Committee Meeting: Prevention of Child Soldiers Recruitment

A Committee on Prevention of Recruitment of Child Soldiers held its meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by Committee Chairman, member of the State Administration Council, Deputy Prime Minister, and Union Minister for Defence Admiral Tin Aung San.

He highlighted the ongoing cooperation between Myanmar and the Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (CTFMR) since June 2012 to implement the Plan of Action on the Prevention of Child Soldier Recruitment.

As part of this Action Plan, over 1,000 individuals have been handed over to their guardians, and plans are underway for the resignation of 120 individuals sent by the CTFMR during 2023. He emphasized that systematic measures are being taken to avoid the recruitment of underage children, in accordance with the People’s Military Service Law.

Admiral Tin Aung San also addressed the 2023 Report of the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, which accused the Tatmadaw and related associations and People’s Militia of recruiting over 1,100 children and violating six major cases.

The CTFMR reported nine suspected child soldiers, however, the report exaggerated the number to over 1,100 individuals. Myanmar has sent an objection statement to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and has also released this information through state-owned media.

The meeting further discussed the work undertaken by respective working groups on the prevention of child soldier recruitment, the progress of implementing decisions from previous meetings, and future plans.