STATEMENT OF FORMER REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ASEAN COMMISSION ON THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN (ACWC) ON THE CHILD RIGHTS SITUATION IN MYANMAR 30 April 2024
We, the former Representatives of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), strongly condemn the ongoing human rights catastrophe in Myanmar and urge the UN, ASEAN, and key governments to take urgent and appropriate corresponding measures.
Over the past years, intensified fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups have left thousands of civilians killed, seriously injured, detained, and displaced from their homes and communities. Just recently, an airstrike on a school in Myanmar’s Karenni state killed four children and injured at least 15 others.[1] Another airstrike by the military also killed civilians, including nine children, as they gathered to attend church last January.[2] The attacks on civilians show no signs of stopping.
The international community must turn its eye to what is happening in Myanmar. Attacks against schools, churches, and especially children are a grave violation of children’s rights and international humanitarian law.
As of February 2024, more than 2.7 million people have been internally displaced in Myanmar and are living in unwarranted conditions. More than 18.6 people, including six million children, are in need of humanitarian aid in 2024 more than 18 times the number before the military takeover in 2021.[3] As a result, the number of children living in poverty has doubled from 4.7 million in 2017 to 9.9 million in 2022.
[1] The Guardian. 2024. Myanmar: airstrike on school killed four children, witnesses say. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/feb/07/myanmar-military-airstrike-karenni-state-school-daw-si-ei-village
[2] Amnesty International. 2024. Military air strikes that killed 17 civilians ‘must be investigated as war crimes.’ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/02/myanmar-military-air-strikes-that-killed-17-civilians-must-be-investigated-as-war-crimes/
[3] UNICEF. 2024. UNICEF Myanmar Humanitarian Situation Report No. 1. https://www.unicef.org/myanmar/reports/unicef-myanmar-humanitarian-situation-report-no-1
