Hreib Press Release, March 14, 2009

GPO Box 485, Chiang Mai, 50000, Thailand e- mail : [email protected] website : http://www.hreib.com

“HREIB Welcomes the straight -1 8 policy by Chin armed group” 14 March 2009 The Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) welcomes the Deed of Commitment released by the Chin National Front (CNF), which clearly condemns the use of child soldiers. The CNF and its armed wing the Chin National Army (CNA), based on the western Burma Border, have pledged not to recruit or use persons below 18 years old. “The deed serves as an important step towards the realization and fulfillment of children's rights in Chin State” said Aung Myo Min, Director of the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) which is local grassroots organization advocating to stop the use of child soldiers in Burma. This Deed of Commitment also expresses the CNF/CNA’s willingness to work with nongovernmental organizations, the United Nations, and other stakeholders to address the issue of child soldiers. “Efforts to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers is a legal and moral responsibility of all parties to the conflict, including armed opposition groups,” according to Aung Myo Min. The CNF/CNA joins two other NSAGs from Burma, the Karen National Liberation Army and the Karenni Army, in signing a Deed of Commitment and affirming their respect for the "straight-18" principle, which asserts that children below 18 should not in any way be involved in armed conflict. The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the ruling junta in Burma, has not signed the Optional Protocol on the Involvement Children in Armed Conflict, prohibiting states from conscripting and forcibly recruiting or using children in hostilities. Consistent reports indicate that thousands of children are still being recruited and used as soldiers in Burma, primarily by the government’s armed forces. The UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict called on the SPDC to release all children within its armed forces and carry out an action plan to prevent further recruitment or use of children in July, 2008. The Chin National Front was formed on 20 March, 1988, dedicated to securing the self-determination of the Chin people and to establish federal Union of Burma based on democracy and freedom. For more information see http://www.chinland.org/ The Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) is a non-profit organization, based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, that facilitates a broad range of training and advocacy programs for grassroots organizations and community leaders. HREIB regularly conducts research and documents

human rights www.hreib.net

violations

inside

Burma.

For

more

information

see

For further information please contact Aung Myo Min, HREIB’s Executive Director, +66-819925293 or [email protected] or Mr. Paul Sitha, General Secretary of CNF at +919612-153789. Pls see Original copy of CNF’s Deed Of Commitment in attached file.