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2/12/98:LETTER TO UN SECRETARY-GENE

Subject: 2/12/98:LETTER TO UN SECRETARY-GENE
From: uneoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 14:51:00
REPOSTED 22 OCT 99, 6:00AM.

[THIS IS A NOTE TO UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ON LAST YEAR'S DRAFT RESOLUTION,
WHICH REPOSTED FOR INFORMATION.--- U NE OO.]

LETTER TO UN SECRETARY-GENERAL (2/12/98)
****************************************

Dr U Ne Oo
18 Shannon Place
Adelaide SA 5000
Australia.

2 December 1998

Mr Kofi Annan
Secretary-General
UN Headquarters
New York NY 10017, U.S.A.

Dear Secretary-General:

re: The Draft UN General Assembly resolution (A/C.3/53/L.59)

I respectfully register my concerns with UN Secretary-General
regarding the above mentioned draft resolution on Burma.I believe this
resolution, as it stands, fails to introduce any serious measures that
may improve the situation of human rights in Burma. Also, the
resolution does not seem to bring forward the important issues
regarding ceasefire agreements between Burmese military and ethnic
minority groups and, in particular, above the progress in drafting
Burma's constitution. I am particularly concerned that the omission of
such agenda item in the UN General Assembly resolution will have
adverse impact on our efforts for reconciliation with the ethnic
minority groups. Following, I have summed-up my findings:

1. Forced labour: It becomes clear that the approach taken by the
United Nations General Assembly and its resolutions with regard to
forced labour in Burma has been inadequate. In 1996, the UN General
Assembly encouraged the International Labour Organization to
investigate whether Burma has been in violation of the Forced Labour
Convention of 1930 and the workers' Right to Organize Convention of
1948. In March s1997, the ILO Commission of INquiry undertook the task
and it reported that (a) there have been evidence of the widespread
use of forced labour in Burma and (b) Burma's Village and Town Acts of
1908 is in violation of the ILO Forced Labour Convention. The ILO
Commission of Inquiry has made recommendations in its July 1998
report, which is to be endorsed in this years' (draft) UNGA
resolution. The ILO Commission of Inquiry recommended Burma to repeal
the Village and Town Acts of 1908.

Notably, prior to setting-up of the ILO Commission of Inquiry, the
major human rights violations including forced labour in Burma have
been documented by former UN Special Rapporteur for HUman Rights,
Professor Yozo Yokota. Therefore, the United Nations and international
community already have had enough evidence about the widespread use of
forced labour in Burma. It must be stressed, as noted in the report by
ILO Commission of Inquiry, that the authorities in Burma in practice
do not apply or make any reference to the Village and Town Acts when
exacting forced labour from the population. Furthermore, the
authorities' exaction of forced labour, generally, are accompanied by
the other form of human rights abuses, such as forced relocation. My
assumption about Village and Town Acts in Burma is that the military
government's representative at the UN forums simply use aforementioned
Acts as an excuse to cover-up the forced labour in Burma. In any
event, we will not be able to eliminate forced labour in Burma simply
by revoking the Village and Town Acts. The United Nations also needs
to be aware that the ILO Commission of Inquiry has made its
recommendations to remedy the situation of forced labour only within
that Organizations' competence and mandate. The United Nations General
Assembly merely seeking to endorse the recommendations of ILO
Commission of Inquiry cannot, therefore, be considered as an adequate
response by the UN to solve the problems of forced labour in Burma.
Clearly, the United Nations itself must make additional measures to
improve the situation of forced labour. Whilst numerous suggestions
have already been made to tackle the problem, the United Nations
sending human rights monitors to Burma will be most appropriate at
this time.

The forced labour in Burma has clearly been an outstanding problem
that the UN must give an urgent attention. The United Nations by
itself is having enough evidence and has been ascertained of these
facts by /*---*/ agency such as ILO, it is appropriate to take
action to solve the problem. /*..TEXT DELETED...*/

2. Notes on CRPP: In my view, the draft resolution doesn't give
appropriate attention to the political developments, such as the
National League for Democracy's efforts to convene the Parliament and
also the formation of Committee Representing Peoples' Parliament
(CRPP). The Operative Paragraph (8) of the draft resolution indirectly
recognize the formation of CRPP. I, however, believe the UN General
Assembly should make a direct recognition of the political
developments in Burma, for example, by highlighting the formation and
the mandate of CRPP in the resolution. The ;UN General Assembly, in
normal circumstances, must show its impartiality regarding with
various power contenders within Burma, in this case, the political
developments in Burma should be stated in the resolution in a truthful
and straightforward manner. Such action is justified because the NLD
is the legitimate contender for power. The UN General Assembly failing
to recognize these political developments will amount to the UN siding
with illegitimate military government.

3. Constitution writing and ceasefire agreements: There has been
omission of agendas in the draft resolution regarding the constitution
writing in Burma and the Burmese army's ceasefire agreements with
ethnic minority groups. In the last years' UNGA resolution, A/52/137,
the lack of progress in the drafting of constitution was noted in
Operative Paragraph (10). The Burmese Army's ceasefire agreements with
ethnic minority rebel groups were also mentioned in Prembular
Paragraph (13) as, "Recalling also the conclusion of ceasefire
agreements between the Government of Myanmar and several ethnic
groups". We, the pro-democracy groups, are quite aware that SPDC/SLORC
has lost the momentum in writing constitution. However, the UN General
Assembly omitting the agenda for writing constitution in Burma, at
this time, may have some implications.

The Burmese military junta had put forward the agenda for writing
constitution of Burma in 1992 in order to legitimize its stay on
power. The junta at that time has also given signals to the ethnic
rebel groups that ceasefire agreements may be made in return for
participation in the constitution writing process. From the outset,
many pro-democracy groups, including the ethnic rebels, are quite
aware that such offer for political concessions by the military was
not a genuine one. Nevertheless, there has been a genuine desire from
the broad spectrum of pro-democracy groups that the ethnic minority
rebels should enter ceasefire agreements in the hope that they'll be
able to participate in a tripartite dialogue, possibly using the
constitutional convention as a forum. Therefore, it is appropriate to
keep the agenda for writing constitution in the UN General Assembly
resolution.

There has also been the danger of ethnic rebel groups mis-interpreting
the omission of the agenda for writing constitution in the UN
resolution. These ethnic rebel groups who concluded ceasefire
agreements with Burmese army, including the Karen National Union that
still has not signed a ceasefire agreement, may view this as they have
been denied of the opportunity to participate in the national
political process. This may lead to the ethnic rebel groups using
violence to make their points. I believe that such outcome is not in
the interested of Burma that has been in the transition from military
dictatorship to democracy.

In conclusion, the draft resolution, as it stands, does not appears to
pave the ways for improvement of the situation in Burma. Although
strong in its texts, this draft resolution (1) does not provide any
substantive measure to improve major human rights violations; (2) does
not lend the civilian opposition of any leverage in order to initiate
a political dialogue and (3) creates uncertain atmosphere for the
reconciliation with ethnic minority groups. I fear that, with this
kind of resolution, we will not be able to make any improvement on
human rights situation particularly in the coming year. I therefore
urge the Secretary-General to look into the matter to improve the
texts of the resolution.

I am aware and appreciate very much that the Secretary-General and his
good office have been intensifying their efforts, especially in recent
weeks, to initiate dialogue in Burma. I, however, feel certain that
these measures will not be adequate to bring the Burmese junta to the
negotiating table. The United Nations and international community must
apply additional leverage on the junta through UN General Assembly
resolution or by any other mechanisms, such as UN Security Council.

In closing, I thank the Secretary-General and UNited Nations for your
continuing efforts made on Burma.

Yours respectfully and sincerely
Sd. U Ne Oo.

Copy to:

1. Hon. Madeleine K Albright, Secretary of State, US Department of
State, Washington DC 20520, USA.

2. Hon. Rajsoomer Lallah, Special Rapporteur for HUman Rights, c/-
Center for HUman Rights, Palias des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland.

3. Coordinator on Forced Labour, International Labour Organization, 4
Route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland.

-------------------------------------
/* -----------" 53rd UNGA draft resolution on Burma "------------- */

>United Nations           A/C.3/53/L.59
>
>General Assembly
>
>Distr.: Limited
>13 November 1998
>Original: English
>
Fifty-third session
Third Committee
Agenda item 110 (c)

Human rights questions: human rights situations and reports of special
rapporteurs and representatives

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Czech
Republic, Estonia, France,  Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania,
San Marino, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America: draft
resolution


Situation of human rights in Myanmar


The General Assembly,

Reaffirming that all Member States have an obligation to promote and
protect human rights and fundamental freedoms as stated in the Charter
of the United Nations and elaborated in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights,(1) the International Covenants on Human Rights(2) and
other applicable human rights instruments,

Aware that, in accordance with the Charter, the Organization promotes
and encourages  respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for
all and that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that the
will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government,

Recalling its resolution 52/137 of 12 December 1997,

Also recalling Commission on Human Rights resolutions 1992/58 of 3 March
1992,(3) in which the Commission, inter alia, decided to nominate a
special rapporteur with a given  mandate, and 1998/63 of 21 April
1998,(4) in which the Commission decided to extend for one  year the
mandate of its Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in
Myanmar,

Gravely concerned that the Government of Myanmar still has not
implemented its commitment to take all necessary steps towards democracy
in the light of the results of the elections held in 1990,

Noting the contact between the Government of Myanmar and the National
League for Democracy, but regretting the failure of the Government of
Myanmar to engage in a substantive political dialogue with Aung San Suu
Kyi and other political leaders, including representatives of ethnic
groups,

Noting with concern that the Government of Myanmar has not permitted a
visit by the Personal Emissary of the Secretary-General,

Noting with deep regret the continued failure of the Government of
Myanmar to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur,

Gravely concerned at the continuing and consistent violations of human
rights in Myanmar, as reported by the Special Rapporteur,

Noting with grave concern the content of the report of the International
Labour Organization Commission of Inquiry, appointed in March 1997,in
accordance with article 26 of the  International Labour Organization
Constitution, regarding the observance by Myanmar of the Forced Labour
Convention, 1930 (No. 29), which indicates a widespread and systematic
use of forced labour imposed by the military on the civilian population,

Recalling the observation made by the Special Rapporteur that the
absence of respect for the rights pertaining to democratic governance is
at the root of all the major violations of human rights in Myanmar,


1. Expresses its appreciation to the Special Rapporteur of the
Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
for his interim report;(5)

2. Urges the Government of Myanmar to cooperate fully with all United
Nations authorities and bodies, in particular and without further delay
with the Special Rapporteur, and to ensure his access to Myanmar,
without preconditions, in order to establish direct contact with the
Government and all other sectors of society to allow him fully to
discharge his mandate;

3. Also expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for his
report,(6) and notes with concern the observations contained in the
report;

4. Deplores the continuing violations of human rights in Myanmar,
including extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, rape, torture, inhuman
treatment, mass arrests, forced  labour, forced relocation and denial of
freedom of expression, assembly, association and  movement, as reported
by the Special
Rapporteur;

5. Notes with deep concern the increased restrictions on the freedom of
movement and the large numbers of arbitrary detentions and harassment of
political activitists, including elected representatives to the
Parliament, and urges the Government of Myanmar to permit unrestricted
communication with and physical access to Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as
other political leaders, and to protect their physical well-being;

6. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to release immediately and
unconditionally detained political leaders and all political prisoners,
to ensure their physical integrity and to permit them to participate in
the process of national reconciliation;

7. Urges the Government of Myanmar to urgently expand and intensify its
contacts with the National League for Democracy with a view to engaging
in a substantive political dialogue with the General Secretary of the
League, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other political leaders, including
representatives of ethnic and other groups, as the best means of
promoting national reconciliation and the full and early restoration of
democracy;

8. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar, taking into account 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, and in that context notes that the National League for Democracy
recently established a committee to temporarily represent the
Parliament;

9. Also strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to take all appropriate
measures to allow all citizens to participate freely in the political
process, in accordance with the principles of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, and to accelerate the process of transition to
democracy, in particular through the transfer of power to democratically
elected representatives;

10.    Further strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to ensure full
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of
expression, association, movement and assembly, the right to a fair
trial and the protection of the rights of persons belonging to ethnic
and religious minorities, to put an end to violations of the right to
life and integrity of the human being, to the practices of torture,
abuse of women, forced labour and forced relocations and to enforced
disappearances and summary executions, and to fulfil its obligations to
end the impunity of perpetrators of human rights violations, including
members of the military, and to investigate and prosecute alleged
violations committed by government agents in all circumstances;

11.    Calls upon the Government of Myanmar to implement fully the
recommendations  made by the Special Rapporteur;

12.    Welcomes the accession by the Government of Myanmar to the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women,(7) and appeals to the  Government of Myanmar to consider becoming
a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,(2)
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2)
and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and
Degrading Treatment or Punishment(8) and the International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;(9)

13.    Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to fulfil its
obligations with regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as
set out in the concluding comments of the Committee on the Rights of the
Child;

14.    Also strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to fulfil its
obligations as a State party to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.
29), and to the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to
Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), of the International Labour
Organization, and to implement the recommendations of the
International Labour Organization Commission of Inquiry regarding the
implementation of the Forced Labour Convention, and encourages further
communication between the Government and the International Labour
Organization;

15.    Stresses the importance for the Government of Myanmar to give
particular attention to improving the conditions in the country's jails
and to allow the competent international humanitarian organization to
communicate freely and confidentially with prisoners;

16.    Calls upon the Government of Myanmar and other parties to the
hostilities in Myanmar to respect fully the obligations under
international humanitarian law, including article 3 common to the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949, to halt the use of weapons against the
civilian population, to protect all civilians, including children, women
and persons belonging to ethnic or religious minorities, from violations
of humanitarian law and to avail themselves of such services as may be
offered by impartial humanitarian bodies;

17.    Expresses concern that the human rights situation in Myanmar, and
the lack of stability, has resulted in flows of refugees to neighbouring
countries, and may cause further negative effects for these countries,
and therefore calls upon the Government of Myanmar to create the
necessary conditions to ensure an end to the movements of refugees to
neighbouring countries and to create conditions conducive to their
voluntary return and their full reintegration, in conditions of safety
and dignity;

18.    Welcomes the recent visits to Myanmar by the Envoy of the
Secretary-General for the purpose of discussions with the Government and
with Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders, and further
encourages the Government of Myanmar to engage in a broader and more
regular dialogue with the Secretary-General and to facilitate access by
his representative to all sectors of society in Myanmar;

19.    Requests the Secretary-General to continue his discussions on the
situation of human rights and the restoration of democracy with the
Government of Myanmar, and to submit additional reports to the General
Assembly during its fifty-third session on the progress of these
discussions, and to report to the Assembly at its fifty-fourth session
and to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-fifth session on the
progress made in the implementation of the present resolution;

20.    Decides to continue its consideration of this question at its
fifty-fourth session.

______________________
>
>
>(1) Resolution 217 A (III).
>
>(2) Resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
>
>(3) See "Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1992,
>Supplement No. 22" (E/1992/22), chap. II, sect. A.
>
>(4) See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1998,
>Supplement No. 3 (E/1998/23), chap. II, sect. A.
>
>(5) A/53/364
>
>(6) A/53/657
>
>(7) Resolution 34/180, annex.
>
>(8) Resolution 39/46, annex.
>
>(9) Resolution 2106 A (XX)
>
>(10) Resolution 44/25, annex.
>
>(11) CRC/C/15/Add.69.
>
>(12) United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970?973.
-- 
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