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Summary: The information below is based on the 2011 report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council (A/65/820-S/2011/250) issued on 23 April 2011. More information is available in the report.
Scroll down for UN documents on Children and Armed Conflict in Myanmar. Of the 93 child soldiers notified as having been discharged from the Tatmadaw through government mechanisms from January to December 2010, the country task forces on monitoring and reportingverified that 40 had been recruited during 2010, with the remaining 53 recruited in 2009. However, this most likely does not represent the total number of children recruited, given that ILO received 201 complaints of child soldier recruitment in 2010 (a significant increase over the 86 complaints received in 2009), and there continued to be a steady stream of underage recruitment reports submitted regularly to the task force. In 2010, the task force regularly followed up on reported cases, but access restrictions in Myanmar continued to limit the number of cases that the task force is able to verify. Analysis of verified cases and credible reports indicates that, despite progress made by the Government, the patterns of recruitment of underage children into the Tatmadaw did not alter significantly, and still included the recruitment of working and unaccompanied children from the streets, railway stations or other public places, although the majority of children were recruited from their homes or villages. Most cases of recruitment were of children between 15 to 17 years of age, and the majority were from Yangon division. Children continue to be persuaded or duped by relatives (working in the Tatmadaw), soldiers (to earn a promotion or other incentives) and other brokers to join the Tatmadaw. The majority of children interviewed after discharge stated that the recruiter had not requested for the age of the child, or had falsified the age of the child upon recruitment. Credible reports indicate that, in addition to children who are officially recruited into the Tatmadaw, children are used by the Tatmadaw as porters, and as labour for road construction, kitchen work, farming, and aides-de-camp to high-ranking officers. Reports also confirm the recruitment and use of children by village militias known as “Pyi thu sit”. Children were still present in the ranks of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), based in Pa’an district of Kayin State. Three cases were verified, involving three boys between the ages of 11 and 15, who were recruited by DKBA battalions 555 and 907, respectively, prior to 2010. Testimonies by these children, who had separated from DKBA in 2010, point to the presence of many other children in the armed group. Credible information indicated that children are also present in the ranks of the Kachin Independence Army, KNU/KNLA Peace Council, the Karen Peace Front, KNPP/KA, the Shan State Army-South and the United Wa State Army. However, the country task force on monitoring and reporting has been unable to establish contact with these groups or to directly monitor the presence of children in these groups owing to access restrictions placed on it by the Government. The Karen National People’s Liberation Front and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army/Kokang Army, listed in annex I of my 2010 report (A/64/742-S/2010/181), have now been integrated into the Tatmadaw border guard forces (Border Guard Force 1004 and Border Guard Force 1006, respectively). A DKBA breakaway faction has also been integrated into the border guard forces. Further, one case of a child associated with KNU/KNLA was verified in 2010. The boy reported that he performed administrative tasks for the group and that there were two other boys present in the camp. Children in military attire were spotted in the Chin National Front/Chin National Army (CNF/CNA) in Tongzam and Tedim in north-west Chin State. This would be a breach of the CNF “deed of commitment” published on 15 March 2009, in which it reaffirmed that the group does not recruit any persons under the age of 18, and reiterated its commitment to facilitating independent monitoring and to developing a time-bound action plan, in accordance with Security Council resolution1612 (2005). There were a number of media reports in 2010 of children being killed or maimed during skirmishes involving the Tatmadaw, DKBA, KNLA, KA or Mon Pyi Thit, or by landmines and unexploded ordnance. In a verified case, on 31 March 2010, two boys under the age of 10 accidentally detonated an unexploded round from a M-79 grenade launcher while playing in Hlaingbwe Township in Kayin State. One of the boys died instantly, whereas the second boy was seriously injured. The Tatmadaw, DKBA and KNLA make regular use of M-79 grenade launchers in that area. There were many additional allegations in 2010 of children being directly targeted and killed and maimed by parties to the conflict (the majority of cases reported involving the Tatmadaw and DKBA). The country task forces on monitoring and reporting was unable to verify these cases, owing to access limitations imposed on the task force by the Government of Myanmar. Access to vulnerable groups in many areas of the country, including children, remained limited for United Nations agencies and other international humanitarian actors in Myanmar. The Government continued to restrict access to various parts of the country, citing security concerns as the main justification for limiting the presence and travel of international (as well as national) personnel of relief agencies. Access was limited in ceasefire and non-ceasefire areas, including mixed administration areas. There have been a number of media reports of attacks on schools or hospitals by the Tatmadaw and DKBA in Kayin State. The country task force on monitoring and reporting has been able to verify only two reports, as access is either severely limited or forbidden by the authorities. These involved an offensive conducted by Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalions 362 and 367 in Ler Doh Township, Nyunglebin District, Kayin State. Between 3 and 8 February 2010, the battalions caused a large number of people to be displaced and 13 schools with a total of 531 students to be abandoned. Of these schools, a high school and a nursery in Thi Baw Tha, Kwee Lah village tract were destroyed. In addition, Thi Baw Tha Clinic, serving approximately 3,000 people, was burned down. It is unclear whether villagers were able to return to their homes by the end of the reporting period, as access to this region is severely curtailed. The Government shared documents that indicated that from January to May 2010, 43 Tatmadaw soldiers were either warned, demoted, had their pay and allowance cut, received a serious reprimand or were imprisoned in military and civilian jails, in connection with the illegal recruitment of children. This represents a significant increase compared to 2009, when only 22 disciplinary action cases involving military personnel were reported by the Ministry of Defence. However, the country task force on monitoring and reporting, while welcoming and noting the steep increase in sanctions and penalties meted out to perpetrators, remains of the view that this falls short of the urgent need for the Government to systematize disciplinary processes against perpetrators (both military and civilian). As far as the task force is aware, no civilians who may have aided and abetted underage recruitment have faced criminal prosecution. The Government has also failed to take steps to criminalize the recruitment and use of children by non-State armed groups. The country task forces on monitoring and reporting previously reported the welcome development of the Government accepting the principle that underage recruits charged with desertion should be discharged and released from prison on the basis of their illegal recruitment. ILO reports that, to date, 7 (1 in 2010) such imprisoned underage recruits have been released from prison and discharged from the military, with negotiations continuing for the release of another 10 such persons. Unfortunately, the arrests of young “deserters” have continued and no pro-active action to identify such persons currently imprisoned has been taken. Also welcomed is the Government acceptance of the principle that a child recruit attaining the legal age of majority does not legitimize his recruitment, his continued retention in the army or his being charged with subsequent desertion. In 2010, there was a marked increase in reporting of underage recruitment into the country task forces on monitoring and reportingand other child protection organizations. This can be attributed in part to more effective cooperation between the Government and members of the task force on the issue, not only at the national level, but also at local level, where awareness of local officials has been increasing. Reporting has also increased in project areas where broader mechanisms for child protection have been put in place by local officials with the support of child protection agencies and their local child protection partners. On 4 November 2010, the Government enacted the People’s Military Service Law, which, to the knowledge of the country task forces onmonitoring and reporting, has not yet entered into force. The law stipulates that men between the ages of 18 and 35 and women between the ages of 18 and 27 may be summoned for military service for a period not exceeding 24 months (or 36 months in the case of a defined class of professional and skilled personnel). The task force remains concerned with the possible implementation of this legislation considering systemic issues for age verification. The Government of Myanmar has not yet signed the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. In Myanmar, progress was made in the action plan negotiations between the Government and the country task force on monitoring and reporting to end the recruitment and use of children by the Tatmadaw Kyi. The Committee for the Prevention of Military Recruitment of Underage Minors, chaired by the Adjutant-General of the Tatmadaw, agreed to form a technical panel to negotiate the action plan. The panel met to consider the draft action plan put forward by the task force. In October and November, the task force was invited to discuss the action plan with the Government with a view to signing the action plan at the earliest opportunity. While the positive commitments made by the Government on the draft action plan are noted by the task force, some crucial elements of the action plan, including access for monitoring, require further discussions. There has been no progress on dialogue with listed non-State armed groups in Myanmar. In 2010, the Government again refused access to these groups, despite continued high-level advocacy from the task force. Security Council resolution 1612 (2005) underlines the primary role of States in providing effective protection and relief to all children affected by armed conflict. To date, however, prevention and response activities provided by the Government have involved the Tatmadaw, and have not reached children purported to be present in the other listed parties in Myanmar. Further, the protection of children in armed conflict has also not been included in the comprehensive strategy to negotiate transformation of ceasefire groups to border guard forces or to resolve the conflict with the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA), the Karenni National Progressive Party/Karenni Army (KNPP/KA) or the Shan State Army-South. According to official reports made available by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 110 child soldiers (all male) were released from the Tatmadaw Kyi through Government mechanisms during the year (bringing the total of child soldiers notified as discharged to the country task forces on monitoring and reporting since 2006 to 383). Of the 110 child soldiers, 40 were released in response to complaints lodged under the supplementary understanding complaints mechanism for the elimination of forced labour of the International Labour Organization (ILO). In 2010, 184 children received reintegration support from UNICEF, Save the Children, World Vision and other child protection partners, in support of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. In 2010, the Government shared details of a number of new military instructions issued on the prevention of underage recruitment and granted greater access to UNICEF, on behalf of the country task forces on monitoring and reporting, to recruitment units to observe recruitment procedures. This did not extend to military training schools or operational units. During these visits, greater rigour in the screening process was observed. The rejection of prospective recruits due to invalid age verification documentation or to the fact that they were underage was also observed. Further, it was brought to the United Nations notice that the Directorate for Military Strength in Nay Pyi Taw holds a database of children rejected by recruitment units and who are not included in the lists of released children shared with the task force. This measure has been put in place to ensure that underage recruits rejected in one unit are not brought elsewhere for recruitment. From the ILO experience, from late 2009 onwards, it appears that, of the four main recruitment units, recruitment unit No. 1 in Da-nyin-gone, Yangon, seems to be applying a more rigorous screening mechanism. In a number of cases, reports were received that underage recruits were initially rejected when presented to this centre, but were accepted at other more remote or less rigorous centres when presented there. Although these steps reflected positive progress in terms of prevention and discharge and cooperation with the country task forces onmonitoring and reporting, the Government had yet to draw up a plan to systematically identify and separate children being used by the Tatmadaw Kyi, and the discharge of children continued to be undertaken on an ad hoc basis as a response to complaints. this party has sought to conclude an action plan with the United Nations in line with Security Council resolutions 1539 (2004) and 1612 (2005), but the United Nations has been prevented from doing so by the Government of Myanmar this party has sought to conclude an action plan with the United Nations in line with Security Council resolutions 1539 (2004) and 1612 (2005), but the United Nations has been prevented from doing so by the Government of Myanmar * Parties that recruit and use children. UN documents on Children and Armed Conflict in Myanmar: Information on progress made by parties to conflict on dialogue and action plans to halt the recruitment and use of children, patterns of killing and maiming of children or rape and other forms of sexual violence against children in armed conflict
Information on progress made in the release of children from armed forces and armed groups
Parties in Myanmar