The Burmese government and the International Labour Office (ILO) have extended the Supplementary Understanding for the elimination of forced labour in Burma for a further twelve months. However, the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB), based in Thailand, said that human rights violations are still happening in Burma, including the use of forced labour.

According to the Burmese newspaper, New Light of Myanmar, published yesterday,

Minister for Labour, Aung Kyi received International Labour Office Executive Director, Mr. Kari Tapiola and party at the Ministry of Labour in Napidaw yesterday afternoon [….] The ILO Executive Director was accompanied by Law Officer, Mr. Drazen Petrovic of the Office of ILO Legal Advisor and ILO Liaison Officer, Mr. Steven Marshall.

The paper also wrote, “…His Excellency U Aung Kyi stated that he ‘welcomed this continuation of the cooperation between the government and the ILO which once again confirms the Government of Myanmar’s high level commitment to its policy for the prohibition of forced labour.”

The Burmese government also extended the Supplementary Understanding last year and yet forced labour and the recruitment of child soldiers has still been happening and are considered amongst the worst of human rights abuses by Aung Myo Min, the director of HREIB.

“Extending this agreement cannot end these abuses in Burma because when the people who are being forced to work, or the parents of child soldiers, try to complain to the ILO the Burmese regime attempts to prevent them and sometimes arrests them. When the ILO does take legal action on behalf of any cases that do get through to them it is better for the people involved. Although the government and the ILO keep extending this agreement, I do not expect the use of forced labour and other human rights violations to end in Burma.”

He continued, “Before the agreement was made the Burmese government would send documents to village headmen demanding a certain number of villagers for use as forced labour. After the agreement was made the government continued to use forced labour but gave the orders orally and without any documentation and therefore avoiding written evidence of the violations.”