Surge in child rights abuse

Cause for concern: Cases of child recruitment accounted for about 40% of the violations. — AFP

UN chief Anto­nio Guterres, in a report, denounced a dramatic surge in the abuse of children’s rights in Myanmar since the country’s 2021 coup, particularly through forced recruitment by the military.

The report, which covers the period from July 2020 to the end of 2023, confirmed over 5,140 “grave violations” committed against more than 4,000 children, some as young as three months old.