POSITIVE STEPS IN ILO-BURMA COOPERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000722

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP, IO AND DRL
PACOM FOR FPA
US MISSION GENEVA FOR LABOR ATTACHE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/09/2017
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT: POSITIVE STEPS IN ILO-BURMA COOPERATION

REF: A. A) RANGOON 721

B. B) RANGOON 682

C. C) RANGOON 345

Classified By: Classified by Economic Officer Samantha A. Carl-Yoder fo
r reasons 1.4 (b and d)


1. (C) Summary. Despite the GOB's lack of transparency on
the trial of six labor activists (Ref A),ILO Liaison Officer
Steve Marshall is pleased in general with the GOB's
cooperation on labor practices. The GOB, implementing the
2007 ILO-GOB mechanism to address forced labor, recently
approved a new, albeit temporary, ILO staff position and
plans to coordinate with the ILO on the investigation into
four cases of alleged military involvement in forced labor
practices. While these steps are significant, the GOB has
yet to prosecute those who violate labor rights. End
Summary.

ILO Office Staff Doubled
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2. (C) Marshall told us that he is pleased with the
Ministry of Labor's recent efforts to cooperate with the ILO,
upholding its obligations under the 2007 ILO-GOB mechanism on
forced labor. In July, it granted the ILO's request to hire
an additional expatriate staff to assist with the caseload
(Ref B). This position, however, is temporary; the Thai
human rights lawyer who arrived at the end of July must leave
Rangoon by the end of September. Marshall, who is currently
working with the government to make the position permanent,
is confident that the GOB will approve the request. "That
way," Marshall stated, "The Burmese can report to the ILO
Governing Body that it allowed the ILO to double its staff."

Depoliticizing the Complaint Process
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3. (C) Ministry of Labor officials recently brought
Marshall their concerns that the NLD, which files the
majority of forced labor complaints with the ILO, is using
the agreement as a tool to help the opposition. These
concerns are legitimate, Marshall believes. The ILO
carefully reviews all complaints with a careful eye, looking
to separate political motivations from actual forced labor
practices. Because the ILO, until recently, lacked the staff
to travel outside of Rangoon to collect complaints, the NLD
and 88 Generation Student groups gathered complaints from
rural areas and submitted them to the ILO. Marshall is
convinced that many of these complaints, while legitimate,
are hand-picked to further the opposition's political agenda.
To address the GOB's concerns and depoliticize the issue, he
is looking to establish a mechanism to facilitate complaints
without political bias.


4. (C) One option is to create an ILO network, working with
UN agencies and/or NGOs, in the rural areas to field
complaints. The UN agencies, which work on humanitarian
assistance programs, are not enthusiastic about this idea
because they do not want to give the GOB another reason to
shut down their operations. NGOs, Marshall noted, have the
same problem -- those who want to work with the ILO are too
politically motivated and may cause more damage than good.
Another option is to open one-man ILO field offices in key
areas, such as Rakhine and Karen States. Although the GOB is
less likely to support this option, Marshall believes that if
the ILO makes enough of a fuss about labor activities, the
Burmese will grant approval to open one or two offices. He
said, "The change will not be overnight, but it will happen."

A Surprising Move - GOB to Conduct
Joint Investigations
--------------


5. (C) The ILO, which continues to receive more than four
forced labor complaints a week, has referred several cases

RANGOON 00000722 002 OF 002


that allegedly involve the military and forced labor to the
GOB for action (Ref B). After conducting an investigation
into four cases, the GOB came back to the ILO with the
conclusion that there had been no violations. Marshall,
noting the clear difference between his case files and the
GOB's, accused the GOB of conducting improper interviews. He
declared that instead of talking to the complainants, the GOB
interviewed people with the same names, and subsequently
found that there were no cases. In late July, he requested
that the ILO and GOB conduct a joint investigation of the
four cases to see what the GOB is doing and to establish best
practices. The GOB, in a surprising move, agreed to joint
investigations into these four cases. In September, Ministry
of Labor officials and the ILO plan to travel to Rakhine
State to investigate these specific complaints.


6. (C) Marshall noted that the GOB continues to allow the
ILO office to travel freely around the country (with some
advance notification on the part of the ILO) and that ILO
staff are able to conduct interviews without GOB involvement.
Marshall also talked to the GOB in July about not harassing
complainants. Previously, after field visits, he would find
out that the GOB harassed those who talked to the ILO by
either revoking a business license or interfering in their
livelihood. Since July, the ILO office has not received any
complaints of harassment after a field visit.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) Although these developments are encouraging, we
should measure the GOB's progress in eliminating forced labor
by the results of its actions. It is essential that the GOB
learn to investigate and handle cases properly. It is
equally, if not more important, that the GOB prosecute the
true offenders of labor rights, particularly the military.
Only when this happens will the GOB signal that it is serious
about eliminating forced labor.
STOLTZ