THE ILO: SLOWLY ESTABLISHING A WORKING PRESENCE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 001486

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL
LABOR FOR ILAB
USCINCPAC FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2012
TAGS: ELAB PHUM PREL BM
SUBJECT: THE ILO: SLOWLY ESTABLISHING A WORKING PRESENCE IN
BURMA

REF: GENEVA 4706

Classified By: COM CARMEN M. MARTINEZ FOR REASON 1.5(D).


1. (C) Summary: The new ILO liaison officer in Rangoon met
with Secretary One General Khin Nyunt this week and received
assurances that the SPDC would work with the ILO to address
problems with forced labor. She was also told that she can
travel freely anywhere she wants in Burma. These assurances
and the establishment of the new ILO office in Rangoon are
positive steps, but the GOB has not yet presented an
acceptable plan of action on forced labor. The ILO office in
Rangoon is looking for clear direction from next week's ILO
Governing Body meeting to reinforce its efforts in regard to
the plan of action. End Summary.


2. (C) ILO Rangoon's Deputy Liaison Officer Richard Horsey
told Poloffs on November 15 that the ILO's new liaison
officer, Ms. Nguyen-Perret, met with Secretary One General
Khin Nyunt, Home Affairs Minister Tin Hlaing, and the GOB's
Implementation Committee on Forced Labor during the past
week. Earlier, she had also met with Minister of Labor Tin
Win. The meeting with Secretary One was positive, according
to Horsey; where S-1 had once denied any instances of forced
labor, he now admitted that it had once been government
policy to "ask for" labor contributions. S-1 said that
regulations against forced labor had now been issued;
however, there were still problems, particularly in the
border areas. Horsey said that this was a remarkable change
of position, which reflected the government's evolving
understanding of the forced labor issue. S-1 also told Ms.
Nguyen-Perret that she was free to travel anywhere she chose
in Burma.


3. (C) Horsey said he and Ms. Nguyen-Perret had only taken
one trip so far, a one-day trip to Kyauktan, a small town
just east of Rangoon (and, coincidentally, Khin Nyunt's home
town). The pair had not investigated allegations of forced
labor on the visit but they did find copies of the
government's ordinances on forced labor prominently posted in
two locations. In the future, they plan to travel widely,
beginning with a weeklong trip in December. Horsey said the
ILO team will give the government one-day notice of their
travel plans, except when they plan to meet with government
officials, in which case they will give more notice.


4. (C) ILO Rangoon is now negotiating for a visit by an ILO
High Level Team to work out the details of a GOB plan of
action to deal with forced labor. The local office wants
enough antecedent progress on the plan to make the team's
trip worthwhile. It is pushing the government to have
something ready for the team as soon as possible, but no
later than January or February, i.e., in time for the plan to
be taken into consideration at the March Governing Board
meeting.


5. (C) Horsey stated that the plan of action should include
the following three elements:

-- an investigation mechanism that would cover both the
military and the wider civilian population. The problem now
is that the GOB's Implementation Committee on forced labor
does not have access to or influence over the military, where
most forced labor problems occur. In the future, either the
military would have to be included in the committee or,
better, a mechanism would have to be set up to utilize the
military's inspector general and/or the adjutant general to
enforce the government's rules on forced labor. In addition,
the procedures of the Implementation Committee would have to
be reformed. Right now, the Committee was not making any
record of any of its investigations and, in fact, was not
effectively pursuing cases;

-- a nationwide presence for the ILO, with mechanisms for
receiving complaints, and for disseminating information on
forced labor through pamphlets, training, etc.;
-- a portfolio of ILO supported technical assistance projects
that would teach the government how to deal with development
issues at the village level without resort to forced labor.


6. (C) Horsey noted that the government has been pushing for
ILO technical assistance projects while putting the other two
elements on hold. He has responded that the first two
elements need to be in place before any meaningful technical
assistance projects can begin.


7. (C) Horsey did not expect any dramatic developments at
the upcoming Governing Body meeting. The GOB was pushing for
"a reinterpretation" of the 1999 ILO resolution on Burma to
allow the ILO to provide technical assistance in areas other
than forced labor. The ILO mission here, however, has told
the government that this was the wrong approach. Horsey said
ILO Rangoon has told the government that there was already
plenty of latitude to receive technical assistance for
critical labor issues within the guidelines laid down by the
1999 resolution. There was no need for a revision.
Moreover, he told the government that most ILO members would
view any GOB effort to reinterpret the 1999 resolution with
suspicion.


8. (C) Horsey said ILO Rangoon was looking for clear
direction from the Governing Body on next steps with Burma
such as an approved action plan. This would give the office
something specific to work on with the GOB prior to the next
GB meeting in March. He said there was no need for any
change in any of the Burma resolutions, but a recognition of
the steps the GOB has taken, together with a clear
endorsement of the ILO's concept of an appropriate plan of
action would be welcome.
Martinez