an Eldis Resource
No more denial: children affected by armed conflict in Myanmar (Burma)
To what extent are children affected by armed conflict in Myanmar?
Authors:
Publisher:
Watchlist/Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, 2009
This report draws attention to the suffering of children in Myanmar due to the political and socioeconomic turmoil and the ensuing armed conflict. For decades Myanmar Armed Forces and associated armed groups have engaged in low-level armed conflict with opposing non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in parts of the country. The high occurrence and brutality of reported human and child rights violations makes it impossible to deny that Myanmar Armed Forces and NSAGs commit grave violations against children in Myanmar’s armed conflict. The children are often caught in indiscriminate shelling and attacks against villages. Some of them are forcibly recruited by the security forces and civilians.
The report discloses that International organizations are not allowed to access the conflict zones and some ceasefire areas despite pressing humanitarian needs. Many donors have refrained from providing funding, questioning the effectiveness of their assistance given the limited operational space for humanitarian organizations. The authors assert that actions taken by the UN Security Council demonstrate an unwillingness to fully admit to the grave situation of children affected by Myanmar’s armed conflict.
The report makes the following urgent recommendations:
- effective measures should be taken to prevent violations against children in armed conflict and end impunity
- provide humanitarian access and programmes to assist survivors of violence
- strengthen monitoring and reporting on all violations committed against children affected by armed conflict.
The report also calls upon the UN Country Teams in Myanmar and Thailand to devise action plans and develop appropriate reintegration policies and programmes for those children who are released.
