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[15 April 2009] – The Peruvian State and army must explain why a 17 year old boy, killed in a terrorist ambush last week, was recruited into the army aged 16, said Marta Maurás, a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Robinson Macedo Cima was one of 14 servicemen who died in a subversive attack on two patrols in Sanabamba Ayacucho. His 18th birthday would have been in two months. He was born on 19 June 1991, according to records held in the municipality of Coronel Portillo. “A few years ago an Optional Protocol was passed as an annex to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the subject of children and armed conflict. This prohibits the recruitment and use of children under 18 in any act of armed conflict. Therefore, if a boy under 18 years old is found in uniform and carrying arms, it is absolutely against the conventions to which the Peruvian State has subscribed”, explained Maurás on radio station San Borja. The UN representative said that both the State and the army must give an explanation on the case and ensure that this does not happen again... The mother of the boy said that her son was recruited by the army. But, how is this possible, given that so-called 'conscription' no longer exists in the the military? How can a 17 year old boy be sent to an emergency zone like the Apurímac and Ene rivers valley? When the chief of the Joint Command and Armed Forces, Francisco Contreras, was questioned about the case, he said it was an “administrative issue” which must be investigated by the institution. He added that he trusted that the general commander of this unit, Otto Guivobich, would sanction those responsible for this event. “It is very bad that minors are recruited”, he told RPP. Further information