UN labor watchdog to take action against Myanmar junta

By Kiana Duncan for RFA2024.11.12

The International Labor Organization, or ILO, has decided to take action against the Myanmar junta for rights violations, saying that the country failed to adhere to recommendations made by the watchdog.

ILO’s Commission of Inquiry recommended in October last year the military cease violence, release detained unionists, restore civil rights, and end forced labor practices after it found that the junta, since its 2021 coup, had severely restricted civil liberties and trade union rights.

“ILO decided to place on the agenda of … an item concerning measures under article 33 of the Constitution to secure compliance by Myanmar with the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry,” the watchdog said in a report on Wednesday.

Article 33 can lead to significant consequences including economic sanctions and international legal proceedings for member states that fail to comply with recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry.

The ILO Governing Body will discuss a draft resolution about which measures will be taken in the next session on March 2025, with a final decision made in June at the ILO Conference.

The decision was welcomed by labor advocates, who have called for international action since soon after the military overthrew an elected government in the February 2021 coup.

“This is critical, because now Article 33 will surely be passed,” said Maung Maung, president of the Confederation for Trade Unions Myanmar, which has some 65,000 members.

What is most important is to see the extent to which the action against Myanmar will be addressed in the March meeting.

Media reports suggest that possible measures under Article 33 include halting support from U.N. agencies, suspending humanitarian aid, ceasing diplomatic recognition, designating the military as a terrorist group, and subjecting military leaders involved in labor rights violations to international judicial prosecution and possible economic sanctions.

“To what extent is it going to be discussed in March?” Maung Maung asked.

“Whether we just pursue trade issues or diplomatic issues or whether the international court issues will be included, these are the kinds of things that will be discussed and negotiated.”

The ILO imposed sanctions against Myanmar’s military regime in 2000 under Article 33 and labeled it a terrorist entity after concluding in 1998 that the use of forced labor was widespread in the country.

At that time, the ILO enacted various measures, including a request to ILO member states to review their relations with Myanmar to ensure that their actions could not be used to perpetuate the use of forced labor.

The restrictions were lifted in 2012, at the beginning of a decade of tentative reforms that was brought to an end with the coup and reimposition of strict military rule.

Edited by Taejun Kang.