Supervising labour standards and human rights: The case of forced labour in Myanmar (Burma)

This report reveals a saga of untold misery and suffering, oppression and e xploitation of large sections of the population inhabiting Myanmar by the G overnment, military and other public officers. It is a story of gross denia l of human rights to which the people of Myanmar have been subjected partic ularly since 1988 and from which they find no escape except fleeing from th e country. The Government, the military and the administration seem oblivio us to the human rights of the people and are trampling upon them with impun ity. Their actions gravely offend human dignity and have [a] debasing effec t on the civil society. History shows that where human rights are denied or violated in any part of the world, it is bound to have a chain effect on t he other parts of the world (ILO, 1998a, para. 543, p. 160).