A/HRC/4/14 page 12 42. Cases of forced labour represent another manifestation of the culture of impunity. The Government of Myanmar has acceded to the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and in 2000 it issued an order outlawing the practice. However, there have been serious shortcomings when it comes to effective implementation. 43. Following a damning 1998 report on forced labour in Myanmar by an ILO Commission of Inquiry, a process of dialogue commenced between ILO and the Myanmar authorities in 2000 on ways to address the problem. This led to a visit by a high-level team to the country in 2001 to provide a detailed assessment of recent developments on the ground and of the obstacles to the elimination of forced labour - the first time such an assessment was able to be carried out on the territory of Myanmar (the Commission of Inquiry having been denied access to the country). Two key recommendations of the team were the establishment of a permanent ILO presence in the country and the development of a mechanism for credibly and effectively dealing with complaints from victims of forced labour. In 2002 the Myanmar authorities agreed to the appointment of an ILO liaison officer in Yangon. Discussions then began on a concrete plan of action to address forced labour, including the establishment of a complaint mechanism for victims. Although negotiations initially made reasonable progress, there were a number of obstacles which prevented the plan of action from being implemented, including death sentences pronounced against three people for alleged contacts with ILO (all were eventually released). Following the removal from office of then Prime Minister Khin Nyunt together with a number of key ministers, with whom the plan of action had been negotiated, the Myanmar authorities indicated that they would no longer consider the plan. Despite intensive negotiations since that time, the Myanmar authorities have demonstrated little concrete cooperation with ILO, and have not so far agreed to any alternative formulations. This has led ILO to resort increasingly to other measures to try to secure Myanmar’s compliance with its obligations, including calls for ILO members to review their relations with Myanmar, as well as various international legal measures. 44. As regards developments in the practice of forced labour, the assessment of the high-level team and subsequent evaluations by the ILO liaison officer have been that there has been only a very moderate positive evolution in the situation since the Commission of Inquiry. The main significant development has been that the authorities are apparently no longer requisitioning labour for major national infrastructure projects. However, forced labour continues to be widely imposed by local authorities for smaller-scale infrastructure work. The situation remains most serious in border areas, where there is ongoing insecurity and a large Army presence. In these areas, 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 of civilians as porters for the Army during patrols and military operations. In addition to the very dangerous and arduous nature of the tasks, forced labour imposed by the Army is routinely accompanied by other forms of serious human rights abuse. Major obstacles to the elimination of forced labour include the apparent lack of political will to seriously address the problem or to develop acceptable alternatives, and the continued impunity for the government officials and Army officers responsible. 45. In 2005 the Government announced a policy of prosecuting people who lodged what it considered to be “false complaints” of forced labour, leading to a situation where it is the victims rather than the perpetrators who are punished. The State-controlled press has also published articles attacking the ILO. The effect of this has been to strengthen the impunity enjoyed by those government officials who continue to impose forced labour.