I. Summary = 1
II. Recommendations = 10
To the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) = 10
To all Opposition Groups = 11
To the governments of Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, India, and China = 12
To the government of Thailand = 12
To the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) = 12
To UNICEF = 13
To the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict = 13
To Nongovernmental Organizations = 13
To member states of the United Nations = 14
To the Security Council = 14
To the International Labour Organization = 14
To the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar = 14
III. Introduction = 15
IV. The Burma Army = 18
Conditions Leading to Recruitment = 22
Recruitment = 26
Ye Nyunt: The “Brave Sprouts” = 39
The Su Saun Yay Recruit Holding Camps = 46
Training = 57
Deployment and Active Duty = 73
Life as a Soldier = 75
Combat = 83
Relations with the Civilian Population = 86
Psychological Effects on the Soldiers = 94
Desertion and Suicide = 97
The Scope of Child Recruitment in the Burma Army = 103
The Pyitthu Sit Militia = 106
V. Opposition Forces = 110
United Wa State Army (UWSA) = 112
Shan State Army - South (SSA-South) = 117
Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) = 120
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) = 132
Karen Peace Army (KPA) = 135
Karenni Army (KnA) = 136
Karenni Nationalities People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF) = 144
Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) = 144
Monland Restoration Army (MRA) = 146
Kachin Independence Army (KIA) = 147
Kachin Democratic Army (KDA) = 150
New Democratic Army - Kachinland (NDA-K) = 151
All-Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) = 151
People’s Democratic Front (PDF) = 153
Burma Patriotic Army (BPA) = 154
Myeik-Dawei United Front (MDUF) = 155
The Anti-Insurgent Group (AIG) = 155
Mong Tai Army (MTA) = 156
God’s Army = 157
Other Groups = 157
VI. After the Army = 160
Effects = 160
Options = 162
Opinions = 171
VII. Legal Standards = 175
VIII. Conclusions = 187
Appendix A: Known Burma Army Training Camps = 189
Appendix B: Excerpts from the Convention on the Rights of the Child = 190
Appendix C: Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
on the involvement of children in armed conflicts = 200
Appendix D: Human Rights Watch Correspondence with the Permanent
Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations, New York = 207
II. Recommendations = 10
To the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) = 10
To all Opposition Groups = 11
To the governments of Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, India, and China = 12
To the government of Thailand = 12
To the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) = 12
To UNICEF = 13
To the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict = 13
To Nongovernmental Organizations = 13
To member states of the United Nations = 14
To the Security Council = 14
To the International Labour Organization = 14
To the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar = 14
III. Introduction = 15
IV. The Burma Army = 18
Conditions Leading to Recruitment = 22
Recruitment = 26
Ye Nyunt: The “Brave Sprouts” = 39
The Su Saun Yay Recruit Holding Camps = 46
Training = 57
Deployment and Active Duty = 73
Life as a Soldier = 75
Combat = 83
Relations with the Civilian Population = 86
Psychological Effects on the Soldiers = 94
Desertion and Suicide = 97
The Scope of Child Recruitment in the Burma Army = 103
The Pyitthu Sit Militia = 106
V. Opposition Forces = 110
United Wa State Army (UWSA) = 112
Shan State Army - South (SSA-South) = 117
Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) = 120
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) = 132
Karen Peace Army (KPA) = 135
Karenni Army (KnA) = 136
Karenni Nationalities People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF) = 144
Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) = 144
Monland Restoration Army (MRA) = 146
Kachin Independence Army (KIA) = 147
Kachin Democratic Army (KDA) = 150
New Democratic Army - Kachinland (NDA-K) = 151
All-Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) = 151
People’s Democratic Front (PDF) = 153
Burma Patriotic Army (BPA) = 154
Myeik-Dawei United Front (MDUF) = 155
The Anti-Insurgent Group (AIG) = 155
Mong Tai Army (MTA) = 156
God’s Army = 157
Other Groups = 157
VI. After the Army = 160
Effects = 160
Options = 162
Opinions = 171
VII. Legal Standards = 175
VIII. Conclusions = 187
Appendix A: Known Burma Army Training Camps = 189
Appendix B: Excerpts from the Convention on the Rights of the Child = 190
Appendix C: Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
on the involvement of children in armed conflicts = 200
Appendix D: Human Rights Watch Correspondence with the Permanent
Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations, New York = 207