Over the past year, the Myanmar military has freed more than 400 child soldiers according to the United Nations. This entire transition ultimately began with a pact that was signed in 2012 involving the Tatmadaw army and the UN. Since the pact was signed, a total of 595 children have been released. This pact was the first in a series of steps to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
These numbers alone show the initiative behind both the Government of Myanmar and the Tatmadaw army in ending this abuse. And even though there is involvement from the government, parts of the Myanmar military have still failed to halt their use of child soldiers. It is also estimated that at least seven rebel groups are also recruiting and utilizing child soldiers.
Even though Myanmar (Burma) has taken great strides in their pursuit to eliminate the use of child soldiers, there is still work to be done. At Project AK-47, the Upper Mekong Region in Burma is one of our three main areas of focus.
Myanmar has been one of our most exciting project areas and one where we have seen great progress towards the release of child soldiers. We are very excited to have the military working towards our mutual goal: to make child soldiers a thing of the past.
Photo via USA News
Story via USA News