Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Abolishing Slavery and its Contemporary Forms

50
Abolishing Slavery
168. The second type of supervision exercised by the ILO involves an investigation into allega-
tions that a State has failed to comply with its obligation under a convention it has ratified. It is a
mechanism whereby the ILO can undertake an examination and find a general solution in situa-
tions arising from claims of non-compliance by a State party with a ratified treaty. Representations
may be made under article 24 of the ILO Constitution by any employers’ or workers’ organization
alleging that the State is in breach of its obligation; the procedure cannot be invoked by an indi-
vidual claiming to be a victim of a violation of an ILO convention. The ILO Governing Body, if it
determines that the representation is acceptable, appoints a tripartite committee.
273
The commit-
tee’s report, which includes the Government’s response to the allegations, is sent to the Governing
Body for adoption. If the Government’s reply is unacceptable, the Governing Body can decide to
publish the presentation and reply by way of sanction. This extraordinary procedure has been pur-
sued only once; all other cases have been referred back to the Committee of Experts under the
usual supervisory system.
169. This second mechanism can also be invoked under article 26 of the ILO Constitution
whereby one State can lodge a complaint that another State has failed to observe the provisions
of a ratified treaty. That inter-State complaint mechanism has very rarely been invoked. The Gov-
erning Body can also initiate such a procedure and refer a complaint to a Commission of
Inquiry.
274
The Commission prepares a report on issues of both fact and law, setting out recom-
mendations on how to rectify the problem. The Government concerned must indicate within a
three-month period whether it accepts the Commission’s recommendations and, if not, whether it
intends to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice. This possibility of appeal has never
been used because in most cases the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry have been
accepted.
275
If a Government does not comply with the recommendation in the report, the Gov-
erning Body can, under article 33 of the ILO Constitution, recommend to the International Labour
Conference adoption of “such action as it may deem wise and expedient to secure compliance
therewith”.
276
170. The Commission of Inquiry appointed under article 26 of the ILO Constitution to examine
the compliance of Myanmar with the forced labour conventions issued a report on its findings and
recommendations in 1998. The report clearly sets out “an international labour standard that pro-
tects a fundamental human right – the right not to be reduced to a state of slavery or forced labour,
whichever form this may take”.
277
The Commission of Inquiry confirms that international law pro-
hibits absolutely any recourse to forced or compulsory labour and that any person who “violates
this peremptory norm is guilty of a crime”.
278
A year after its report was published, the Interna-
tional Labour Conference adopted a resolution condemning the Government of Myanmar for per-
sistent violations of Convention No. 29 and determining that Myanmar would receive no devel-
opment funds from the ILO and was to be suspended from ILO meetings, except insofar as either
was aimed at securing compliance with the recommendations on ending forced labour.