the Government of Myanmar on 27 July 1998.

3. Under article 29, paragraph 2, of the Constitution, the Government shall
"inform the Director-General within three months whether or not it accepts
the recommendations contained in the report of the Commission and, if not,
whether it proposes to refer the matter to the International Court of
Justice".

4. The Government's reply, dated 23 September 1998, is appended.

5. The Governing Body will no doubt wish to take note of the report of the
Commission and of the reply by the Government of Myanmar.

Geneva, 6 October 1998.

Point for decision: Paragraph 5.


[NB THIS AGENDA ITEM WILL BE DEALT WITH AT THE MORNING SESSION OF THE 19TH
NOVEMBER -- BPF]

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(2) 

Appendix

Subject: Report of the Commission of Inquiry

Dear Mr. Director-General,

I acknowledge the receipt of the Report of the Commission of Inquiry sent
together with your letter of 27 July 1998, addressed to the Minister for
Labour.

You will recall that Myanmar Government formed a High-Level Coordination
Committee comprising senior officials from several Government Ministries to
deal with the activities of the Commission of Inquiry. This Committee
examined the details contained in the Report of the Inquiry Commission.

The Coordination Committee considers that the information provided by some
organisations from anti-government circles was politically motivated,
highly biased, lacked objectivity and without any goodwill on the part of
those organisations.

The Coordination Committee wishes to point out that the Myanmar Government
has always been working at its utmost and in good faith for the cause of
the country. There could be many different interpretations over a certain
event. But it is a fact that the Government has been emphasizing on
infrastructural development and socio-economic development programmes in
various parts of the country including the remote border areas.

The Government has now made remarkable achievement in national
reconsolidation. Seventeen armed groups have already come into legal fold
and are joining hands with the Government to articipate in the nation
building endeavours. There has prevailed unprecedented peace and stability
which in the last several years could not even be dreamt.

I should like to call your attention to the fact that as stated in my
previous correspondence to you, the Myanmar authorities have reviewed the
Village Act and the Towns Act several times on their own initiatives so as
to bring in line with present-day conditions in the country as well as to
fulfil Myanmar's obligations (as a party to the Convention) OR (as a Member
of the International Labour Organisation).

The authorities, therefore, will do their utmost to complete the process
within the time-frame referred to in the Report. I may add that we do not
see any difficulty in implementing the Recommendations contained in
paragraph 539 of the Report.


Yours truly, 

(Signed) (U Tun Shwe), 
Director-General

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(3)

NOTE BY THE BURMA PEACE FOUNDATION

This reply from the "government" states that it:

1) has examined the report, 

2) finds some of the evidence biased, and lacking in objectivity and
goodwill, 

3) is doing a good job of peacemaking and development, and 

4) is working on a review of the Villages and Towns Acts. 


The reply gives no indication that there might be any problem in the
country with regard to forced labour or any of the other human rights
abuses detailed by the COI, nor that the "government" agrees to act on the
recommendations, apart from completing the amendment by 1 May of the
Villages and Towns Acts (which it claims was already under review on the
"authorities'" "own initiatives").

The "government" does not commit itself to carrying out the rest of the
recommendations in para 539, i.e. (b) and (c) -- see below -- which are the
substantive ones. It says of these that: "we do not see any difficulty in
implementing the Recommendations contained in paragraph 539 of the Report".
Not seeing any difficulty in an action is far from a commitment to carry it
out.

Note that the "government's" letter very specifically refers, not to "the
Recommendations", but explicitly to "the Recommendations contained in
paragraph 539". This would appear to be a deliberate exclusion of para 540,
which states that the recommendations require action to be taken without
delay, and adds recommendations on reporting.

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(4)  

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS 
(from the report of the COI)

RECOMMENDATIONS

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:

(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;

(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;

(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 non-observance 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.

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.(1038) 



CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

541. The Commission notes that in its resolution 52/137
adopted 12 December 1997, the General Assembly of the United
Nations "urges the Government of Myanmar, in conformity with
its assurances given at various times, to take all necessary
steps towards the restoration of democracy in accordance with
the will of the people as expressed in the democratic
elections held in 1990 and to ensure that political parties
and non-governmental organizations can function freely".(1039)
The Commission further notes that in his report on the
situation of human rights in Myanmar submitted 15 January
1998, the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah,
recommended that "steps should also be taken to restore the
independence of the judiciary and to subject the executive to
the rule of law and render unjust and unjustifiable actions
justiciable". 

542. The Commission considers that the impunity with which
government officials, in particular the military, treat the
civilian population as an unlimited pool of unpaid forced
labourers and servants at their disposal is part of a
political system built on the use of force and intimidation to
deny the people of Myanmar democracy and the rule of law. The
experience of the past years tends to prove that the
establishment of a government freely chosen by the people and
the submission of all public authorities to the rule of law
are, in practice, indispensable prerequisites for the
suppression of forced labour in Myanmar. 

543. This report reveals a saga of untold misery and
suffering, oppression and exploitation of large sections of
the population inhabiting Myanmar by the Government, military
and other public officers. It is a story of gross denial of
human rights to which the people of Myanmar have been
subjected particularly since 1988 and from which they find no
escape except fleeing from the country. The Government, the
military and the administration seem oblivious to the human
rights of the people and are trampling upon them with
impunity. Their actions gravely offend human dignity and have
debasing effect on the civil society. History shows that where
human rights are denied or violated in any part of the world,
it is bound to have a chain effect on the other parts of the
world and it is therefore of vital interest to the
international community that such denial and violation of
human rights must be effaced from wherever it occurs. Every
man,  woman and child must be able to live with human dignity
and become an equal participant with others in the enjoyment
of the fruits of freedom, liberty and development. The
Commission hopes and trusts that in the near future the old
order will change, yielding place to the new where everyone in
Myanmar will have an opportunity to live with human dignity
and to develop his or her full potential in a freely chosen
manner and there will be no subjection or enslavement of
anyone by others. This can happen only if there is restoration
of democracy where people as a whole can wield power for their
common good.

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(5) 

The COI Report can be accessed on the ILO website 

in English: 

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/20gb/docs/gb273/myanmar.htm


and French:

http://www.ilo.org/public/french/20gb/docs/gb273/myanmar.htm


Webmasters, make links


Paper copies of the 392-page report can be obtained free of charge from ILO
Distribution 
-- send your request and address to Mr Dunand, Email prodoc@ilo,org. 

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