ILO Member States: Implement Resolution On Myanmar Junta
(BANGKOK, June 12, 2025)—International Labour Organization (ILO) member states and organizations should fully implement measures recommended by the ILO's governing body aimed at ending the Myanmar junta's abuses, said Fortify Rights. A resolution, passed last week by the International Labour Conference (ILC), calls on ILO member states and constituent organizations to 'disable' the junta's ability to commit atrocity crimes.
'The ILO's resolution on Myanmar lays a clear roadmap for states, trade unions, and employers' organizations to follow,' said Patrick Phongsathorn, Senior Advocate at Fortify Rights. 'While this commitment is welcomed, words are not enough. ILO member states and organizations must now act to comprehensively disable the junta's war machine through sanctions and actions targeting the junta's arms, funds, and impunity.'
Passed on June 5 by consensus during the ILC's 113th session, the resolution on Myanmar invokes Article 33 of the ILO Constitution—an article reserved to address only the most serious instances of human and labor rights abuses. The actions set out in the resolution are aimed at achieving the Myanmar junta's compliance with recommendations made by an ILO Commission of Inquiry. In its report, issued August 4, 2023, the Commission of Inquiry found that measures imposed by the Myanmar military junta have had 'a disastrous impact on the exercise of basic civil liberties,' and contravened ILO conventions on workers' rights and forced labor, to which Myanmar is a state party.
The resolution calls on governments, workers, and employers organizations to review their relations with the junta 'with the aim to disable all means that have abetted or empowered the perpetuation of … egregious violations.' It urges ILO member states and organizations to cease selling or supplying the junta with military equipment, jet fuel, and financing. Finally, the resolution calls on states to respect the principle of non-refoulement, considering that 'human rights defenders fleeing Myanmar are at serious risk of irreparable harm.'
On January 14, Fortify Rights wrote to ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo recommending measures, including targeted sanctions, protection of refugees, and accountability initiatives, to be included in the resolution on Myanmar. In the letter, Fortify Rights stated that the measures it outlined, many of which were included in the final resolution, 'are vital to protecting Myanmar's workers and ensuring that the military regime is held accountable for its ongoing abuses.'
Since the Myanmar military coup d'état in February 2021, Fortify Rights has documented extensive evidence of widespread and systematic human rights violations by the junta and its operatives that amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. In particular, Fortify Rights has documented grave breaches of the laws of war, including the use of civilians as human shields and porters, and the forced military conscription of Rohingya refugees.
'The ILO resolution on Myanmar proposes strong and potentially effective measures to end the junta's crimes,' said Patrick Phongsathorn. 'Given the overwhelming support it has garnered from ILO member states and organizations, the resolution provides a mandate for action that must be met.'
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