GB.343/INS/8/Decision

Decision concerning the follow-up to the resolutions concerning Myanmar adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 102nd (2013) and 109th (2021) Sessions

Record of decisions | 11 November 2021
In the light of the developments in Myanmar outlined in document GB.343/INS/8 and the update report provided by the Office, 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) expressed profound concern that no progress has been made to respect the will of the people, democratic institutions and processes, and restore the democratically elected government. It called on Myanmar to restore democratic and civilian rule in the country;

(b) expressed profound concern that the military authorities have continued with the large-scale use of lethal violence and with the harassment, ongoing intimidation, arrests and detentions of trade unionists and others, including the Rohingya, in the exercise of their human rights, and repeated its call to the military authorities to cease immediately such activities, and to release from detention and drop any charges against trade unionists and others who have peacefully participated in protest activities;

(c) expressed grave concern that the military authorities – despite the withdrawal of the notice of termination of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Decent Work Country Programme 2018-2022 – continue to interfere in the operations of ILO Yangon, including through the continued imposition of banking restrictions, the denial of visa extensions for ILO officials and of tax exemptions. It urged the military authorities to desist immediately from such interference and to respect the status of the Office in keeping with the provisions of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies of 21 November 1947;

(d) 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 called for the immediate release of the General Secretary of MICS-TUF and other trade unionists and activists who have been detained;

(e) expressed serious concern over reports of the use of forced labour by the military and the relisting of Myanmar in the 2021 annual report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on children and armed conflict, and urged Myanmar to end immediately the use of forced labour and to uphold its obligations under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29);

(f) 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; and

(g) requested the Director-General to report to the Governing Body at its 344th Session (March 2022) on developments in Myanmar, and to include information on potential follow-up action by the 110th Session of the International Labour Conference.

(GB.343/INS/8, paragraph 39, as amended by the Governing Body)