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SPECIAL SITTING ON BURMA AT THE ILC
- Subject: SPECIAL SITTING ON BURMA AT THE ILC
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 11:01:00
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BURMA AT THE ILC, 11 JUNE 2001
Preliminary analysis of the debate and conclusion -- when I get the text of
the Conclusion tomorrow, I will enclose that text and add a few more points.
The Committee's report will be submitted to the Conference at the end of
the session
DA
In June 2000, the International Labour Conference (ILC) adopted a
resolution on Burma which requested the ILO constituents (workers,
employers and governments) and international organisations to review their
relations with Burma and to take appropriate measures to make sure these
did not contribute to forced labour and requested them to help end forced
labour in Burma.(see text of resolution, below)
These "measures" have been interpreted as authorising sanctions against Burma.
The ILC decided, by the same resolution, that "....the question of the
implementation of the Commission of Inquiry's recommendations and of the
application of Convention No. 29 by Myanmar should be discussed at future
sessions of the International Labour Conference, at a sitting of the
Committee on the Application of Standards specially set aside for the
purpose, so long as this Member has not been shown to have fulfilled its
obligations;"
The first special sitting took place on 11 June 2001.
The main issue was the conditions under which the measures requested by the
ILC might be lifted.
In the light of the agreed visit to Burma in September of an ILO High-Level
Team (HLT), the SPDC and ASEAN spokespeople said that the Governing Body,
at its November 2001 session should "review the question of Myanmar on the
basis of the report of the HLT with a view to removing the measures...."
Most of the speakers in the debate, however, said that the measures should
not be lifted until the three main recommendations of the ILO Commission of
Inquiry (amendment of legislation permitting forced labour; cessation of
the practice; and punishment of people found guilty of recruiting forced
labour) were fulfilled.
The latter view prevailed, and the Governing Body was not asked to consider
the question of lifing the measures. This means in practice that the
measures will stay in place for at least two years.
Other important points contained in the Committee's Conclusion:
* The call to ECOSOC to take action was repeated
* Witnesses in contact with the HLT should have full protection and
immunity from reprisal
* The mission of the HLT should just be seen as the first step in a process
* The HLT should be large enough to cover all the areas it wants to see
* It should have full access
Resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 88th
Session (June 2000)
The International Labour Conference,
Meeting at its 88th Session in Geneva from 30 May to 15 June 2000,
Considering the proposals by the Governing Body which are before it, under
the eighth item of its agenda (Provisional Record No. 4), with a view to
the adoption, under article 33 of the ILO Constitution, of action to secure
compliance with the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry
established to examine the observance by Myanmar of its obligations in
respect of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29),
Having taken note of the additional information contained in the report of
the ILO technical cooperation mission sent to Yangon from 23 to 27 May 2000
(Provisional Record No. 8) and, in particular, of the letter dated 27 May
2000 from the Minister of Labour to the Director-General, which resulted
from the mission,
Considering that, while this 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
factual situation on which the recommendations of the Governing Body were
based has nevertheless remained unchanged to date, Believing that the
Conference cannot, without failing in its responsibilities to the workers
subjected to various forms of forced or compulsory labour, abstain from the
immediate application of the measures recommended by the Governing Body
unless the Myanmar authorities promptly take concrete action to adopt the
necessary framework for implementing the Commission of Inquiry's
recommendations, thereby ensuring that the situation of the said workers
will be remedied more expeditiously and under more satisfactory conditions
for all concerned;
1. Approves in principle, subject to the conditions stated in paragraph 2
below, the actions recommended by the Governing Body, namely: (a) to decide
that the question of the implementation of the Commission of Inquiry's
recommendations and of the application of Convention No. 29 by Myanmar
should be discussed at future sessions of the International Labour
Conference, at a sitting of the Committee on the Application of Standards
specially set aside for the purpose, so long as this Member has not been
shown to have fulfilled its obligations;
(b) to recommend to the Organization's constituents as a
whole governments, employers and workers that they: (i) review, in the
light of the conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry, the relations that
they may have with the member State concerned and take appropriate measures
to ensure that the said Member cannot take advantage of such relations to
perpetuate or extend the system of forced or compulsory labour referred to
by the Commission of Inquiry, and to contribute as far as possible to the
implementation of its recommendations; and (ii) report back in due course
and at appropriate intervals to the Governing Body;
(c) as regards international organizations, to invite the Director-General:
(i) to inform the international organizations referred to in article 12,
paragraph 1, of the Constitution of the Member's failure to comply; (ii) to
call on the relevant bodies of these organizations to reconsider, within
their terms of reference and in the light of the conclusions of the
Commission of Inquiry, any cooperation they may be engaged in with the
Member concerned 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;
(d) regarding the United Nations specifically, to invite the
Director-General to request the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to
place an item on the agenda of its July 2001 session concerning the failure
of Myanmar 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 to
other specialized agencies and including requests similar to those proposed
in paragraphs (b) and (c) above;
(e) to invite the Director-General to submit to the Governing Body, in the
appropriate manner and at suitable intervals, a periodic report on the
outcome of the measures set out in paragraphs (c) and (d) above, and to
inform the international organizations concerned of any developments in the
implementation by Myanmar of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry;
2. Decides that those measures will take effect on 30 November 2000 unless,
before that date, the Governing Body is satisfied that the intentions
expressed by the Minister of Labour of Myanmar in his letter dated 27 May
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
fulfilled and therefore render the implementation of one or more of these
measures inappropriate;
3. Authorizes the Director-General to respond positively to all requests by
Myanmar that are made with the sole purpose of establishing, before the
above deadline, the framework mentioned in the conclusions of the ILO
technical cooperation mission (points (i), (ii) and (iii), page 8/11 of
Provisional Record No. 8), 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.
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<font size=3>BURMA AT THE ILC, 11 JUNE 2001<br><br>
Preliminary analysis of the debate and conclusion -- when I get the text
of the Conclusion tomorrow, I will enclose that text and add a few
more points.<br><br>
The Committee's report will be submitted to the Conference at the end of
the session<br><br>
DA<br><br>
<br>
In June 2000, the International Labour Conference (ILC) adopted a
resolution on Burma which requested the ILO constituents (workers,
employers and governments) and international organisations to review
their relations with Burma and to take appropriate measures to make sure
these did not contribute to forced labour and requested them to help end
forced labour in Burma.(see text of resolution, below)<br><br>
These "measures" have been interpreted as authorising sanctions
against Burma. <br><br>
The ILC decided, by the same resolution, that "....the
question of the implementation of the Commission of Inquiry's
recommendations and of the application of Convention No. 29 by Myanmar
should be discussed at future sessions of the International Labour
Conference, at a sitting of the Committee on the Application of Standards
specially set aside for the purpose, so long as this Member has not been
shown to have fulfilled its obligations;"<br><br>
<br>
The first special sitting took place on 11 June 2001.<br><br>
The main issue was the conditions under which the measures requested by
the ILC might be lifted. <br><br>
In the light of the agreed visit to Burma in September of an ILO
High-Level Team (HLT), the SPDC and ASEAN spokespeople said that the
Governing Body, at its November 2001 session should "review the
question of Myanmar on the basis of the report of the HLT with a view to
removing the measures...."<br><br>
Most of the speakers in the debate, however, said that the measures
should not be lifted until the three main recommendations of the ILO
Commission of Inquiry (amendment of legislation permitting forced labour;
cessation of the practice; and punishment of people found guilty of
recruiting forced labour) were fulfilled. <br><br>
The latter view prevailed, and the Governing Body was not asked to
consider the question of lifing the measures. This means in practice that
the measures will stay in place for at least two years.<br><br>
Other important points contained in the Committee's Conclusion:<br><br>
* The call to ECOSOC to take action was repeated<br><br>
* Witnesses in contact with the HLT should have full protection and
immunity from reprisal<br><br>
* The mission of the HLT should just be seen as the first step in a
process<br><br>
* The HLT should be large enough to cover all the areas it wants to
see<br><br>
* It should have full access <br><br>
<br><br>
Resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 88th
Session (June 2000)<br><br>
The International Labour Conference,<br><br>
Meeting at its 88th Session in Geneva from 30 May to 15 June
2000,<br><br>
Considering the proposals by the Governing Body which are before it,
under the eighth item of its agenda (Provisional Record No. 4), with a
view to the adoption, under article 33 of the ILO Constitution, of action
to secure compliance with the recommendations of the Commission of
Inquiry established to examine the observance by Myanmar of its
obligations in respect of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.
29),<br><br>
Having taken note of the additional information contained in the report
of the ILO technical cooperation mission sent to Yangon from 23 to 27 May
2000 (Provisional Record No. 8) and, in particular, of the letter dated
27 May 2000 from the Minister of Labour to the Director-General, which
resulted from the mission,<br><br>
Considering that, while this 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 factual situation on which the recommendations of the
Governing Body were based has nevertheless remained unchanged to date,
Believing that the Conference cannot, without failing in its
responsibilities to the workers subjected to various forms of forced or
compulsory labour, abstain from the immediate application of the measures
recommended by the Governing Body unless the Myanmar authorities promptly
take concrete action to adopt the necessary framework for implementing
the Commission of Inquiry's recommendations, thereby ensuring that the
situation of the said workers will be remedied more expeditiously and
under more satisfactory conditions for all concerned;<br><br>
1. Approves in principle, subject to the conditions stated in paragraph 2
below, the actions recommended by the Governing Body, namely: (a) to
decide that the question of the implementation of the Commission of
Inquiry's recommendations and of the application of Convention No. 29 by
Myanmar should be discussed at future sessions of the International
Labour Conference, at a sitting of the Committee on the Application of
Standards specially set aside for the purpose, so long as this Member has
not been shown to have fulfilled its obligations;<br><br>
(b) to recommend to the Organization's constituents as a whole
governments, employers and workers that they: (i) review, in the
light of the conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry, the relations that
they may have with the member State concerned and take appropriate
measures to ensure that the said Member cannot take advantage of such
relations to perpetuate or extend the system of forced or compulsory
labour referred to by the Commission of Inquiry, and to contribute as far
as possible to the implementation of its recommendations; and (ii) report
back in due course and at appropriate intervals to the Governing
Body;<br><br>
(c) as regards international organizations, to invite the
Director-General: (i) to inform the international organizations referred
to in article 12, paragraph 1, of the Constitution of the Member's
failure to comply; (ii) to call on the relevant bodies of these
organizations to reconsider, within their terms of reference and in the
light of the conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry, any cooperation
they may be engaged in with the Member concerned 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; <br><br>
(d) regarding the United Nations specifically, to invite the
Director-General to request the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to
place an item on the agenda of its July 2001 session concerning the
failure of Myanmar 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 to other specialized agencies and including
requests similar to those proposed in paragraphs (b) and (c)
above;<br><br>
(e) to invite the Director-General to submit to the Governing Body, in
the appropriate manner and at suitable intervals, a periodic report on
the outcome of the measures set out in paragraphs (c) and (d) above, and
to inform the international organizations concerned of any developments
in the implementation by Myanmar of the recommendations of the Commission
of Inquiry; <br><br>
2. Decides that those measures will take effect on 30 November 2000
unless, before that date, the Governing Body is satisfied that the
intentions expressed by the Minister of Labour of Myanmar in his letter
dated 27 May 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 fulfilled and therefore render the implementation of
one or more of these measures inappropriate;<br><br>
3. Authorizes the Director-General to respond positively to all requests
by Myanmar that are made with the sole purpose of establishing, before
the above deadline, the framework mentioned in the conclusions of the ILO
technical cooperation mission (points (i), (ii) and (iii), page 8/11 of
Provisional Record No. 8), 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. <br><br>
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