A/HRC/42/CRP.5 was caught in the middle of an exchange of gunfire between the AA and Tatmadaw soldiers. He was fortunate to escape without injury.900 396. Despite being aware of the risks posed by landmines laid by the AA, the Tatmadaw has forced both Rakhine and Chin villagers to porter for them in areas where they are at risk of landmine explosions.901 The Mission also received reports of ethnic Rakhine and Chin men being forced to serve as guides for the Tatmadaw, requiring them to walk at the front of the patrol in what could amount to purposeful or de facto minesweeping.902 An elderly ethnic Rakhine man described how he and another elderly man were forced to walk at the front of a group of Tatmadaw soldiers through the jungle. The man described how a commander ordered, “all of you follow behind the old men”. 903 Another ethnic Rakhine man recalled how three villagers had to walk at the front of a military column after having carried heavy goods. As they did so there was an explosion that was consistent with a landmine explosion.904 397. The Myanmar Government has denied allegations of forced labour, claiming the Tatmadaw pays civilians for their work.905 Despite these claims, the Mission notes that the practice of non-payment for work remains widespread.906 Both Chin and Rakhine villagers who performed forced labour told the Mission that they received no compensation for their work.907 In some cases, payment was received but it was insufficient and inadequate. 908 One Chin man stated: “For the Tatmadaw, sometimes they pay us for this work, but they do not really pay the real price. But we just have to accept whatever they give us”.909 Even when paid, the work is compulsory. Even when the work puts them at grave risk, villagers are unable to refuse to undertake the tasks that soldiers order them to do. 910 (a) Conclusions and legal findings 398. The International Labour Organization’s Forced Labour Convention 1930 (No. 29), which Myanmar acceded to in 1955, defines forced or compulsory labour as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily”. The Mission provided a legal assessment of forced labour in its 2018 report.911 In summation, international human rights law prohibits forced or compulsory labour. Prohibitions to that effect feature in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 912 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child,913 to both of which Myanmar is a party. Forced labour is also prohibited under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as a form of slavery. 914 It also amounts to de facto deprivation of liberty under international human rights law. As such, people used in forced labour must be treated in a manner that respects their inherent 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 LI-170. CI-247, CI-250, LI-143, LI-216. LI-136, LI-137, LI-173, LI-216, CI-281.CI-255, Chin Human Rights Organization, Stable and Secure: An Assessment on the Current Context of Human Rights for Chin People in Burma/Myanmar (October 2018). LI-136. CI-281. https://www.facebook.com/rfaburmese/videos/426566111529609/, See also ILO, C.App./Myanmar/C29 (June 2019). See e.g. ILO Governing Body decision,adopted in March 2019 and ILO Committee on the Application of Standards, Myanmar, June 2019 C.App./Myanmar/C29. CI-260, LI-143, LI-146, LI-150, LI-151. LI-146, LM-043, Chin Human Rights Organization, “Tatmadaw Initiate Widespread Forced Labour Demands on Chin Civilians in Effort to Keep Light Infantry Division Stocked with Food Supplies” (News Release, 24 May 2019). LI-146. CI-247, CI-248, CI-250, CI-252, CI-255, LI-143, LI-146, LI-147, LM-043. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, paras. 254-257. ICESCR, art. 6.1. Myanmar signed the ICESCR in July 2015 and became a party to it on 6 October 2017. CRC, art. 32. UDHR, art. 4 113