Intl Labour Organization to probe rights violation in Myanmar
Mar 25, 2022
Geneva [Switzerland], March 25 : The governing body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) has decided to establish a Commission of Inquiry in respect of the non-observance of International Labour Standards in Myanmar following the military coup in February 2021.
The ILO said in a press statement the Commission of Inquiry will investigate the non-observance of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 and the Forced Labour Convention, 1930.
The resolution adopted by the Governing Body noted with profound concern "the escalation of large-scale lethal violence against civilians, including children, and the arrest and torture of Aung Ko Latt, a member of the Mahlwagone Railway Union," and called on the military to end such action immediately.
It also deplored the "continued harassment, intimidation and arbitrary arrests and detentions of labour activists, trade unionists and others, including the Rohingya, in the exercise of their human rights."
Myanmar should ensure that workers' and employers' organizations are able to exercise their rights in a climate of freedom and security, free from violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, the resolution says.
A Commission of Inquiry is the ILO's highest-level investigative procedure and is generally set up when a Member State is accused of committing persistent and serious violations and has repeatedly refused to address them.
To date, 14 Commissions of Inquiry have been established.
