Myanmar at the crossroads: A vote for Article 33 is a vote for democracy

26 May 2025

2021 Myanmar military coup: A democracy dismantled

On 1 February, 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup that dismantled Myanmar’s democratic progress and violently stripped the people of Myanmar of their dreams and aspirations.

In the November 2020 general elections for the Union Parliament, the ruling party, National League for Democracy (NLD), won 396 seats — surpassing its 2015 result — and secured over 80% of the contested seats.

Refusing to accept defeat, the military and the military-backed opposition party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), staged a coup in the early hours of 1 February 2021. They detained President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, senior NLD leaders, and more than 45 regional government officials affiliated with the NLD.

Military-affiliated First Vice President Myint Swe was appointed as acting president. He invoked Article 417 of the 2008 Constitution to declare a one-year state of emergency and handed over full legislative, executive, and judicial powers to Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing. Min Aung Hlaing immediately established the State Administration Council (SAC) and assumed its leadership.

The SAC remains in control today, continuing its assault, repression, and persecution of civilians, including trade union leaders who resist military rule.

Voices from the ground: The legitimate tripartite representatives of the National Unity Government

Three years on, Myanmar is mired in human rights, political, and economic crisis. Trade unions are banned, thousands have been arrested, and civilians continue to suffer under a regime marked by violence, forced displacement, and fear.

This year’s 113th International Labour Conference (ILC) marks a critical turning point. A resolution under Article 33 of the ILO Constitution — a rarely used but powerful mechanism — has been placed on the agenda.

Earlier this month, I spoke directly with tripartite representatives of the National Unity Government (NUG), Myanmar’s legitimate civilian government composed of elected lawmakers, ethnic leaders, and civil society organisations.

They delivered a unified and urgent appeal to the international labour movement:

1. We urge all legitimate delegations to the International Labour Conference (ILC) to reject the junta’s credentials and support the participation of the NUG’s legitimate tripartite representatives. The junta has organised puppet trade unions and employers’ organisations to obtain delegate credentials for the ILC as the national delegation. They are also preparing a final lobbying push in Geneva to block the Article 33 resolution. Recognising these illegitimate actors would undermine the ILO’s integrity. Meanwhile, supporting the NUG’s genuine tripartite representatives will ensure that the voices of Myanmar’s workers, employers, and people are heard on the conference floor.
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2. We urge all ILC delegations to denounce the junta’s announcement of “free and fair elections” in December. The junta has declared that it will hold general elections later this year as part of a supposed transition to civilian rule. But how can a military that has violently robbed people of their freedom and continues to launch attacks against its own population be trusted to conduct “free and fair” elections? This is a blatant attempt to gain false international legitimacy. Do not be deceived by the junta’s rhetoric.
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3. We call for the urgent adoption of the Article 33 resolution at the ILC. Since the devastating earthquake on 28 March, many lives have been lost, and thousands continue to live in severe hardship. Although large quantities of humanitarian aid, including food, have been sent from abroad, they are not reaching the people who need them most. The military is blocking or diverting aid as it consolidates power. The fastest and most effective way to deliver humanitarian assistance and restore democratic governance is to remove the junta from power. For that, we need the full and immediate implementation of the Article 33 resolution.

Adopting the Article 33 resolution: A clear “NO” to the military junta

At this year’s International Labour Conference (ILC), a resolution is expected that will send a clear “no” to Myanmar’s military authorities. However, some governments remain hesitant to support it. According to an ITUC affiliate, one such government is facing pressure from domestic companies operating in or trading with Myanmar.

The ILO’s mandate is to set international labour standards, monitor compliance, and support implementation through technical cooperation. However, Article 33 of its Constitution provides that if a country fails to act on tripartite recommendations, the ILO may take “wise and expedient” measures in response.

The path to the resolution is though and deliberate — starting with the 2022 report of the ILO Commission of Inquiry, followed by discussions in the Committee on the Application of Standards and other supervisory bodies, and culminating in its inclusion on the 113th ILC agenda by the Governing Body in March 2024. (For more, see Why democracy in Myanmar demands an Article 33 resolution – not technical cooperation.)

What makes this resolution different from the two previous Article 33 cases — Myanmar in 2000 (violation of Convention No. 29) and Belarus in 2023 (violation of Convention No. 87) — is that it calls for action not against the state, but specifically against the military authorities. The international community — including the UN, ILO, and ITUC — does not recognise the junta as Myanmar’s legitimate representative.

From the shadows of repression: A message from a trade union leader in Myanmar

Amid the high-level negotiations at the International Labour Conference, we must not lose sight of the workers on the ground who must be at the centre of our decisions. Behind every clause of the Article 33 resolution are workers who continue to risk their lives for freedom and dignity.

One of them is Brother Maung Maung, President of Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM). His words are not just testimony — they are a call to action to all the social partners gathering at the ILC:

The upcoming 113th International Labour Conference is where all of you have the right to vote and help us get rid of the brutal military junta of Myanmar — the same junta that tried to shoot me and the CTUM team with rockets fired from a plane, bombed a primary school, and killed 22 young children and two teachers.

It took 24 years of struggle to achieve partial democracy in 2012, and yet again, the junta destroyed all of those achievements in 2021.

The military junta remains the same, only more brutal toward workers and civilians.

We worked through the ILO complaints mechanism to get to this point. Your vote will help us remove the military junta — the same military junta that is not allowed to sit at ASEAN high-level ministerial meetings or at UN bodies due to its atrocities.

We need your support and your vote.

We ask you to urge your social partners to do the right thing and support the Article 33 resolution. In doing so, they will stand — with clear conscience — with the people, employers, and workers of Myanmar.

Let us stand on the right side of history

Let us call on all ILC delegates — governments, employers, and workers’ representatives — to stand of the right side of history and to:

• Adopt the Article 33 resolution.
• Reject the junta’s credentials and recognise the NUG’s tripartite representatives.
• Denounce the junta’s sham election.
• Support the restoration of democracy and the protection of workers’ rights in Myanmar.

Let the people of Myanmar know that the international labour movement stands with them.

Shoya Yoshida
General Secretary
ITUC-Asia Pacific

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