This recent incident shows that the Tatmadaw is still making use of children in hostilities, violating the terms of the “delisting.” The secretary-general should return the Tatmadaw to his list for the recruitment and use of children. Despite the UN's continued documentation of the military’s recruitment and use of children, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in June decided to remove the Tatmadaw from his annual “list of shame.” The delisting is conditioned on the government immediately ending and preventing any misuse of children, including in non-combat roles. The Tatmadaw has a long history of using children in armed conflict. But the military has repeatedly failed to do so when its soldiers are accused of violations. The United Nations Country Taskforce on Monitoring and Reporting on Grave Violations against Children in Myanmar has called for a “full, transparent, and expedited investigation of the incident and for anyone responsible for the use and for the killing of the children to be held accountable.” Any investigation should be conducted with impartiality and independence. The Tatmadaw says it will investigate the deaths, but this incident highlights a deeper problem. Using civilians as “human shields” is a war crime, as is using children in combat. Fighting broke out and two boys were killed and a third was wounded. On October 5, Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, allegedly forced a group of farmers including several boys to walk ahead of their troops to clear a path through mines in an operation against the insurgent Arakan Army in Rakhine State. Myanmar military officers salute at their national flag during a ceremony to mark the 72nd anniversary of Independence Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar.
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