ILO FRUSTRATED WITH BURMESE GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000014

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP, IO AND DRL
PACOM FOR FPA
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
US MISSION GENEVA FOR LABOR ATTACHE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2018
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT: ILO FRUSTRATED WITH BURMESE GOVERNMENT

REF: A. 07 RANGOON 1042


B. 07 RANGOON 1060

C. 07 RANGOON 1143

D. 07 RANGOON 722

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


1. (C) Summary. Although the ILO had a good working
relationship with former Deputy Labor Minister Aung Kyi, (now
both Minister of Labor and Minister of Relations. i.e., the
regime's liaison to Aung San Suu Kyi),new Deputy Labor
Minister Brigadier General Tin Tun has increased restrictions
on ILO activities in Burma. The GOB now requires the ILO to
apply for permission to travel two weeks in advance of a trip
and wants a Labor Ministry officer to accompany all ILO
investigations. ILO Liaison Officer Steve Marshall
acknowledges that the GOB has the right to make such requests
under the ILO-GOB Forced Labor Mechanism Agreement, but the
GOB's actions are contrary to the spirit of the agreement.
The ILO is currently negotiating with the GOB on the
Mechanism Agreement, which is to expire in February 2008.
The ILO will extend the current agreement, provided the GOB
meets ILO conditions, which include travel without
permission. The ILO expects to sign a new agreement with the
GOB by mid-February. End Summary.

Views on the New Deputy Labor Minister
--------------


2. (C) According to ILO Liaison Officer Steve Marshall, the
ILO solidified its working relationship with the Burmese
Government through most of 2007. The ILO often worked
directly with former Deputy Minister of Labor Aung Kyi (who
was appointed Minister of Labor and Regime Liaison to Aung
San Suu Kyi in October - see Ref B) to resolve forced labor
cases. Marshall noted, however, that the new Deputy Labor
Minister, Brigadier General Tin Tun Aung (former commander of
the 33rd Light Infantry Division),was not as willing to work
with the ILO as his predecessor. The ILO office has
requested five meetings with Tin Tun Aung since November to
discuss pending forced labor and child soldier cases. Tin
Tun Aung met with Marshall on two occasions, and since
December ordered the Director General of Labor to handle ILO
issues.


3. (C) In addition to cooler relations, Marshall noted that
the Deputy Minister of Labor has taken a harder position
regarding the ILO's activities in Burma. Under the ILO-GOB
Forced Labor Mechanism Agreement, the ILO can travel
throughout most of Burma to conduct labor assessments and
investigations. Under Aung Kyi, Marshall did not have to
inform the GOB about his travel plans and was not required to
travel with a Ministry of Labor officer. However, the new
Deputy Minister now requires the ILO to submit a formal
request to travel at least two weeks prior to the trip, as
well as a full travel itinerary. The Ministry of Labor also
informed Marshall that a GOB official will accompany him on
every ILO trip.


4. (C) Marshall acknowledged that the Mechanism allows for
GOB officials to accompany him on official ILO trips, but
noted that this had not been mandatory before Tin Tun Aung's
appointment. The GOB official records all meetings and
statements, providing the information to the Ministry of
Labor before the ILO could make a case, which poses a problem
for the ILO. Marshall lamented that by obtaining the
information in advance of the ILO petition, the GOB can
"clean up" whatever wrongdoings may exist.

Extending the Mechanism
--------------


5. (C) The ILO is currently renegotiating the ILO-GOB
Forced Labor Mechanism, which will expire at the end of

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February (Ref A). The GOB indicated to Marshall its
willingness to renew the current agreement as is. Marshall
informed them that to extend the existing agreement, the ILO
would need written clarification about the role of the GOB in
ILO investigations. Marshall informed us that if the GOB
allowed him to travel alone on the majority of ILO trips,
with no prior approvals, he would extend the current
agreement for another year. The Deputy Minister of Labor has
been briefed on these conditions but has yet to agree to the
terms. Marshall, confident that the GOB will work with the
ILO to extend the mechanism, expects to sign a new agreement
in mid-February.

Upcoming ILO Investigation
--------------


6. (C) Marshall told us that he plans to travel to Magway
Division in the next few days to investigate several forced
labor claims. He has yet to tell the Ministry of Labor about
his itinerary, and will use this tip to test the Ministry's
willingness to work within the ILO's parameters.

More Child Soldier Cases
--------------


7. (C) Although the ILO continues to receive several reports
a week of forced labor, many of the cases in recent months
have been child soldier cases. By mid-December, the ILO had
12 outstanding child soldier cases awaiting GOB action.
Marshall told us that on December 22, the GOB resolved 11 of
the cases, releasing the children back to their families.
The ILO verified that the children all returned home and that
the GOB took disciplinary action against those involved.
Marshall said he was pleased with the GOB's actions on all
but two of the cases, noting that in nine instances, the
government formally reprimanded the officer involved and
either limited his promotion ability or demoted him.


8. (C) In the other two cases, which involved the
recruitment of 11-year old boys, Marshall did not believe
that the GOB took strong action against the perpetrators.
Instead of court marshaling the two officers, which the GOB
said it would do, the GOB only formally reprimanded them.
Marshall sent a letter to the Deputy Labor Minister about the
insufficiency of the disciplinary action. Marshall explained
that these two cases would be reported to the ILO Governing
Body, and could be raised during the next Governing Body
meeting in March.


9. (C) Less than two weeks into the new year, the ILO has
received two reports of child soldier cases involving three
children. After investigating these cases, Marshall will
send them to the Ministry of Labor for resolution. He
indicated that while the Burmese Government resolves many of
these cases when brought to its attention, it still has not
addressed the underlying cause of child soldier recruitment
(Ref C).

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


10. (C) That the Burmese Government has begun to limit the
ILO's ability to investigate and report forced labor cases is
disheartening, especially given the positive steps taken by
the GOB in 2007 (Ref D). The continuing prospect of
additional action by the ILO Governing Body tends to bring
the GOB around after much resistance. Nonetheless, the foot
dragging indicates a poor spirit of cooperation. Extending
the agreement will not be enough either. The GOB needs to
address the underlying cause of forced labor cases, rather
than resolving those they hear about. We need to evaluate
the GOB's efforts on labor not by the things it says, but on
the concrete actions it takes to prevent forced labor from
occurring.


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