22 Oct
The 6th coordination meeting of the Committee for Preventing Grave Violations against Children in Armed Conflicts was held at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement yesterday afternoon. Committee Chairman and Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Dr Win Myat Aye, said the National Action Plan on Preventing Grievous Injuries and Sexual Abuse on Children in Armed Conflicts (2020-2021) was approved by the President’s Office on 10 August this year.
The working committee held their fourth coordination meeting on 9 September this year and met with UNICEF on 21 September. The Rehabilitation Department has formed a separate group for accepting and screening reports, advertised phone numbers and emails for contact, and distributed national-level action plans to Nay Pyi Taw Council, sub-national governments, relevant ministries, Hluttaw offices and other organizations such as the National Committee on Child Rights, Myanmar National Human Rights Commission and Myanmar National Committee on Women.
As a national-level action, the Ministry of Defence sent out instructions to military commands across the nation on 15 September to prevent grievous injuries and sexual exploitation of children in armed conflicts and to take action in line with military law.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has also issued similar instructions. The Union Minister said they are in progress to approve the monitoring and evaluation committee outlined in the national action plan and that they will carry out distribution of IEC materials under the Multi-Year Work Plan signed between the ministry and UNICEF.
The committee’s secretary U Win Naing Htun, Director-General of the Rehabilitation Department, explained the committee’s progress and continuation of implementing a national-level reporting mechanism. Meeting attendees also discussed plans going forward with the national action plan. The meeting was attended by personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Office of Union Government, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population, Ministry of Health and Sports, the Union Attorney-General Office, and Myanmar Red Cross Society.
The Committee for Preventing Grave Violations against Children in Armed Conflicts was formed by the Union Government on 7 January 2019 to prevent the six grave violations on children in armed conflicts designated by the UN. The grave violations are killing and maiming of children, recruitment and use of children by armed forces or armed groups, attacks on schools or hospitals, rape or other sexual violence against children, abduction of children, and denial of humanitarian access to children.
MNA (Translated by Zaw Htet Oo)
