Myanmar rejects distorted figures and baseless accusations

 

MYANMAR, as a member of the United Nations, reaffirms its commitment and ongoing efforts to comply with international standards for the prevention of children and armed conflicts in addition to the prevention of underage recruitment.

 

The Committee on Protection of Underage Recruitment, led by Myanmar’s Ministry of Defence, and the Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (CTFMR) have conducted a joint verification process for suspected minors. In 2024, they handed over 93 verified minors to their parents with financial assistance. To date, only 18 suspected minor cases remain pending verification by both sides.

 

The National Committee on the Prevention of Grave Violations against Children was established in 2019 to prevent and protect the six grave violations against children in armed conflicts. Further­more, the government launched the 4 Digit Helpline (1566) as a national complaint mechanism to prevent killing, maiming, and sexual violence against chil­dren in armed conflicts. As of December 2024, 98 reported incidents have been referred to related departments and organizations.

 

This year’s UN report includes unverified and un­founded allegations with nu­merical figures that lack prop­er substantiation. Despite the government’s prior provision of evidence and on-ground in­formation in response to the request by the Special Rep­resentative of the UN Secre­tary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, the report once again fails to verify, cross-check, or investigate these claims.

 

Moreover, the report al­leges that 482 minors were recruited and used by the Myanmar Tatmadaw. In 2024, UN CTFMR shared only eight cases of suspected minors for joint verification, rendering the figures presented in the report entirely misrepresented. However, the distorted report omits the inhumane and brutal acts committed by NUG and PDF terrorist groups and certain EAOs, which are responsible for the deaths of 8,588 unarmed civilians, including 318 children, as well as injuries to 1,219 children during the period from 2021 to 2024.

 

The UN’s report presents figures without specifying incidents and downplays grave violations committed by the PDFs by using the term “unidentified perpetrators”. The report with biases and a country-specific nature, with the intention to exert undue political pressure on a member state, will only hinder construc­tive dialogue and progress. Such action raises concerns about objectivity, credibility, neutrality, and data collection methodology of the United Nations.

 

That is why the Myanmar government firmly rejected the distorted figures and baseless accusations contained in the report. Currently, Myanmar remains committed to exerting its utmost ef­forts to safeguard the rights and safety of children, strongly urging the United Nations to adopt a balanced, credible, and constructive approach towards member states while issuing reports.