Rights groups want UNSC to protect children in Burma

by Salai Pi Pi
Tuesday, 10 November 2009 21:06

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Rights groups have demanded that the United Nations Security Council Working Group closely monitor the progress of work on eliminating violations against children and the use of child soldiers in military-ruled Burma.

While supporting the conclusion of the SCWG on Children and Armed Conflict on Burma, four rights groups including London-based Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, released a joint statement on Monday calling for the immediate implementation of UNSC’s resolutions on Burma.

“The limited measures so far taken by the government [Burmese junta] have failed to bring an end to recruitment and use of children by the armed forces or prevented other grave violations against them,” said a joint statement quoting data collected by NGOs working inside Burma.

“It is thus imperative that the SCWG closely monitor the situation to ensure its recommendations are implemented without delay,” the statement added.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has listed the Burmese Army and several ethnic armed groups in his reports to the Security Council as violating international standards prohibiting the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

UNSC on August 4 unanimously adopted a new landmark resolution on children and armed conflict and called upon Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to expand his "list of shame" on the recruitment and use of children in armed forces.

Earlier, the SCWG had called all parties, the Burmese Army and ethnic armed groups, to agree to time-bound action plans to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers; to end the impunity with which violence is perpetrated on children; and to provide full and unimpeded access to all areas of Myanmar [Burma] to facilitate the monitoring and reporting of violations and to assist victims more effectively.

Aung Myo Min, Director of Thailand based Human Rights and Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) said the Burmese military regime did not allow the UN Country Task Force including the ILO to see the conditions in armed conflict areas, despite some ethnic armed group such as Karen National Union (KNU), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and Chin National Front (CNF) willing to cooperate with the UN.

“As they [Country Task Force] were not allowed to access the conflict areas, the work is delayed,” Aung Myo Min told Mizzima on Tuesday.

“There is no sign of decrease in the number of child soldiers recruited and used in the army,” he added.

Aung Myo Min said around 30 children from Pegu division north of former capital Rangoon were forcibly recruited in the Burmese Army in the last three months.

The joint statement said the recent outbreak of fighting in Kokang in northern Shan state and Karen areas in eastern Burma had worsened the already grave situation for children in Burma and called for an urgent need to step up the protection of children’s rights.

It also warned that in the run up to the 2010 elections, the Burmese regime is pushing ‘cease-fire groups’ to transform into border guard forces” under Burmese Army control. This has resulted in an upswing in violence in some of the conflict and ceasefire areas placing children at increased risk of human rights abuses.

“If no progress is achieved by the end of this year, the SCWG should consider imposing a three-month time frame for specific steps to be taken,” the statement said.

The four organizations are Thailand based Human Rights and Education Institute of Burma (HREIB), Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) and New York based Watch List on Children and Armed Conflict.