[Myanmar] Burma Military Discharges 24 Child Soldiers

[News_Editor]

Burma’s military on Monday discharged 24 child soldiers in a ceremony in Rangoon on Friday, Unicef announced. “This release of 24 children is a welcome step … I call on the acceleration of the release of all children from the Tatmadaw and the non-state armed groups,” UN Resident Coordinator Ashok Nigam said in a press release on Monday. The UN and the government agreed on an action plan in June 2012 to end child recruitment. The UN is also working with ethnic militias to end the practice. Child soldiers International and the International Labor Organization said in January that both the Burmese military and ethnic rebel militias continue to recruit child soldiers and deploy them in conflict zones.

Source: Irrawaddy.org