Update on Burma

GENEVA: One of the key issues on the agenda for discussion at the just-ended March meeting of the International Labour Office's Governing Body was the situation of forced labour in Burma (Myanmar). Following an ILO mission to Burma this past February to investigate the continued use of forced labour in that country, and discussions held after that in Geneva between the ILO and a government delegation from Burma, an Understanding was reached between the government and ILO concerning the appointment of an ILO liaison officer in Burma. According to the ILO, "(1) the appointment of the liaison officer is seen as a first step towards the objective of an effective representation which should continue to be pursued; (2) the Understanding provides for this appointment to be made by June 2002 and contains essential parameters - in particular, that the functions of the Liaison Officer shall cover all activities relevant to the objective of ensuring the prompt and effective elimination of forced labour in Myanmar - that make this appointment possible, while leaving open the possibility to work out further details if needed." As far back as 1998, an ILO Commission of Inquiry made formal Recommendations after finding that forced labour was "widespread and systematic" in this Southeast Asian nation. In June 2000, the International Labour Conference adopted a resolution aimed at obliging the Burmese regime to comply with ILO Convention No. 29 on Forced Labour (ratified by Burma in 1955). The government was allowed a six-month grace period to take the necessary action to stop this practice, but as there was no evidence that Burma had complied, the resolution under the never-before invoked Article 33 of the ILO Constitution, providing for a series of measures to be taken, went into effect on November 30, 2000. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the Global Unions Federations (GUFs), of which IMF is a member, have compiled and released a list of companies with business links to Burma. According to the trade unions, it is impossible to conduct any business relationship in Burma without directly or indirectly supporting the Burmese military dictatorship, and publicity could help convince these companies to pull out of Burma, thereby pressuring the country's military junta to abolish the practice of forced labour.