Forced Labour in Myanmar (Burma) Report of the ILO Commission of Inquiry

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Description: "Children paying a high price for engaging in work in Myanmar Survey reveals poverty a main driver of child labour in Yangon Region, Ayeyarwady Region and Kayin State with dangerous work and long hours common. Yangon, Myanmar (ILO News) – A new report assessing the situation of working children in Myanmar shows the extent to which children are working to support their families and the high incidence of hazardous work they engage in. More than 70 per cent of working children interviewed in an assessment by ILO Myanmar’s Asia Regional Child Labour Project (ARC) in the Yangon Region, Ayeyarwady Region and Kayin State were working primarily due to financial challenges in their households. School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the political crisis had also driven children to work, further exacerbating child labour. Even after schools re-opened, many children did not return to school due to safety concerns resulting from the political instability in the country. A third of children interviewed in the three areas were in domestic work with others primarily in agriculture, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade – many of whom were working long hours for low pay. The assessment also found that children were often performing hazardous work and dangerous tasks. Almost 90 per cent of children interviewed who were working in construction sector carried heavy loads and over 80 per cent worked long hours under the sun without a break. Many interviewed children reported that they experienced accidents and injuries, with minor injuries being the most frequent, followed by bruises, bumps and swelling. “More than half of working children in this assessment said they wanted to have an education if given the chance, reflecting the extent to which work has interfered with their aspirations to go to school. This situation has only been made worse since COVID-19 and the nationwide conflicts caused by political crisis.,” said Donglin Li, Liaison Officer and Representative, ILO Myanmar. Communities and employers in the three regions appeared largely unaware of the laws relating to the minimum age for employing children. Some employers, notably in the agriculture sector, indicated that they preferred to employ children because they can be easily controlled, paid less, and do not frequently complain. Others employed children who accompanied their parents to work due to safety concerns at home. To effectively address child labour issues in Myanmar, the report provides recommendations for appropriate awareness raising, advocacy and overarching key policy interventions to be pursued, when the situation allows. ILO’s ARC Project is a regional project implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. The assessment released to mark the World Day Against Child Labour on 12 June 2023 was prepared with financial support from Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the Government of the United Kingdom..."
Source/publisher: International Labour Organization (Geneva)
2023-06-30
Date of entry/update: 2023-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 3.52 MB
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Description: "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)"...Full Text (about 400 pages) The central ILO report on forced labour in Burma. Appendix III contains 246 interviews, largely with people from non-Burman ethnic groups - Chin, Rohingya, Arakanese, Karen, Karenni, Shan, Pa-O, Mon. The interviews cover forced labour, but also many other violations of human rights such as killings (executions), rape, torture, looting, forced relocation (forced displacement) violence against women, violence against children, looting. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced
Source/publisher: International Labour Office
1998-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm doc
Size: 1.78 MB 2.15 MB
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Description: Extracts on forced relocation and confiscation of land from the 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). Though its main focus was forced labour, the Commission of Inquiry also reported other violations of human rights. This series of customised versions of the report takes a number of these themes. The present document highlights references to forced relocation and confiscation of land. ... ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced
Source/publisher: ILO Commission of Inquiry (extracts)
1998-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 221.61 KB
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Description: Full text of the 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). Sections referring to torture or ill-treatment are highlighted.
Source/publisher: International Labour Office via BPF
1998-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 1009.76 KB
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Description: Extracts on children from the 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)
Source/publisher: ILO Commission of Inquiry
1998-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 536.52 KB
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Description: Extracts on the Rohingyas from the report of the ILO Commission of Inquiry into forced labour in Myanmar (Burma). ".... the situation in the northern part of Rakhine State appears to be more severe in all respects than that prevailing in most other parts of the country. Most of the witnesses questioned on this subject, who were members of the Rohingya ethnic group, and who had left the country very recently, claimed to have been subjected to systematic discrimination by the authorities..." (ILO Report, para 435). The 1998 ILO Inquiry into forced labour in Burma covers a wide range of human rights violations in addition to forced labour. The Commission of Inquiry, which is the most senior body to have examined human rights in Burma, reported that the Rohingyas suffer a higher level of discrimination than other groups in the country.
Source/publisher: ILO (customised by BPF)
1998-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 178.49 KB
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Description: Extracts from the 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)
Source/publisher: ILO Commission of Inquiry
1998-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 382.96 KB
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Description: "Informe de la Comisi?n de Encuesta instituida en virtud del art?culo 26 de la Constituci?n de la Organizaci?n Internacional del Trabajo para examinar la observancia por Myanmar del Convenio sobre el trabajo forzoso, 1930 (n?m. 29)" El documento principal sobre el trabajo forzoso en Birmania.
Source/publisher: Oficina Internacional del Trabajo
1998-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Espanol
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Description: "Rapport de la commission d'enqu?te institu?e en vertu de l'article 26 de la Constitution de l'Organisation internationale du Travail pour examiner le respect par le Myanmar de la convention no 29 sur le travail forc?, 1930." Le document principal du OIT sur le travail forc? en birmanie.
Source/publisher: Bureau Internationale du Travail
1998-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Francais
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