New Report Highlights Government’s Failure to Protect Children in Southern Burma

By Woman and Child Rights Project • January 17, 2012

Children in southern Burma continue to suffer from grave human rights violations at the hands of Burma Army soldiers, reveals a new report from the Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP) released today. The report provides data from cases over the last 6 years, illustrating that the Burmese government has failed to live up to its international obligations to protect children in situations of armed conflict.

The report, entitled “Coercion, Cruelty and Collateral Damage”, presents evidence of the recruitment and use of child soldiers, killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, and the use of children as forced labor, all of which are prohibited under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1612 on Children and Armed Conflict, passed in 2005.

“Despite the implementation of a monitoring and reporting mechanism, in accordance with Resolution 1612, we have found that abuses in Burma have continued unabated. It is completely unacceptable that the Burmese government continues to flout its international obligations,” said Nai Kasauh Mon, Director of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM).

The report is based on interviews with local residents in 15 villages in Ye Township, Mon State, and Yebyu Township, Tenasserim Division. The cases documented by WCRP researchers detail abuses between 2005, the first year of operation of the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM), and September 2010.

“Even more shocking is that these violations have continued since the 2010 elections. While the government is trying to show the world that it is making reforms towards a democratic transition, children in southern Burma and other ethnic parts of the country are still suffering,” said Nai Kasauh Mon. “This is not real progress.”

The report is available at www.rehmonnya.org.

The Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP) was founded by members of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) in order to monitor and protect the rights of women and children in southern Burma.

For more information, please contact:

Nai Kasauh Mon, Director, HURFOM: +66813659140 or [email protected]

Nai Aue Mon, Program Officer, HURFOM: +66861679741 or [email protected]

Tags: Child Rights, Child Soldiers, Forced Labor, Sexual Violence, Woman and Child Rights Project, Women Rights

This post is in: Press Release

New Report Highlights Government’s Failure to Protect Children in Southern Burma

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