ILC SPECIAL SITTING ON BURMA: PROVI

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Here is the URL of the Provisional Record of the June 11 Special Sitting on 
Burma
at the ILO Committee on the Application of Standards (pdf) . I will post it 
as a Text
document when I have finished converting it.

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc89/pdf/pr-19-3.pdf


The record of the discussion in plenary (21 June), when the Committee's report
was adopted, will be on the ILO website next Monday, if not before:

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc89/comreps.htm

(scroll down to Application of Standards and click on Discussion in Plenary)


You will notice from the discussion and Conclusion that the SPDC did not 
achieve
its main goal at the Conference, namely that  the November Session of the ILO
Governing Body should be given the authority to begin lifting the ILO measures
(interpreted by some as authorising sanctions). In practice, even if the 
report of the
High-Level Team going to Burma in Sepember-October is entirely favourable, 
June
2003 is the earliest date the measures might be lifted.  The likelihood is 
that they will
stay in place until forced labour in Burma is brought to a complete end, 
something
the present regime is hardly capable of doing,  since the Burma Army is 
dependent
on forced  labour for its survival in the field (to build and maintain army 
camps, grow
food etc.).