BURMA: ILO REPORTS INTERNAL CHILD TRAFFICKING CASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000817 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KTIP BM SUBJECT: BURMA: ILO REPORTS INTERNAL CHILD TRAFFICKING CASE Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Brian Andrews for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) Survivor Details Forced Labor on Plantation near Rangoon -------------- -------------- ¶1. (C) Rangoon-based International Labor Organization (ILO) representative Steve Marshall told us December 21 the ILO is investigating a reported child trafficking and labor case. According to Marshall, a 12 year old Burmese boy was abducted in Rangoon Division over two months ago at a wharf when he returned from a boat trip with his family. He was thrown in the back of a truck driven by a man possibly in military uniform; eight other boys were in the vehicle. The boys were taken to a plantation that may have been producing physic nuts. The boy reported to ILO that he was placed in a barracks with around 100 other boys aged 13-15. The individuals running the plantation did not wear military uniforms. ¶2. (C) Marshall said that after spending six months working on the plantation, the boy and four others escaped through a hole in the roof of the barracks at night. The youths then split up. The ILO complainant walked one hour before catching a bus and traveling 90 minutes to the outer suburbs of Rangoon. The boy reunited with his family, which reported the incident to ILO. ILO Pressing GOB to Investigate -------------- ¶3. (C) Marshall confirmed that the ILO has dispatched its investigators to search for the plantation and has passed case details to Police Colonel Sit Aye, the Secretary of Burma's Anti-trafficking Task Force. The boy was able to describe in detail the plantation and barracks, and he remembered the number of the bus he took upon escape. Marshall will monitor GOB efforts to investigate, but noted that government action will depend largely on who owns the plantation. If it is affiliated with the GOB, it likely already has been closed, Marshall believes. If it is not, the GOB might conduct a legitimate investigation. DINGER