The Committee for Prevention against Recruiting Minors into Army held its seventh meeting in Nay Pyi Daw on 29^th January 2008.

The Committee for Prevention against Recruiting Minors into Army was formed on 5 January 2004 by the State Peace and Development Council. On 14 December 2007, the committee was reconstituted in accord with the latest developments. The coordination meetings were held for six times in four years and future plans were laid down and implemented.

The committee supervised its functions in accord with the three objectives— preventing the use of force in recruiting minors to the Armed Forces, protecting the interests of children and ensuring enforcement of the orders and directives issued on protecting the children.

In the country there are laws, rules, orders and directives in connection with the protecting the freedom of children. There are also laws and orders preventing recruitment of minors into the Armed Forces. Pamphlets and wall posters on recruitment of soldiers are distributed to rural areas and billboards are erected for public knowledge.

The committee allowed ambassadors and military attaches working in Myanmar including personnel of UN agencies such as UNICEF and UNDP to visit recruiting units and basic military training depots in Yangon and Mandalay. Arrangements were made for interview with raw recruits for seven times.

Moreover, courses and workshops on prevention against recruiting minors to the armed forces were opened at Kyaikwaing Youth Training School five times from 19 November to 20 December 2007 under the arrangement of the committee, Social Welfare Department and UNICEF.

The workshops were attended by 191 participants—78 from defense services training schools and recruiting units, 49 from Social Welfare Department, 62 from Myanmar Police Force and 2 from the Ministry of Education. Arrangements are being made for conducting multiplier courses in the units.

The committee cooperated with UN agencies. As a result, there are only very few cases of recruiting minors. Due to the supervision of the committee, new members of the military force were systematically recruited in accord with the laws, rules, orders and directives issued. The achievements of the committee improved year after year.

Under the written request of organizations such as ILO, ICRC etc. and guardians, those who joined the armed forces but did not meet the minimum age were scrutinized and were sent to their respective parents. Those who did not meet the qualification and were unfit to join the armed forces were sent back to their respective parents. They were handed over to the guardians in the presence of the officials of Social Welfare Department and township authorities in accord with the records.

From 2002 to 2007, altogether 792 persons who were minors, persons who did not meet the qualifications and unfit persons were sent back to their respective parents; it is known to all committee members that investigation is conducted systematically and action is taken whenever there is a forced recruitment of minors for armed forces, violating the directives; and that from 2002 to 2007, action was taken against 43 other ranks and officers in that regard.

The performances of the committee are regularly reported to UN agencies in Myanmar through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that takes the responsibility as the focal point in this regard as well as to the organizations concerned through the Myanmar resident representative to the UN in New York; and that the Tatmadaw is carrying out the procedures in accordance with law, rules and regulations, however expatriate national traitors with negative views in collusion with some foreign media are making groundless accusations that there are child soldiers in Myanmar Tatmadaw with the intention of attacking the nation.