Child protection

All boys and girls have the right to be protected from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect.

The right of children to protection from serious harm is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Myanmar is a signatory, and the Myanmar Child Rights Law enacted in 2019.

Children caught in crisis

As conflict continues across Myanmar, children are facing grave violations, including being killed, seriously injured, arbitrarily detained without access to legal counsel, and forced to flee their homes and communities. This creates a generation of children growing up in fear and instability, deprived of their rights and the opportunity for a secure future.

Direct and indirect targeting of schools and hospitals further shrinks the already limited sanctuaries for children, who are also facing increasing risks of forcible recruitment into fighting by parties to the conflict.

The use of landmines and other explosive weapons, especially in civilian areas, is claiming innocent lives, with children accounting for over 20 percent of civilian casualties from landmines. All states and regions outside the capital, Naypyidaw, are reported to be contaminated by landmines, placing Myanmar among the countries most affected by landmines worldwide.