A/HRC/7/18 page 8 one month only, as opposed to the previous period of three months. The new tightened rules also require foreigners working for those organizations to be accompanied by a ministry liaison officer when travelling around the country. The new rules prohibit the collection of information other than that related to public health. 29. The Special Rapporteur also denounces the serious violations of medical neutrality brought to his attention since the establishment of the mandate. Late in 2007, two health workers were reportedly kept by the State Peace and Development Council and the community that the doctors were servicing had to pay for their release. One doctor in charge of a clinic was allegedly killed by soldiers of the State Peace and Development Council in October 2007 near Bu Thaw Plaw clinic. Seven health workers have died since 1998. 30. The Special Rapporteur takes notes of the positive news issued in January 2008 by World Food Programme (WFP) that its food assistance activities in the country would expand in 2008. At the end of the first year of its 3-year programme, WFP has reached 500,000 beneficiaries, thereby allowing vulnerable communities to overcome chronic food shortages. The Special Rapporteur noted with satisfaction that the Government of Myanmar facilitates the work of WFP by granting access to several of the most marginalized areas of the country. Recently, in North Rakhine, the authorities eased procedures to help speed up the delivery of food to returned communities. It is hoped that this initiative will be replicated elsewhere and that the Government will also address restrictions imposed on some categories of the population in Rakhine State, such as the restriction of movement outside their village tract, which affects food security in the area as well as being a violation of the basic human rights. B. Forced labour 31. The Government of Myanmar has acceded to a number of International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, including the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87). Although the Government issued in 2000 an order outlawing the practice of forced labour, there have been serious shortcomings when it comes to effectively enforcing it. 32. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the conclusion, in February 2007, of a supplementary understanding between ILO and the Government to establish a mechanism for victims of forced labour to seek redress. He noted that some of the cases had been resolved successfully, demonstrating the value of the complaint mechanism. While the Special Rapporteur is aware of the current limitations of the mechanism in the present context, he strongly encourages the Government to collaborate with the liaison officer to strengthen its effectiveness. He notes with satisfaction the agreement reached on 26 February 2008 to extend the supplementary Understanding for a further 12-month trial period subject to its submission to the ILO Governing Body at its March meeting. 33. One major development is that the authorities are apparently no longer requisitioning labour for national infrastructure projects. Nonetheless, forced labour continues to be widely imposed by local authorities for public infrastructure and services work. The situation remains most serious in border areas, where the army continues to impose forced labour on a widespread and systematic basis for a range of military and infrastructure-related purposes, including the use