Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received detailed information about the case of a child soldier in Burma who has been kept in jail since he was 15. The boy was allegedly illegally recruited over a year before and he ran away from his unit. A military tribunal sentenced him to prison, in breach of the country’s law to protect children.
According to the information received, Paing Hpyo Aung was aged 13 when he was illegally recruited into the army. At that time his parents and relatives, who live northeast of Rangoon, tried unsuccessfully to find his whereabouts.
Finally, only in late 2007 did they learn that he is being held in the Thandwe Prison, which is situated on the west coast of Burma. On investigating, they found that he had been sent to a frontline area (civil war zone) and had fled from his battalion, which is based at Taunggut, not far from Thandwe. In December 2005 a military tribunal sentenced him to ten years in jail for absconding.
His aunt in January 2008 lodged requests with various authorities for their son’s release but there is no news so far that he has been let out from prison.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
A number of human rights groups have made detailed reports about the use of child soldiers in Burma: see for instance the 2007 report “Sold to be soldiers” by Human Rights Watch and a UN report on children and armed conflict in Burma (S/2007/666) (other links are available at www.child-soldiers.org).
The elimination of child recruitment has also been a key priority of the Liaison Officer of the International Labour Organisation in the country. The government for its part claims that the practice has already been eliminated.
The government of Burma has joined only two international laws, those on women and children. Under its obligations as per the International Covenant on the Rights of the Child, in 1993 it passed the Child Law, which among other things requires that children be tried in special courts, be given special rights during investigation, and be detained in special camps, not in ordinary prisons. It appears that in this case none of these provisions were met.
The person with the primary responsibility under the child law is the social welfare minister. In a previous AHRC appeal where a child had been wrongly tried and detained in violation of the Child Law, the then-minister signed a release order (UP-11-2004 & UP-10-2004).
For further general information on Burma see also the 2007 AHRC Human Rights Reportchapter on Burma, the recent special report, “Burma, political psychosis and legal dementia“, and visit the AHRC Burma homepage: http://burma.ahrchk.net.
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SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the social welfare minister, home affairs minister, attorney general and other persons to demand the release from prison of this boy. Please note that for the purpose of the letter, the country should be referred to by its official title of Myanmar, rather than Burma. The AHRC writes separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar calling for an intervention in this case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
MYANMAR: Illegal recruitment to Armed Forces and imprisonment of teenage boy
Details of victim: Paing Hpyo Aung, Prisoner No. 6377/C, Thandwe Prison, Rakhine State, born 3 January 1990, son of U Maung Zaw and Daw Myint Kyi, residing in Kyaukdwinkone New Town, Bago
Recruited to: Light Infantry Battalion 346, stationed at Taunggut, Rakhine State
Date of imprisonment: 14 December 2005
I am writing to draw your attention to the case of a boy who was allegedly illegally recruited into the Myanmar Armed Forces and subsequently imprisoned for absconding from his unit, in breach of Myanmar’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as the 1993 Child Law of Myanmar.
According to the information that I have received, Paing Hpyo Aung was forcibly recruited into LIB 346 when he was not yet 14. He was sent to serve in a frontline area, from where he absconded. He was tried by a military tribunal and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment on December 14 of the same year.
Paing Hpyo Aung was reportedly sent to Thandwe Prison before he reached 18 years of age on 3 January 2008, and he was at last report still being held there.
I remind you of the fact that the Government of Myanmar has committed itself time and again to the eliminating of child recruitment to the Myanmar Armed Forces, in particular in cooperation with the International Labour Organisation.
I also point out that under the 1993 Child Law, a child detainee must be transported and held separately from adults (sections 37 & 52), be tried in a juvenile court (section 38), be treated as a child in reference to the date at which any alleged offence occurred, not the date at which a trial is held (section 41) and have his interests considered by the court (section 44). It also allows that a child should not be detained where suitable alternatives exist.
I also want to note that by being forced into the army and then sentenced to prison at an early age, Paing Hpyo Aung has been denied a host of other basic human rights, including to a decent education, health and recreation. I am aware that he has only been able to complete primary school.
Accordingly, I call for the investigation of this case and the release of Paing Hpyo Aung from imprisonment and suitable compensation to be paid to him and his family for his forced recruitment, period in the Armed Forces and subsequent imprisonment.
Lastly, I call for an investigation into the persons responsible for his recruitment, in order that they are prosecuted under section 65(a) of the Child Law, which provides for a six-month jail term for anyone “employing a permitting a child to perform work which is hazardous to the life of the child”.
Yours sincerely
—
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Maj-Gen. Maung Oo
Minister for Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Office No. 10
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +951 250 315 / 374 789
Fax: +951 549 663 / 549 208
2. Maj-Gen. Maung Maung Swe
Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement
Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement
Office No. 23
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67- 404 020-22/ 404 337
Fax: +95 67- 404 335
Email: social-wel-myan@mptmail.net.mm or social.wel.myan@mptmail.net.mm
3. Lt-Gen. Thein Sein
Prime Minister
c/o Ministry of Defence
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: + 95 1 372 681
Fax: + 95 1 652 624
4. U Aye Maung
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Office No. 25
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 404 088/ 090/ 092/ 094/ 097
Fax: +95 67 404 146/ 106
5. Mr. Patrick Vial
Head of Delegation
ICRC
No. 2 (C) – 5 Dr. Ba Han Lane
Kaba Aye Pagoda Road, 8th Mile
Mayangone Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Tel.: +951 662 613 / 664 524
Fax: +951 650 117
E-mail: yangon.yan@icrc.org
6. Mr. Steve Marshall
Liaison Officer (Myanmar)
International Labour Organization (ILO)
4, route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 798 8685
E-mail: marshall@ilo.org
7. Mr. Ramesh Shrestha
Country Representative
UNICEF
P.O. Box 1435
Yangon
MYANMAR
Tel: +951 375 527-533 / 375 547-8
Fax: +951 375 552
Email: yangon@unicef.org
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (ua@ahrchk.org)
