Holding the Myanmar military accountable: ILO article 33 sanctions

[This is not an FCCT-organized event. Free and open to all.]

On June 5, the International Labor Organization (ILO) acted to impose sanctions under article 33 of the ILO Constitution on Myanmar for the government’s continued attacks on freedom of association for people and the workers of the country, and consistent use of forced labor. This is only the third time in the ILO’s 106-year history that article 33 measures have been imposed on a member state.

Myanmar’s union leaders and activists have led the way to demand accountability by consistently documenting labor rights abuses, campaigning inside Myanmar and internationally for the release of arrested worker leaders, and advocating for the ILO and its member states, employer associations, and labor union congresses to act. Myanmar’s union leaders and their allies will address the FCCT on what they had to do to achieve this momentous result, and what it will mean for the struggle for the restoration of human rights and democracy in Myanmar going forward.
The ILO found that Myanmar has brazenly violated its obligations as a ratifying state of ILO Conventions 29 (Forced Labor) and 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize) and constantly ignored ILO recommendations to address failures of law and practice that allow these abuses to continue.
Since the military coup on February 1, 2021, the State Administration Council (SAC) has engaged in numerous atrocities, including forced labor, torture of union leaders, the detention of at least 69 trade unionists, and the wholesale repression of civil society. Despite straightforward recommendations by the ILO's 2023 Commission of Inquiry, examining the government’s record of compliance with ILO Conventions 29 and 87, SAC junta failed to cease violence, free jailed workers, or abolish forced and underage labor.
In the resolution passed on June 5, ILO called on member states, employers, and labor groups to evaluate and cut any financial, logistical, and commercial relations with the SAC. This involves assessing investments, armaments, jet fuel supply, and collaborations with military-related enterprises, and will likely prompt multiple rounds of additional actions and sanctions against the SAC junta.
The panel will include:
Maung Maung, president, Confederation of Trade Unions – Myanmar (CTUM).
Phyo Sanda Soe, vice president, Building and Woodworkers International (BWI), and Workers Delegate, ILO Governing Body.
Kyaw Ni, deputy minister of labor affairs, National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar.

Steve Marshall, former ILO liaison officer to Myanmar.
Other panelists to be announced
Moderator: Phil Robertson, FCCT board member, and director, Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates (AHRLA).