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.
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.
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."
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:
• 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;
• that no more forced or compulsory labour be imposed by the authorities, particularly by the military;
• 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.
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.
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 may 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.
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. 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.
* 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.