GENEVA (ILO News) ─ The International Labour Office (ILO) is concerned and disappointed at the recent sentencing to two years hard labour of U Thet Way, a Burmese (Myanmar) labour activist.
The ILO Governing Body has been watching this case with interest and in March of this year expressed the expectation that he would retain his freedom. This expectation was reconfirmed by the 97th Session of the International Labour Conference in June of this year. The case has been the subject of direct discussion with the Government at a senior level.
U Thet Way has facilitated the lodging of complaints on behalf of victims of forced labour including underage recruitment to the army, many of which have been successfully resolved. This is fully in line with the Supplementary Understanding in force between the ILO and the Government of Myanmar.
This conviction raises the question of honouring the Supplementary Understanding between the Government of Myanmar and the ILO. The Supplementary Understanding provides full protection from prosecution and retaliation for persons making or supporting complaints of forced labour including underage recruitment. The charge on which he was sentenced may formally be unrelated to his ILO-related activities; two further charges with direct links to the ILO were withdrawn before final sentencing. The sentence given is heavy and the maximum permissible under the law. The ILO cannot but consider that the sentence imposed is related to U Thet Way’s role in complaining on forced labour practices.
The ILO requests the Government of Myanmar to urgently review the sentence and immediately release U Thet Way.
For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:
ILO’s Department of Communication: +4122/799-7912, communication@ilo.org