Sold to Be Soldiers the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers in Burma
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October 2007 Volume 19, No. 15(C) Sold to be Soldiers The Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers in Burma Map of Burma........................................................................................................... 1 Terminology and Abbreviations................................................................................2 I. Summary...............................................................................................................5 The Government of Burma’s Armed Forces: The Tatmadaw ..................................6 Government Failure to Address Child Recruitment ...............................................9 Non-state Armed Groups....................................................................................11 The Local and International Response ............................................................... 12 II. Recommendations ............................................................................................. 14 To the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) ........................................ 14 To All Non-state Armed Groups.......................................................................... 17 To the Governments of Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, India, and China ............... 18 To the Government of Thailand.......................................................................... 18 To the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)....................... 18 To UNICEF ......................................................................................................... 19 To the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict ..................................................................................................20 To Member States of the United Nations ...........................................................20 To the UN Security Council ................................................................................ 21 To the International Labour Organization........................................................... 21 To the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar ............................................................................................ 21 III. Methodology.....................................................................................................22 IV. Background.......................................................................................................24 V. The Tatmadaw: The State Military ..................................................................... 29 The Tatmadaw’s Staffing Crisis..........................................................................29 Recruitment ......................................................................................................32 Key Factors in Child Recruitment..................................................................33 Children as Commodities: The Recruit Market .............................................. 41 Recruitment of the Very Young .....................................................................43 The Su Saun Yay Recruit Holding Camps............................................................45 Training ............................................................................................................50 Deployment and Active Duty .............................................................................56 Combat ...................................................................................................... 60 Abuses against Civilians..............................................................................62 Desertion, Imprisonment, and Re-recruitment ...................................................63 The Future of Tatmadaw Child Recruitment........................................................68 The Government of Burma’s Response to the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers ............................................................................................................68 The Committee for the Prevention of Military Recruitment of Underage Children ...................................................................................................... 71 Demobilization............................................................................................73 Reintegration...............................................................................................76 Measures for Raising Awareness..................................................................77 Enforcement of Recruitment Laws and Regulations ......................................81 Government Cooperation with International Agencies..................................84 VI. Child Soldiers in Non-State Armed Groups ........................................................94 United Wa State Army .......................................................................................97 Karenni Army ....................................................................................................98 Karen National Liberation Army ....................................................................... 102 Shan State Army – South ................................................................................ 105 Kachin Independence Army............................................................................. 107 Democratic Karen Buddhist Army .................................................................... 109 Kachin Defense Army ....................................................................................... 111 Mon National Liberation Army ..........................................................................112 Karenni Nationalities People’s Liberation Front ................................................113 Shan Nationalities People’s Liberation Army ....................................................115 Rebellion Resistance Force...............................................................................116 KNU-KNLA Peace Council..................................................................................117 VII. The International Response............................................................................120 The United Nations Security Council................................................................ 120 United Nations Country Team.......................................................................... 122 UNICEF............................................................................................................ 123 ILO.................................................................................................................. 124 Neighboring country and cross-border initiatives............................................. 125 VIII. Legal Standards............................................................................................129 Child Recruitment as a War Crime.................................................................... 130 International Standards on Demobilization, Reintegration, and Rehabilitation ..................................................................................................131 Acknowledgements.............................................................................................. 132 Appendices .......................................................................................................... 133 Appendix A: SPDC Plan of Action regarding child soldiers................................ 133 Appendix B: Human Rights Watch letter to the UN Mission of Myanmar, August 22, 2007.............................................................................................. 137 Appendix C: Reply from the UN Mission of Myanmar, September 12, 2007....... 139 Appendix D: KNPP Deed of Commitment regarding child soldiers .................... 142 Appendix E: KNLA Deed of Commitment regarding child soldiers ..................... 146 Map of Burma 1 Human Rights Watch October 2007 Terminology and Abbreviations In this report “child” means any person under the age of 18 years. In 1989 the English name of the country was changed from Burma to Myanmar by the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC, now called the State Peace and Development Council, SPDC). English versions of place names were changed to Burmanized versions at the same time: for example, Rangoon became Yangon. The National League for Democracy, which won elections in 1990 that were subsequently rejected by the military government, does not recognize these name changes, and ethnic groups that are not ethnic Burman regard them as part of an effort to Burmanize national culture. Human Rights Watch uses the term “Burma.” The adjective “Burmese” is used to describe anything related to the country and language, and “Burman” is used to describe the ethnicity of the country’s dominant group. Tatmadaw translates literally as “armed forces,” and is made up of the Army (Tatmadaw Kyi), Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay), and Navy (Tatmadaw Ye). In English we have used the term “Burma army” for the Tatmadaw Kyi. This report uses the term “non-state armed groups” to refer to all armed groups in Burma that are not under the full and direct control of the regime. These include groups that have surrendered to the government but retain soldiers and arms, groups that have ceasefire agreements with the SPDC (and which vary in the extent of their cooperation with the regime), militias that have effectively been created by the SPDC and act as proxy armies at least partially under SPDC control, and