UN welcomes the release of 75 children from Myanmar military

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The United Nations on Friday welcomed the release of 75 children from Tatmadaw, the Myanmar armed forces, and called for the release of all remaining children in the military.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said Virginia Gamba, the special representative for children in armed conflict, welcomed the release and called for freeing of the remaining children.

Child soldiers in Myanmar. /VCG Photo

"She called it an important step in the protection of children in the country," Dujarric told reporters at UN headquarters during a regular briefing. "She is encouraged by the positive step taken by the government following her visit to Myanmar in May."

"She strongly advocated for the release of all children as well as access to Rakhine, Shan and Kahn states and adoption of the child rights law," the spokesman said. "She calls for the release of all remaining children from Tatmadaw ranks and for continued collaboration with the United Nations."

The United Nations said it does not know the number of child soldiers still in Tatmadaw, nor does it know the number worldwide, but Gamba told reporters in June more than 21,000 "grave violations of children's rights" were verified to have occurred in 2017, up from 15,500 the previous year.

Former Myanmar child soldier, 21-year-old Su Thet Htoo (R) cleans a car at a car wash and repair shop in Yangon, November 4, 2016. /VCG Photo

More than 10,000 children globally were killed last year, she said.

In 2017, Gamba said 849 children had been released from the Myanmar military since 2012.

Rakhine State, in Myanmar's northwest, has been racked by attacks from government military and civilian militias, sending more than 700,000 ethnic Muslim Rohingya fleeing into the Cox's Bazar District in neighboring Bangladesh's southernmost region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said.

They joined an excess of 200,000 Rohingya who earlier were routed from Rakhine, the agency said. The refugees reported killings, rapes and the torching of villages in response to an Aug. 25, 2017, deadly Rohingya rebel attack on Myanmar security posts.

The United Nations has been seeking unrestricted access to Rakhine to assess damage and interview remaining residents.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency