[NYTr] Child soldier use rises globally, But Myanmar Deserves Its Own BBC Story

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

[2 items from tsimonds via activ-l; 3+ years ago, the use of child
soldiers was said to be increasing globally, an NGO rights group
reported at the UN. This has been hghlighted especially in Africa by
international reporters. BBC reported  BBC to be on the rise "globally."
Today Myanmar/Burma comes in for special attention by good old Human
Rights Watch -- again reported by the BBC. 

There's talk of "travel restrictions" and an arms embargo, (again). No
one's talking yet about an oil & gas embargo ... if you shouldn't sell,
shouldn't you also refuse to buy, invest, or do business with them? 
Obviously the travel industry doesn't have the clout that energy
magcorps have. No one is talking either about  sanctioning Condi's
friends at Chevron or the French oil corporation Total, or investors in
Myanmar. 

Needless to say, none of these forcibly recruited child soldiers live
in Cuba. -NYTr]


BBC - Jan 16, 2004
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3401991.stm


Child soldier use rises globally

By Adam Brookes
BBC correspondent at the UN

The use of child soldiers in war is continuing around the world and in
some African countries it has increased, human rights groups say.

The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers says in Ivory Coast,
Liberia and the DR Congo recruitment of children increased massively in
2003.

It says a series of moves by the UN aimed at eradicating such practices
has made remarkably little progress.

It urges the UN to take tough actions against states using children in
war.

Travel restrictions

Soldiers, sexual slaves, labourers, porters and spies: children continue
to perform all those roles in conflicts around the world, a new report
by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers says.

In Burma, it says testimony from former soldiers indicates that up to
20% of recruits into the government's armed forces were under the age
of 15.

The group - which includes Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International
- calls on the UN Security Council to renew its efforts against states
and armed groups that use children in war.

Among its ambitious recommendations is ending the flow of weapons to
those recruiting children, placing travel restrictions on leaders who
use children in their armies and ending military assistance to them.

The UN is due to debate the issue of children and armed conflict next
week.

The coalition's report is designed to prick the organisation's
conscience on a particularly intractable form of human rights abuse.

Published: 2004/01/16 07:29:53 GMT

                            ***


BBC - Oct 31, 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7069920.stm


Burma army 'recruiting children'

The Burmese army is forcibly recruiting children to cover gaps left by a
lack of adult recruits, says a report by a US-based human rights
organisation.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says children as young as 10 are beaten or
threatened with arrest to make them enlist.

Burma has previously said it is working towards preventing the recruitment
of children by the military.

HRW has urged the UN Security Council to do more to punish Burma over its
alleged use of child soldiers.

False documents

The report, entitled "Sold to be Soldiers: The Recruitment and Use of
Child Soldiers in Burma" says there are thousands of children in the
Burmese military.

It claims that children are approached in public places by military
recruiters and civilian brokers who have been promised cash rewards by the
military.

The children are often beaten or threatened with arrest to force them to
enlist, the report says.

It is claimed that recruiting officers routinely falsify enlistment
documents to register children as being 18, the legal minimum age for
recruitment.

One child quoted in the report says he was forced to lie about his age
when he was recruited for a second time.

"When I said I was 16, I was slapped and he said, 'You are 18, answer 18.'

"I just wanted to go back and home and I told them, but they refused."

'Blatant recruitment'

The child recruits are deployed to battalions after an average of 18 weeks
training, the report says.

They are often reportedly sent into combat immediately, or forced to take
part in activities, such as burning villages, which can be classified as
human rights abuses.

Jo Becker, children's rights advocate for HRW, said Burma is "literally
buying and selling children" to fill the ranks.

"The government's senior generals tolerate the blatant recruitment of
children and fail to punish perpetrators," she said.

"In this environment, army recruiters traffic children at will."

Ms Becker said that the recent military crackdown had put off many of
those potential recruits who were not already deterred by poor conditions
and low pay.

"After deploying its soldiers against Buddhist monks and other peaceful
demonstrators, the government may find it even harder to find willing
volunteers," she said.

The Burmese ruling junta says it has formed a high-level committee to
address the issue of child soldiers.

However, Ms Becker described the committee as "a sham", saying the
government must address the issue head-on and demobilise all children.

International pressure

There remains widespread international concern about human rights in Burma.

Thousands of people are thought to have been detained following
September's military crackdown.

The UN Security Council is due to meet soon to discuss the use of child
soldiers in Burma.

HRW has accused the Security Council of not taking any action to address
the issue, despite stating repeatedly that it would consider targeted
sanctions.

The group has urged the UN to impose travel restrictions and arms embargos
if the situation does not improve.