The UN on Tuesday called for the protection of children from the Myanmar military junta’s brutal attacks which "constitute crimes against humanity."
Tom Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, issued a report saying that at least 382 children have been killed or maimed by armed groups since the coup last year.
“The rights of children in Myanmar, like children everywhere, must be respected and affirmed, starting with the basic right to live. But in Myanmar, the rights of children and families are under siege. Children are not only caught in the crossfire of an illegal military junta’s war against the people of the nation, but they are also targets,” the report said.
The report recommended UN member states to coordinate efforts to adopt operational procedures to allow urgent and timely humanitarian responses and shift from restricted grants to core funding whenever possible.
“After nearly a year and a half of escalating human rights violations and steadily deteriorating conditions, particularly for Myanmar’s children and families, it is clear that the international community’s response to the deepening crisis in Myanmar has failed. A change of course is needed,” it added.
Myanmar’s children will become a “lost generation” without a prompt return to the path of democracy and concerted remedial action, it said.
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