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GB.344/INS/12/Decision

Decision concerning the Report of the Director-General on developments in Myanmar, including information on potential follow-up action by the 110th Session of the International Labour Conference

Record of decisions | 28 March 2022
In the light of the developments in Myanmar outlined in document GB.344/INS/12 and recalling the resolution for a return to democracy and respect for fundamental rights in Myanmar adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 109th Session (2021), the Governing Body:

(a) deplored the lack of progress towards respecting the will of the people, democratic institutions and processes, and the fact that the democratically elected government has not been restored;

(b) noted with profound concern the escalation of large-scale lethal violence against civilians, including children, and the arrest and torture of Aung Ko Latt, a member of the Mahlwagone Railway Union, and called on the military to end such action immediately;

(c) deplored the continued harassment, intimidation and arbitrary arrests and detentions of labour activists, trade unionists and others, including the Rohingya, in the exercise of their human rights, and repeated its call to the military authorities to cease such action immediately;

(d) deplored the termination of citizenship of prominent democracy activists, including trade unionists, in violation of international law, and called upon Myanmar to immediately restore their citizenship;

(e) expressed grave concern that there has been no demonstrable progress towards removing banking restrictions imposed on the ILO Liaison Office and urged the military authorities to desist immediately from such interference and to respect the status of the Office, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies of 21 November 1947;

(f) repeated its call for Myanmar to uphold immediately its obligations under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and to ensure that workers’ and employers’ organizations are able to exercise their rights in a climate of freedom and security, free from violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, and again called for the immediate release of the General Secretary of MICS-TUF and other trade unionists and activists who have been detained;

(g) repeated its profound concern over reports of increased use of forced labour by the military authorities and the fact that progress towards the elimination of forced labour has reversed since the military takeover, and called for the military authorities to end forced labour practices immediately;

(h) repeated its call for the Civil Services Personnel Law, the Settlement of Labour Disputes Law and the Labour Organization Law to be amended without delay, in line with Convention No. 87, once the country returns to democracy;

(i) requested that the Director-General report to its 345th Session (June 2022) on developments in Myanmar; and

(j) decided in accordance with article 26(4) of the ILO Constitution to establish a Commission of Inquiry in respect of the non-observance of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29).

(GB.344/INS/12, paragraph 47, as amended by the Governing Body)