GENEVA (ILO News) - Delegates to the International Labour Conference (ILC) today voted to take action to compel the Government of Myanmar (Burma) to comply with ILO Convention No. 29 on forced labour. Burma ratified Convention No. 29 in 1955.

In an unprecedented resolution under the never-before invoked article 33 of the ILO Constitution, the Conference - by a vote of 257 in favour, 41 against, and 31 abstentions - called upon Myanmar to "take concrete action" to implement the recommendations of a 1998 Commission of Inquiry, which found that resort to forced labour in the country was "widespread and systematic".

In a letter dated 27 May 2000 and delivered to the members of an ILO technical cooperation mission to Myanmar, the country's Minister of Labour, Major General Tin Ngwe, informed the Director-General of the ILO "that we have taken and are taking the necessary measures to ensure that there are no instances of forced labour in Myanmar". He also wrote that Myanmar "would take into consideration appropriate measures, including administrative, executive and legislative measures, to ensure the prevention of such occurrences in the future".

While recognizing that the Minister's letter "contains aspects which seem to reflect a welcome intention on the part of the Myanmar authorities to take measures to give effect to the Recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry", the Conference considered that "the factual situation (had) nevertheless remained unchanged to date". By a vote of 52 in favour, 242 against and 27 abstentions the Conference rejected amendments designed to postpone a decision at this year's session of the ILC.

Under the terms of the resolution adopted today, a series of measures will take effect on 30 November 2000 unless, before that date, the Governing Body of the ILO is satisfied that the intentions expressed by the Minister of Labour have been translated into a framework of legislative, executive and administrative measures that are "sufficiently concrete and detailed to demonstrate that the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry have been satisfied".

The measures adopted may include:

• Placing the question of the implementation of the Commission of Inquiry's recommendations on the agenda of future sessions of the Conference and to set aside a special sitting of the ILO's Committee on the Application of Standards to examine the matter so long as Myanmar (Burma) has not been shown to have fulfilled its obligations;

• Recommending to the Organizations constituents as a whole - governments, employers and workers - that they review their relations with Myanmar (Burma) and take appropriate measures to ensure that such relations do not perpetuate or extend the system of forced or compulsory labour in that country and to report back to the ILO Governing Body;

• Inviting the Director-General of the ILO, Mr. Juan Somavia, to inform international organizations working with the ILO to reconsider any cooperation they may be engaged in with Myanmar (Burma) and, if appropriate, to cease as soon as possible any activity that could have the effect of directly or indirectly abetting the practice of forced or compulsory labour;

• Inviting the Director-General to request the United Nations' Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to place on the agenda of its July 2001 session an item concerning the failure of Myanmar (Burma) to implement the recommendations contained in the report of the Commission of Inquiry and seeking the adoption of recommendations directed by ECOSOC or by the General Assembly, or by both, to governments and other specialized agencies to ensure that by their involvement they are not directly or indirectly abetting the practice of forced labour;

• Requesting the Director-General to submit to the Governing Body a periodic report on the outcome of measures directed to international organizations and the United Nations and to inform those entities of any developments in the implementation by Myanmar (Burma) of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.

The Commission of Inquiry had called upon the Government to ensure that no more forced or compulsory labour be imposed by the authorities, particularly by the military, and that legal measures and penalties be brought against perpetrators of forced or compulsory labour.

Under the terms of the resolution, the ILC authorizes the Director-General to respond positively to all requests by Myanmar (Burma) that are made with the sole purpose of establishing the necessary framework before the November deadline. These efforts could include further technical cooperation missions, eventually supported by a sustained ILO presence on the spot if the Governing Body confirms that the conditions are met for such presence to be truly useful and effective.

This is the first time in the ILO's 81-year history that the Conference has had recourse to measures under article 33, a procedure that is designed to be invoked only in the event of a country failing to carry out the recommendations of an ILO Commission of Inquiry, which is itself a procedure reserved for grave and persistent violations of international labour standards.

The 1998 Commission, which was made up of three distinguished international jurists, concluded that "the obligation to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour is violated in Myanmar in national law as well as in actual practice in a widespread and systematic manner, with total disregard for the human dignity, safety, health and basic needs of the people".