Burma: Demobilize Child Soldiers
U.N. Committee Finds Burma in Violation of International Law
(New
York, June 4, 2004) — The Burmese government should take immediate steps to
demobilize child soldiers from its national army, Human Rights Watch said
today. Earlier today, a U.N. committee found that Burma is violating
international law by recruiting and using children as soldiers.
The
U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, which includes 18 child rights
experts from around the world, stated that is was “extremely concerned” at the
use of children as soldiers by both governmental armed forces and armed ethnic
opposition groups. Meeting in Geneva,
the committee issued its findings following a formal review of Burma’s
compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely
ratified treaty in the world.
The
Committee issued specific recommendations urging the Burmese government to
demobilize and reintegrate of all combatants under 18, ensure that all military
recruits are at least 18 and enlist voluntarily, and provide educational and
other assistance to children affected by the conflict.
“Burma’s
use of children as soldiers is unacceptable,” said Jo Becker, advocacy director
for the Children’s Rights Division. “Rangoon should act immediately on the U.N.
recommendations and end this terrible practice.”
A
2002 investigation by Human Rights Watch found widespread forced recruitment of
children as young as 11 by government forces and concluded that Burma has the
largest number of child soldiers in the world. According to accounts of former
government soldiers interviewed by Human Rights Watch, 20 percent or more of
its active duty soldiers may be children under the age of 18. Burma is believed
to have an estimated 350,000 soldiers in its national army.
Armed
opposition groups in Burma also recruit child soldiers, although on a much
smaller scale. Human Rights Watch documented the use of child soldiers by 19
different armed opposition groups.
In
an October report to the U.N. Security Council, Secretary-General Kofi Annan
identified the Burmese government and armed opposition groups in Burma as
violators of international laws prohibiting the recruitment and use of children
as soldiers. In response, Burmese authorities announced a new Committee to
Prevent the Recruitment of Child Soldiers.
“The
government’s action to form a committee to prevent child recruitment is a
positive step,” said Becker. “But the government must do more. It should
immediately demobilize all children currently in its forces, and remove all
incentives for recruiters to target children.”
Recruiters
for Burma’s army frequently apprehend boys at train and bus stations, markets
and other public places, threatening them with jail if they refuse to join the
army. Former child soldiers interviewed by Human Rights Watch reported that
recruiters frequently receive cash and bags of rice in exchange for each new
recruit. After brutal training, child soldiers are deployed into units, where
some are forced to fight against ethnic armed opposition groups. Many are also
forced to commit human rights abuses against civilians, including rounding up
villagers for forced labor, burning villages, and carrying out executions.
“The
Burmese government is seeking to improve its image and gain international
recognition,” said Becker. “If the government is really serious about its
promised reform agenda, it urgently needs to improve its record on child
rights.”
The
Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits any recruitment of children
under the age of 15 or their use in armed conflict. It also upholds stronger
applicable national laws. Because Burma’s national law sets a higher age limit
of 18 for any recruitment into the military, this age limit also applies under
international law.
Human
Rights Watch urged the government of Burma to ratify the Optional Protocol to
the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in
armed conflict, which sets 18 as the minimum age for participation in armed
conflict, for compulsory or forced recruitment, and for any recruitment by
nongovernmental armed groups. During the government’s appearance before the
Committee on May 26, the delegation indicated that the government was reviewing
the protocol and considering ratification.
The
Committee on the Rights of the Child assesses states’ compliance with the
Convention on the Rights of the Child approximately every five years. Governments
are required to submit written reports and also send delegations to appear
before the Committee.
Burma
ratified the Convention in 1991, and was last examined by the Committee in
1997.
Human
Rights Watch’s 2002 report, My Gun Was as Tall as Me: Child Soldiers in Burma,
can be found online at www.hrw.org/reports/2002/burma/
The
Committee on the Rights of the Child’s concluding observations on Burma can be
found at http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/crp/docs/crc-observations2004.pdf
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