In May 2005, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) global report on forced labour singled out Burma as the worst offender, referring to the "extreme case of forced labour extracted by the military in Myanmar (Burma)". The ILO has threatened to bring the Burmese junta before the International Labour Court (Burma ratified the ILO Convention, Article 29 against forced labour, in 1955), and obtained an assurance from the junta that complainants would be allowed to report the abuse to the ILO office in Rangoon. However, it has emerged that people who tried to lodge complaints have been victimized and the co-operation agreement which the ILO reached with the junta has not resulted in the progress which had been hoped. In March 2009, a senior ILO official stated that forced labour remains a serious concern in Burma.

Forced labour takes many forms in Burma. Of major concern is the abuse of ethnic minority people by the Burmese Army, which forces them to carry army goods (forced porterage), sometimes to the point of death from exhaustion and starvation. There is also evidence that the Burmese Army forces villagers to act as human mine-sweepers. Recent reports speak of a large number of child soldiers being forcibly taken from villages, as the Army increases its strength even more in ethnic minority areas. The only way in which people can avoid being taken into forced labour for the Army is to pay heavy ‘fines’ (bribes), which are often beyond their means.

Ethnic minority people are also forced to work in teak logging. Amnesty International reported that there was widespread forced labour used in this industry in the Karen and Karenni States. Tourists should be aware that many of the hotels they stay in will have been built with forced labour, and likewise the roads along which they travel.

A hidden aspect of this scourge is also the trafficking of people for sex. Although they may not appear in shackles, they are nonetheless forced into sexual slavery because of the appalling conditions which the military junta has inflicted on their families and lives. Sometimes the women and children are even sold into sexual slavery by their own relatives.

The ILO's in-depth report on Forced Labour in Myanmar (Burma) concludes with a ringing call for freedom and an end to this abuse of human beings (para. 543): (1998)

“This report reveals a saga of untold misery and suffering, oppression and exploitation of large sections of the population inhabiting Myanmar by the Government, military and other public officers. It is a story of gross denial of human rights to which the people of Myanmar have been subjected particularly since 1988 and from which they find no escape except fleeing from their country. The Government, the military and the administration seem oblivious to the human rights of the people and are trampling upon them with impunity. Their actions gravely offend human dignity and have [a] debasing effect on the civil society. ...”