UN says army still using child soldiers in Kachin state

Burmese soldiers in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state, northern Burma

A UN report on Children and Armed Conflict that will be officially released later this month concludes that Burma's military known as the Tatmadaw is still using child soldiers in its campaign against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

The UN report confirms widespread accounts from the frontlines of the Kachin conflict that the army has not changed its previous ways with regards to the way it recruits children, in violation of international law. According to the UN report “children used by the Tatmadaw continued to be deployed to the frontline as combatants and in other roles, in particular in Kachin State.”

The report which was released in advance form to the Security Council on May 14 was cited in an article by Inner City Press reporter Matthew Russell Lee. Lee who is based in New York focuses on the UN and is often the only reporter asking Kachin and other Burma related questions at the UN's regular press briefings.

A similar report published last year by the Working Group of the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict documented multiple cases of the Tatmadaw using children on the frontline.

Last year report noted that the UN's country task force for Burma received detailed information about the army use of child soldiers during the Kachin conflict including 9 who were captured by the KIA. The report noted that “In May 2012, the country task force was notified of nine cases of underage recruits associated with the Tatmadaw who were deployed to the frontline in Kachin State, where they were captured and held by KIA. ILO facilitated the release of the underage recruits and is liaising with the Tatmadaw for the official discharge of those released. While one child reportedly ran away prior to release, the remaining eight were released on 14 January 2013.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and local partners, facilitated the provision of temporary shelter and reintegration support for each case”.