S/2009/278
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09-35000
III. Grave violations of children’s rights
5. The access and security impediments described above present a challenge tothe provision of a comprehensive account of grave violations against children by arange of armed forces and groups in Myanmar. The present report is based on thelimited information currently available to the country task force, and therefore isonly indicative of the gravity and scale of violations against children.6. The data on incidents of grave violations against children included in thisreport have been compiled from confirmed information from and observations of United Nations agencies and child-protection partners. Where possible, the membersof the country task force conducted first-hand interviews on a confidential basis, inorder to verify the initial information received. Verification activity on allegationsof child soldiering is currently restricted to the follow-up of formal complaintsreceived under the Supplementary Understanding complaints mechanism signedbetween ILO and the Government.7. I welcome the statement made by the Permanent Representative of the Unionof Myanmar to the United Nations, Kyaw Tint Swe, at the Security Council opendebate on 29 April 2009 and look forward to the country task force working moreclosely with the Government Task Force.
A. Recruitment of children by armed forces and groups
Tatmadaw Kyi
8. The country task force has received numerous credible reports concerning therecruitment and use of children by some Government military units of the TatmadawKyi.9. Apart from the common patterns of underage recruitment into the Tatmadawhighlighted in my last report, including the recruitment of poor and unaccompaniedchildren from the streets, railway stations or Buddhist pagodas, reports indicate thatelements of the Tatmadaw Kyi have recently targeted young novice monks frommonasteries for recruitment. An indicative case, as yet unverified, but received fromreliable sources, occurred on 22 August 2008, when a lance corporal from a localbattalion of the army recruited two boys, aged 13 and 15, respectively, from amonastery in a Nargis-affected township in the Ayeyarwaddy Division. The boyswere later released, following intervention from the abbot.10. It appears that, when soldiers are involved in underage recruitment, thiscommonly (although not exclusively) occurs in areas close to recruitment centres,such as in the Yangon and Mandalay Divisions, but civilian brokers who are offeredcash by soldiers for new recruits travel further afield to find recruits and often usedeceit to persuade the children to go with them. In another indicative case, a15-year-old boy who fled from a battalion in the Mandalay Division to a nearbyvillage reported that, under the pretext of gaining good employment, a broker hadpersuaded him to go with him; however the broker had then handed him over toarmy personnel from a recruitment centre.11. Reports also indicate that orphans are often targeted for recruitment into themilitary. Another case, unverified but received from credible sources, reported that,on 14 August 2008, a group of soldiers from a battalion based in Myothit abducted a
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