US embassy cable - 02RANGOON1486

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, Human Rights 
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