REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL pursuant to Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 552/97 with respect to the forced labour in Myanmar/Burma
Date: 2012-09-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Myanmar/Burma, common commercial policy, generalised preferences, international sanctions, slavery

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 17.9.2012  
COM(2012) 525 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

pursuant to Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 552/97 with respect to the forced 
labour in Myanmar/Burma 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

pursuant to Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 552/97 with respect to the forced 
labour in Myanmar/Burma 

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INTRODUCTION  

Myanmar/Burma  is  a  beneficiary  country  of  the  special  arrangement  for  the  least-
developed  countries  (Everything  but  Arms  -  hereinafter  'EBA  arrangement'), 
provided  under  Article  11  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  732/2008  applying  a 
scheme  of  generalised  tariff  preferences  for  the  period  from  1  January  20091. 
Beneficiary  countries  of  the  EBA  arrangement  are  listed  in  Annex  I,  Column  D  of 
this Regulation. 

LEGAL BACKGROUND FOR TEMPORARY WITHDRAWAL OF THE GSP PREFERENCES 

Myanmar/Burma's  access  to  the  tariff  preferences  granted  by  Regulation  (EC)  No 
3281/942 and Regulation (EC) No 1256/963 was temporarily withdrawn by Council 
Regulation  (EC)  No  552/974.  Regulation  (EC)  732/2008  amended  Regulation  (EC) 
552/97 and replaced reference to those Regulations. Regulation (EC) 732/2008 is the 
current legal basis for the application and administration of the Union's generalised 
scheme of tariff preferences (hereinafter 'GSP'). 

Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 552/97, as amended by Article 28(2) of Regulation 
(EC) No 732/2008, provides that the application of Regulation (EC) No 552/97 shall 
be  brought  to  an  end  in  the  light  of  a  Commission  report  on  forced  labor  in 
Myanmar/Burma, showing that the practices mentioned in point (a) of Article 15(1) 
of Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 no longer exist. 

Point  (a)  of  Article  15(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  732/2008  provides  that  the 
preferential  arrangements  granted  under  this  Regulation  may  be  withdrawn 
temporarily,  in  respect  of  all  or  of  certain  products  originating  in  a  beneficiary 
country,  for  the  serious  and  systematic  violation  of  principles  laid  down  in  the 
conventions  listed  in  Part  A  of  Annex  III,  on  the  basis  of  the  conclusions  of  the 
relevant  monitoring  bodies.  The  International  Labour  Organization's  (ILO) 
Convention  concerning  Forced  or  Compulsory  Labour,  No.  29,  (1930)  (hereinafter 
'the  Convention  No  29')  is  listed  in  Annex  III,  Part  A  of  Regulation  (EC)  No 
732/2008.  

OJ L 211, 6.8.2008, p. 1  
Council Regulation (EC) No 3281/94 of 19 December 1994 applying a four-year scheme of generalized 
tariff  preferences  (1995  to  1998)  in  respect  of  certain  industrial  products  originating  in  developing 
countries (OJ L 348, 31.12.1994, p. 1).  
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1256/96  of  20  June  1996  applying  multiannual  schemes  of  generalised 
tariff  preferences  from  1  July  1996  to  30  June  1999  in  respect  of  certain  agricultural  products 
originating in developing countries (OJ L 160, 29.6.1996, p. 1). 
OJ L 085, 27.03.1997, p. 0008-0009 

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3. 

THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE ILO MONITORING BODIES 

3.1. 

A summary of ILO action in respect of forced labour in Myanmar/Burma 

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3.2. 

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The ILO Commission of Inquiry was established in 1997 to examine the observance 
by  the  Government  of  Myanmar/Burma  of  the  Convention  No  29.  In  view  of  the 
Government’s  flagrant  and  persistent  failure  to  comply  with  the  Convention,  the 
Commission of Inquiry made the following recommendations: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

to  bring  legislative  texts,  in  particular  the  Village  Act  and  the  Towns  Act,  in 
line with the Convention No 29; 

to  ensure  that  in  actual  practice  forced  labour  is  no  longer  imposed  by  the 
authorities, in particular the military; 

to  ensure  that  the  penalties,  which  may  be  imposed  under  section  374  of  the 
Penal  Code  for  the  exaction  of  forced  or  compulsory  labour  be  strictly 
enforced, in conformity with Article 25 of the Convention No 29. 

In  view  of  the  Government’s  failure  to  take  the  necessary  action  to  implement  the 
recommendations  of 
the  International  Labour 
Conference  (ILC)  adopted  at  its  87th  Session  (June  1999)  a  resolution  on  the 
widespread  use  of  forced  labour  in  Myanmar/Burma  (hereinafter  'the  1999 
resolution'). 

the  Commission  of  Inquiry, 

the  Constitution  on  measures 

Subsequently,  at  its  88th  Session  (June  2000),  the  ILC  adopted  a  resolution  under 
article  33  of 
the  compliance  of 
Myanmar/Burma  with  the  recommendations  of  the  Commission  of  Inquiry 
(hereinafter 'the 2000 resolution'). This is the only case in ILO history where article 
33  of  the  Constitution  was  applied  to  ensure  the  compliance  of  a  Member  with 
international obligations.  

to  secure 

Observations  of  the  Committee  of  Experts  on  the  Application  of  Conventions 
and Recommendations 

In  its  observations  of  2012  the  Committee  of  Experts  on  the  Application  of 
Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) welcomed the positive developments 
in  Myanmar/Burma,  such  as  submission  to  Parliament  of  the  draft  legislation 
repealing  the  Towns  Act  and  the  Village  Act  of  1907.  However,  the  Committee 
observed  that,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  made  towards  the  implementation  of  the 
recommendations  of  the  Commission  of  Inquiry,  the  Government  has  not  yet  fully 
implemented 
the 
amendment  of  the  legislation,  the  Government  still  has  to  ensure  that,  in  actual 
practice,  forced  labour  is  no  longer  imposed  by  the  authorities,  in  particular  by  the 
military;  and  it  still  has  to  ensure  that  penalties  for  the  exaction  of  forced  labour 
under the Penal Code are strictly enforced against civil and military authorities. 

these  recommendations.  Besides 

the  steps 

towards 

taken 

3.3. 

Report of the ILO Liaison Officer 

9. 

In 2012, the ILO Liaison Officer to the special sitting on Myanmar (Convention No 
29) of the Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) reported that important 
developments have been observed in a number of areas since the CAS last reviewed 
the situation in 2011. In the context of the recommendations of the Commission of 
Inquiry,  the  previous  legislation  has  been  repealed  and  new  legislation  has  been 
adopted, including legislation confirming the exaction of forced labour as a criminal 
offence.  Perpetrators,  and  in  particular  military  personnel,  accused  of  the  use  of 
forced labour are now prosecuted and punished under the law. Whilst there has been 

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3.4. 

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a  noticeable  reduction  in  the  use  of  forced  labour,  the  problem  persists  and 
complaints  continue  to  be  received.  This  has  been  recognized  by  the  Government 
through their initiation of a joint strategy with the ILO for the full elimination of all 
forms  of  forced  labour  by  2015,  if  not  before,  and  by  their  agreement  to  detailed 
action planning for the implementation of that strategy.  

Conclusions of the ILO Committee on Application of Standards 

On 4 June 2012, the Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) in its special 
sitting  to  examine  developments  concerning  the  question  of  the  observance  by  the 
Government of  Myanmar/Burma  of the Convention No 29 adopted the conclusions 
regarding Myanmar/Burma. The CAS took note of the observations of the CEACR, 
as  well  as  the  report  of  the  ILO  Liaison  Officer.  In  its  conclusions  the  CAS 
welcomed: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the  progress  achieved  towards  complying  with  the  1998  recommendations  of 
the  Commission  of  Inquiry.  The  Committee  observed  that  many  important 
steps  had  been  taken  by  the  Government  in  this  regard  since  its  meeting  last 
year; 

the elaborate and detailed Action Plan developed between the Government and 
the  ILO.  The  Committee  insisted  that  all  the  social  partners  and  civil  society 
organizations  would  play  an  active  role  in  prioritizing  and  assisting  in  the 
accelerated  application  of  the  elements  in  the  Plan  most  relevant  to  the 
immediate implementation of the Commission of Inquiry recommendations; 

the Government representative’s statement that a  culture of impunity was not 
tolerated  and  that  the  President  had  called  for  steps  to  be  taken  to  ensure  the 
respect for the rule of law throughout the country. The Committee considered 
that  the  action  taken  to  prosecute  forced  labour  should  continue  to  be 
reinforced and the newly adopted legislation effectively applied so as to ensure 
complete  accountability  under  the  law.  The  Committee  trusted  that  effective 
and dissuasive sanctions would be imposed to punish the use of forced labour 
in  all  sectors  and  requested  the  Government  to  review  the  impact  of  the 
measures  that  it  had  reported  on  so  as  to  be  in  a  position  to  strengthen  them 
where necessary. 

The  Committee  did,  however,  raise  its  continuing  concern  over  the  Constitutional 
provision  which  provided  an  exception  from  the  prohibition  of  forced  labour  for 
“duties  assigned  by  the  Union  in  accordance  with  the  law  in  the  interest  of  the 
public”. It welcomed the Government representative’s statement that the Constitution 
could be amended where it was the will of the people and trusted that steps would be 
taken to ensure that any exception to forced labour provided for in the constitutional 
and  legislative  framework  was  strictly  limited  to  the  narrow  scope  of  exceptions 
under Convention No. 29 

Resolution of the International Labour Conference 

On  13  June  2012,  the  International  Labour  Conference  (ILC)  taking  note  of  the 
conclusions adopted on 4 June 2012 by the CAS and considering that maintaining the 
existing measures would no longer help in attaining the desired result of compliance 
with  the  recommendations  of  the  Commission  of  Inquiry  adopted  the  Resolution 
'Concerning the measures on the subject of Myanmar adopted under article 33 of the 
ILO Constitution' and decided: 

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(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

to  lift  with  immediate  effect  the  limitation  of  ILO  technical  cooperation  or 
assistance  to  the  Government  of  Myanmar/Burma,  enunciated  in  paragraph 
3(b)  of  the  1999  resolution  to  enable  the  ILO  to  assist  the  Government, 
employers  and  workers  on  a  variety  of  issues  coming  within  the  ILO’s 
mandate. 

to lift the measure enunciated in paragraph 3(c) of the 1999 resolution to allow 
the Government of Myanmar/Burma to participate in ILO meetings, symposia 
and seminars in the same way as any other Member, with social partners from 
Myanmar/Burma receiving the same treatment. 

to suspend for one year the recommendation contained in paragraph 1(b) of the 
2000  resolution  requesting  its  members  to  review  their  relationships  with 
Myanmar/Burma  to  ensure  forced  labour  is  not  being  used  in  those 
relationships, with immediate effect. The ILC will review the recommendation 
again  in  2013  in  the  light  of  information  available  to  it  in  respect  of  the 
elimination of forced labour in Myanmar/Burma.  

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

Based  on  the  above  information  the  Commission  concludes  that  the  progress  made 
by Myanmar/Burma towards complying with the ILO recommendations justifies that 
violations  of  the  principles  laid  down  in  ILO  Convention  No  29  are  no  longer 
'serious and systematic'. 

It is therefore recommended that the access to generalized tariff preferences should 
be reinstated to Myanmar/Burma.  

The Commission should continue to monitor  the developments in  Myanmar/Burma 
with respect to forced labour and react to them in accordance with the procedures in 
force, including, if necessary, with renewed withdrawal procedures.  

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