UN slams Myanmar over forced labour practices

(November 21, 2009) The U.N. labour agency has criticized Myanmar for failing to abolish forced labour more than a decade after the global body first took up the issue with the southeast Asian country, officials said Friday. The International Labour Organization adopted a resolution Thursday saying it is «deeply concerned» that Myanmar continues to imprison people who claim to have been subject to forced labour or were involved in complaints against the practice, said spokeswoman Laetitia Dard. The resolution called for the immediate and unconditional release of the prisoners, as well as of all other people detained for political or other labour activism. Foreign governments and human rights groups have for years urged Myanmar to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest. Myanmar has consistently maintained that it is making good-faith efforts to eliminate forced labour and recognize the right of its citizens to make complaints on the subject without fear of punishment. The ILO resolution acknowledged that the country was cooperating regarding complaints. The Geneva-based ILO has since 1998 been investigating forced labour being used in Myanmar to aid the governing military junta and to build roads and other projects. The latest resolution also expresses concern about forced labour being used in infrastructure projects such as building oil and gas pipelines.