Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Myanmar military to immediately stop the recruitment and use of child soldiers, as rights abuses involving children continue to surge under the military junta’s rule.

In a statement released Friday, HRW’s Asia researcher Shayna Bauchner condemned the military’s long-standing exploitation of children, saying, “The Myanmar military has a long and appalling history of using children as porters, guides, and in combat roles… The junta should immediately stop using child soldiers and cooperate with UN officials to release all child recruits from their forces.”

The appeal comes in the wake of a June 19 report from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, which detailed 2,138 grave violations against children in Myanmar’s conflict zones. According to the report, the UN verified the recruitment and use of 482 children, the detention of 47, and the killing or maiming of 1,261 children. The violations also include sexual violence, abductions, and attacks on schools and hospitals—many attributed to the military junta.

The Secretary-General expressed grave concern and called on Myanmar to honor its commitments under the 2012 joint action plan with the UN to end the use of child soldiers.

Since the military coup in 2021 that overthrew the elected National Unity Government, clashes between junta forces and ethnic armed groups have intensified, leading to widespread conflict. In February 2024, the junta began enforcing the 2010 People’s Military Service Law, which mandates military service for men and women aged 18 and above. Since April 2024, the regime has reportedly recruited 14 batches of conscripts, with a surge in underage recruitment noted from the seventh batch onward.

Military defectors and rights advocates report widespread abuses, including forced conscription, age falsification, and child abductions. Thousands of stateless Rohingya boys and men have also allegedly been forced into the army despite being excluded from the conscription law, with many coerced through false promises of citizenship or threats of violence.

HRW’s Bauchner urged international actors to intervene. “Governments with influence over the Myanmar military should press for an end to the exploitation of children,” she said. “Donors must also support local organizations working to rehabilitate and protect child victims across the country.”

The growing evidence of war crimes involving children underscores the urgent need for accountability and humanitarian support in Myanmar, rights groups say.

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