Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will address an International Labour Organization conference in Geneva next month, on her first trip outside Burma, in 24 years.
The ILO says Ms Suu Kyi will address the final day of the conference, which is expected to discuss the issue of forced labour in Burma.
The Bangkok-based Arakan Project researches and monitors the Rohingyas in Burma.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Chris Lewa, founder and director, The Arakan Project
The ILO says Ms Suu Kyi will address the final day of the conference, which is expected to discuss the issue of forced labour in Burma.
Aid groups say while the situation has improved a little, ethnic communities like the Rohingyas of Arakan state are still at risk.
The Bangkok-based Arakan Project researches and monitors the Rohingyas in Burma.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Chris Lewa, founder and director, The Arakan Project
LEWA: One shocking situation that the Rohingyas faced in Arakan, is that the fact that they have to apply for an official marriage permission for a couple to get married. And when they get that, they need to sign an undertaking that they won't have more than two children. And if a couple married without official permission, the husband can be prosecuted and spend five years in detention. And there are many people, for example, in Buthidaung jail, which is the main jail in north Arakan, who are imprisoned for this particular reason. Of course, the issue of marriage permission, I think that should be lifted and it's only imposed on the Rohingya population in Burma. No other community has to suffer this. And of course, citizenship. For me, that is a key right that the Rohingya should have and have the right to have, is to become recognised as a citizen in Burma. And of course, forced labour also should be eradicated. It's good there is a plan now, signed between the government and the ILO for the total eradication of forced labour in 2015. Well, I hope it will be implemented. So there are many issues, but that I think to me, are the main ones. There's been a little progress, but very very small. For example, recently, the government decided that the Rohingyas no longer needed to apply for travel permission, to go from village to village. But of course, they still need to get permission to travel from township to township, and north Arakan, where the majority of Rohingyas are concentrated, there're only three townships and basically, they're not allowed to go beyond these three townships. So, freedom of movement is not open to them, it's just slightly eased.
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