Executive Summary

This report is a supplement to More of the Same: Forced Labor Continues in Burma (October 2000 – September 2001), which documents the continued use of forced labor by the Burmese military despite the government’s assertions that forced labor has ended.  This report demonstrates that civilians continue to be conscripted for forced labor by military units providing security to two natural gas pipelines in southern Burma, the Yadana and Yetagun pipelines.  The multinational oil companies that operate these pipelines, including TotalFinaElf (formerly Total) of France, Premier Oil of the United Kingdom, and Unocal of the United States, continue to be morally complicit and legally responsible for the forced labor occurring in the pipeline region.

Supplemental Report: Forced Labor

Findings

Between mid-2000 and the present, EarthRights International’s ongoing investigation into the
practice of forced labor in the region of the Yadana and Yetagun pipelines in Burma has
specifically found:

• The multinational oil companies operating the gas pipelines, including Unocal, TotalFinaElf, and Premier Oil, use the Burmese military to provide security for their projects despite specific knowledge that the military has used and would continue to use forced labor, and are responsible for the abuses committed by these security forces.
• Forced labor and portering continues in the pipeline region, directed by military units providing security for the pipelines.  ERI has found the following kinds of forced labor:
  (a) Portering for the military;
  (b) Construction or repair of military camps/facilities;
  (c) National or local infrastructure project (including clearing roads, building bridges, etc.);
  and
  (d) Forced labor and porter fees related to the above.
• Order No. 1/99, which officially outlawed forced labor in Burma, has not stopped forced labor in the pipeline region or changed the practice fundamentally.  If anything, the authorities’ activities in the aftermath of Order No. 1/99 may have made the practice more insidious and difficult to eradicate in the future.  For example, ERI has found:
  (a) Threats by military commanders and soldiers of retribution if villagers tell others that
  forced labor is continuing;  
  (b) Announcements regarding no more forced labor have created confusion and fear among
  the population, resulting in an atmosphere that is not conducive to encouraging villagers
  to make complaints about ongoing forced labor.

See More of the Same for findings with respect to the continuance of forced labor in Burma generally.

Recommendations

• Forced labor remains a problem in the pipeline region, and military units providing security for the pipelines continue to conscript civilians for forced labor to benefit the pipeline projects.  The multinational oil companies involved thus continue their complicity in, and responsibility for, these human rights abuses.  ERI makes the following recommendations to the companies:
• Unocal, TotalFinaElf, Premier Oil, and other companies involved in the pipelines should immediately withdraw from the Yetagun and Yadana projects and cease all business with the Burmese regime.
• The companies should immediately terminate any payments, support, or promises to pay any members of the Burmese military for anything relating to the pipeline projects, as well as any agreements or contracts for the Burmese military to provide security or other services to the pipeline projects, and terminate reliance on the military for security for the pipeline projects.

The companies should condemn the use of forced labor by the Burmese military and publicly accept their responsibility for forced labor conscripted by military units providing security for their projects.

See More of the Same for EarthRights International’s general recommendations to the Burmese government and the international community.