Ei-iE

The Third World Congress of Education International, meeting in Jomtien, Thailand, from 25 to 29 July, 2001:

1. Notes with concern the systematic and increasingly severe violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in Burma;

2. Condemns the military government for not convening the National Convention since 1996 in order to implement its commitment to the international community to take the steps necessary to recognise the democratically elected government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi;

3. Notes the increased repression of any form of public political activity along with the systematic surveillance of those exercising their rights to freedom of thought, expression, assembly and association as well as the harassment of their families;

4. Deplores the fact that multinational companies support dictatorship in Burma through their activities in the country;

5. Deplores the continued extra-judicial, summary and arbitrary executions, torture and abuse of women and children by government agents;

6. Further deplores the imposition of oppressive measures directed at ethnic and religious minorities;

7. Condemns the violations of human rights including systematic programmes of forced relocation directed against ethnic minorities as well as the use of forced labour, trafficking, sexual violence and exploitation, committed by military personnel and especially directed at women who are returning refugees, the internally displaced, members of ethnic minorities or members of the political opposition;

8. Equally condemns the severe restrictions on all forms of domestic media and international publications;

9. Deeply concerned at violations of the rights of children and youth including lack of access to schools and the closure for over three years of most higher education institutions;

The Third World Congress of Education International:

10. Calls on the United Nations to insist that the military government of Burma implement the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma, as well as encouraging UN Member States to implement the resolution on Burma adopted by the 2001 ILO General Conference;

11. Requests the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations to hold a special session to outline the steps to be taken to get the military government of Burma to conform to UN resolutions;

12. Urges EI member organisations to lobby their government and the WTO to insist that WTO procedures cannot be used to stop countries wishing to impose sanctions on Burma because of its human rights violations;

13. Urges EI member organisations to ask their governments to support activities that will assist Burmese refugees and in particular to provide opportunities for education for Burmese students;

14. Encourages EI member organisations to include programmes to assist the refugees on the Thai/ Burmese border in the provision of education programmes;

15. Calls on EI member organisations to undertake a programme at the national level to raise awareness of the plight of Burmese citizens and to support initiatives, including unrestricted communication and access to Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the National League for Democracy, to ensure respect for the ILO Convention on Forced Labour, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other human rights instruments.