ASEAN countries urged to make region "child soldier free zone"
ASEAN countries urged to make region "child soldier free zone"
BANGKOK (AP): The use of children as soldiers in armed
conflicts appears to be increasing in Indonesia, the Philippines
and Laos, a group opposed to the practice said Monday, urging
Southeast Asian nations to declare the region a "child soldier
free zone."
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, a London-
based non-governmental organization, appealed to countries
attending meetings this week of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations to put the problem high on their agenda.
The group said in a report that military-ruled Myanmar, also
known as Burma, has one of the highest numbers of child soldiers
of any country in the world, both within the army in and the
ethnic and other armed groups pitted against it.
The coalition called on governments and armed groups
throughout the region to immediately demobilize children under 18
now training or serving in their ranks and to work with community
groups to prevent such abuse.
"ASEAN and its dialogue partners have come to recognize that
these armed conflicts have an impact on the security of the
entire region and require a concerted response," the group said.
A concerted response is unlikely, however, since ASEAN members
are reluctant to criticize the affairs of other countries in the
group. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
According to the coalition, there are an estimated 300,000
children fighting as soldiers in more than 30 countries
worldwide. In recent years in the Asia-Pacific region, tens of
thousands have been recruited, sometimes forcibly, into
government and insurgent groups.
The coalition says the problem is most serious in Cambodia and
Myanmar, but that "there are clear signs of escalating problems
in Indonesia, the Philippines and Laos."
In Myanmar, it claimed, children often under 15 years of age,
are sometimes attracted by the prestige and power of becoming
soldiers, but many - especially orphans and street children - are
forced to join. The military regime has denied such practices.
The presence of child soldiers is well-established among
ethnic insurgent groups. Many are orphans whose parents were
killed by the Myanmar security forces.
There are fears a similar situation could arise in Laos, where
a small insurgency by members of the Hmong highland minority has
grown more active, the report said.
In Indonesia, there have been alarming signs of the
recruitment of children by armed groups, both aligned and opposed
to the government, in restive regions such as Aceh, West Papua
and Maluku.
Children in the Philippines have been recruited by armed
Islamic separatist groups. The coalition said that the communist
New People's Army used child soldiers for many years, but in
February 2000 committed itself publicly to end recruitment below
18.
In Cambodia and East Timor, the past widespread use of
children in civil conflicts must now be addressed, with special
arrangements made for their demobilization and reintegration into
society, the group said.