Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Myanmar (Ratification: 1955)

Follow-up to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry (complaint made under article 26 of the Constitution of the ILO)

The Committee notes that in the context of its follow-up to the situation of Myanmar as regards the elimination of forced labour (following the 2013 Resolution of the International Labour Conference concerning remaining measures on the subject of Myanmar under article 33 of the ILO Constitution), in March 2022, the Governing Body decided of its own motion to establish a Commission of Inquiry concerning non-observance by Myanmar of the Convention as well as the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87). The Committee notes the detailed report issued by the Commission of Inquiry on 4 August 2023, which was noted by the Governing Body in its 349th Session (November 2023).

The Committee notes that in its report the Commission of Inquiry concluded that the following violations of the Convention existed (paragraphs 595–634):

• The continuing systematic and widespread use by the Myanmar military of residents, including members of the Rohingya community, to perform a range of different types of work or service, including as porters, guides, and human shields, as well as for cultivation, the construction and maintenance of military camps or installations, and the provision of transport, accommodation, food, or domestic work; such practices not falling under the scope of the exception of Article 2(2)(d) no any other exceptions provided for under Article 2(2) of the Convention.
• The exaction of prison labour from persons, in particular those having expressed opinions opposing the military, who have been convicted following legal procedures that manifestly lacked independence, impartiality, and due process of law, which is not covered by the exception contained in Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention.
• Services required by the military authorities from businesses during days of “silent strikes” (people staying indoors on a designated day and not engaging in any outside activity) that amount to forced or compulsory labour within the meaning of the Convention.
• The lack of review of article 359 of the Constitution which allows for the exaction of forced labour in the context of duties assigned by the Union in accordance with the law in the interest of the people, and of the People’s Military Service Law (2010) which allows for the use of military conscripts for work that is not of a purely military nature.
• The lack of adequate and dissuasive criminal sanctions for the exaction of compulsory labour under section 374 of the Penal Code and section 27A of the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law which provide for a penalty of imprisonment of up to one year or a fine.
• A deteriorating enforcement of the legal prohibition of forced labour and the fact that victims of forced labour imposed by the military fear retaliations if they bring forward complaints.

The Committee also notes that based on the above-mentioned findings, the Commission of Inquiry urged the military authorities to (paragraph 644):

• Act to end the exaction of all forms of forced or compulsory labour by the army and its associated armed forces and groups, including any forced labour exacted from ethnic, religious or other minorities; and to end any forced recruitment into the military.
• Cease any action interfering with the freedom of business to open and close their establishments.
• Cease with immediate effect the exaction of prison labour as a consequence of a criminal conviction imposed since 1 February 2021 through procedures manifestly lacking independence, impartiality and due process guarantees.

The Commission of Inquiry also recommended that Myanmar (paragraph 650):

• Assess the functioning of the national authorities and mechanisms responsible for the suppression of forced or compulsory labour and the enforcement of the relevant legislation, with the participation of workers’ and employers’ organizations, and take the necessary measures to strengthen their capacity and cooperation; and ensure that workers and employers’ organizations have access to such authorities to report any practice contrary to the Convention.
• Take specific measures to end the exaction of forced labour from Rohingya women and men and other ethnic or religious minorities.
• Ensure that any future system for compulsory military service or any other national service obligation and any restrictions on civil servants, including military personnel, to resign from their positions are implemented in accordance with the Convention.
• Revise its national legislation prohibiting forced labour to ensure that it provides for penalties that are really adequate and dissuasive.

The Committee notes that in a communication dated 29 September 2023, the military authorities indicated to the Governing Body that Myanmar’s position regarding the Commissions of Inquiry’s recommendations would be communicated within three months.

The Committee deeply deplores that although the imposition of forced labour on the population in the country has continuously been the subject of close examination for many years by this Committee, the Committee on the Application of Standards of the Conference, two Commissions of Inquiry, as well as by the Governing Body, this practice has continued and has even exacerbated after the military takeover on 1 February 2021, as indicated in the report of the Commission of Inquiry of 2023.

Therefore, the Committee strongly urges the military authorities to take all the necessary measures to immediately put an end to all forms of forced or compulsory labour identified above; ensure without delay full compliance with the Convention, both in law and in practice; and take steps to fully and effectively implement the recommendations made by the Commission of Inquiry. In this regard, the Committee specifically recalls the importance of reviewing article 359 of the Constitution that allows for the exaction of forced labour to bring it into conformity with the Convention. The Committee strongly urges the military authorities to take the measures commensurate with the extreme seriousness of the situation and ensure that victims of forced labour are duly recognized as such, given access to the appropriate complaint mechanisms and granted compensation and protection against reprisal. The Committee expects that the military authorities will provide detailed information on the measures taken for the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.

[The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2024 .]