March 8, 2005

FORCED LABOUR, FORCED MIGRATION AND TRAFFICKING

We, one hundred migrant and refugee women from Burma currently taking refuge and seeking livelihood in Thailand have discussed and explored the issues of forced labour, forced migration and trafficking in relation to women from Burma. We are women of different ethnicities with multiple experiences of forced migration. Some of us have also experienced forced labour and others trafficking.  We are all committed to   assisting our sisters who experience these human rights abuses.

We estimate that there are 2 million internally displaced persons living in desperate conditions in Burma,  120,000 refugees living on the Thai-Burma border housed in refugee camps, and well over one million migrants and their families living and working in Thailand.

We are particularly concerned that the majority of these people are currently  forced to migrate both internally and externally due to the following reasons:

• Systematic rape of ethnic women by the military
• The displacement from the building of dams on the Salween
• The building of gas pipe-lines and other development projects
• Large-scale business agricultural projects
• Armed conflict
• Severe economic hardships, lack of livelihood
• Fear of persecution 

We understand that forced migration is one unacceptable sector of migration which is caused by the deliberate policies of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to force people off their land.   The mismanagement of the economy and the natural resources restricts the self-determination of the people of Burma who then cannot choose to stay on their own land. The regime-inflicted poverty, and severe economic hardship makes migration not a choice but a necessity for survival. It is a sector of migration which with political will and commitment could be abolished. It is not a necessary factor of migration.

Women, men and children are also forced to migrate to flee from forced labour. During our exchanges among Akka, Arakine, Burman, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Kaya, Kayaw,Lahu, Mon, Pa-O, Palong,  Shan, and Tavoy women, we heard that our sisters and brothers are still forced to work for the military to build roads, bridges, and for portering. Children are abducted into the army to be child soldiers. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has condemned the military regime for the use of forced labour but the regime continues to use forced labour as a means of suppressing the people.

We understand that forced labour is one unacceptable sector of labour which is caused by the deliberate policies of the SPDC to suppress the people and feed the corruption of the regime. It is a part of labour which with political will and commitment could be abolished. It is not a necessary factor in labour.

We have heard from our brothers and sisters of a wide range of labour conditions that migrants from Burma experience in Thailand. We were encouraged that migrants from Burma could register for a temporary ID card in Thailand independent of an employer. This is particularly important for female migrants who if bound to an employer are often bound to sexual abuse and physical violence. Migrants who were able to apply for a work permit were optimistic when the Ministry of Labour clearly outlined the conditions of work to employers. Unfortunately, the workers find that many of the labour laws are still broken in their employment. Migrants in factories are working long hours for less than the minimum wage, migrants in orange orchards are spraying without being given any training on the use of pesticides, migrants on construction sites are working on tall buildings without hard hats and boots, fishermen and miners are working in conditions that local workers shun due to the high risk of death. Sex workers and domestic workers are not protected by the labour laws. These conditions are not forced labour but they are unacceptable. And we believe the tolerance for such conditions and the lack of enforcement of the labour laws creates an environment where exploitative labour conditions flourish, and where traffickers can move in and reap the benefits.

We know that some of our brothers and sisters migrate into situations of forced labour, that some of our brothers and sisters have been trafficked. We are bemused by the stance the SPDC is taking on anti-trafficking and are not convinced they are genuine. While rape and forced labour are still systematically enforced by the SPDC, any steps taken against trafficking must be seen to be purely cosmetic and in pursuit of the large amounts of funding made available on this issue. The regime has also clearly tried to enhance its credibility by hosting UN and ministerial meetings on trafficking. We believe that a regime that rapes women and forces children to be soldiers, that is the main cause of forced migration and forced labour has no credibility and has no intention of changing the root causes which allow trafficking to happen.

We heard from our sisters of the suffering of our compatriots from the tsunami in the South of Thailand. Over 2,500 migrants from Burma went missing in the tsunami, many of them feared dead. No Burmese officials visited the area or offered any  assistance whatsoever to those who lost their families and those who suffered trauma during the tsunami.  The migrants had to rely on the good will of the Royal Thai Government and assistance by local NGOs. 

We, migrant and refugee women from Burma who have been forced to migrate out of our country call on the international community to recognize the root causes of our migration, to strongly denounce the policies of the SPDC which deliberately cause forced migration.

We, migrant and refugee women from Burma call on the ILO  to make public the situation of forced labour in Burma and sanction the SPDC for its systematic use of forced labour. 

We, migrant and refugee women from Burma call on the international community to stop collaborating with the SPDC on anti-trafficking projects while the regime still contributes to forced migration and forced labour.

We, migrant  women from Burma, ask for our rights as workers to be respected and for the Royal Thai government to ensure that the labour laws are properly enforced to protect us in our work places.

We, refugee women from Burma, ask for our rights as refugees to be respected and for the Royal Thai Government to grant us permission to work and travel with documents in Thailand.

Forced migration, forced labour and trafficking are inter-connected and we therefore call on the UNCHR to take the lead in firmly addressing these human rights violations as a package and in a holistic manner  for the survival and dignity of the people of Burma.

Released by the Network of Migrant and Refugee Women from Burma
For further information please contact
MAP Foundation, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Tel:  66 53 811202 or 66 60904118
Email: women@mapfoundationcm.org