§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the number of child soldiers in Burma; and what steps she is taking to tackle this. [98266]
§ Clare ShortAn exact figure is not known. But a recent Human Rights Watch study estimated that there could be up to 70,000 child soldiers in Burma.
The UN Security Council has now passed a resolution on Children Affected by Armed Conflict, which was based on the UNSG's report on child soldiers. In our statement on this to the Security Council, UK representative Jeremy Greenstock highlighted our concerns about child soldiers in Burma.
The issue of child soldiers was also taken up in the UK Co-sponsored resolution at UNGA last November. We will be ensuring that the issue is addressed at the UN Commission on Human Rights where the EU will be tabling a resolution on the human rights situation in Burma. In addition the UK has in place a weapons embargo and a ban on all military links with the Burmese armed forces in view of their appalling human rights record.