After years of infighting the International Labor Organization is going to attempt to press charges against the Burma regime for it's continuous use of forced labor at the International Court of Justice. This practice has been particularly prevalent in the eastern ethnic regions as of late. The ILO will also be addressing the United Nations Security Council on the matter. One problem that will surely crop up is that Burma is not a signed member of the ICJ and there will be a debate on whether any authority can be stretched of her.
Any member of the ILO can simultaneously request a binding ruling from the court that can be enforceable by the UN Security Council, a process that would likely take up to two years. How exactly the situation would play out is still unclear given that the ILO is now entering uncharted territory, which is further obscured by the legal complexity such a case poses.
Yesterday the Washington Post did a widely publicized piece on the recent upserge of the junta targeting minorities which includes a video "Nightmare in Eastern Burma". The US Campaign for Burma was so excited to see the story featured on the front page of the Washington Post website that they quickly sent out an email to all Burma interested parties to state the victory of the issue getting national attention. A victory it was indeed.
The UN News Center reports that,
On Myanmar, delegates requested “that the Government conclude with the ILO such an agreement as a matter of utmost urgency and decided to place on the agenda of its March 2007 session a specific item to enable it to move on legal options, including involving the International Court of Justice (the UN’s highest tribunal),”
There is a draft resolution before the UN calling for stronger measures to be taken against the pariah state.
A current outline of the resolution demands that the military regime look into attacks against ethnic Karen in eastern Burma and to investigate the attack on democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and her entourage in Sagaing Division in 2003.
While the draft urges cooperation it is far from enforcing it.
You can view a recent Nov. 2006 report on forced labor in Burma released by Altsean (Alternative Asean Network on Burma) titled, Forced Labor in Burma: Time for Action (pdf).
