The United Nations children’s charity, Unicef, has called for greater protection for Myanmar’s children amid the country’s humanitarian crisis.
Ted Chaiban, Unicef’s deputy executive director, said: “This year alone, at least 650 children have been killed or maimed in violence.
“The increasing use of deadly weapons in civilian areas, including airstrikes and landmines hitting homes, hospitals and schools, has severely restricted the already limited safe spaces for children, robbing them of their right to safety and security. The situation is dire.”
He said on Thursday that 40 percent of over 3.4 million people displaced nationwide were children.
Chaiban visited territory liberated by the Kachin Independence Army in Kachin State and heard about the bombing of a church where children were playing on November 15. Seven children and two other civilians were killed, he said.
“I visited Kachin and saw firsthand how vulnerable children and other civilians are in conflict-affected areas and the urgent need to uphold international humanitarian law to protect them from such brutal attacks,” Chaiban said.
He said children in conflict zones lacked access to health care and education and were suffering from the effects of violence and displacement, highlighting the urgent need for humanitarian assistance.
Chaiban said landmines and unexploded bombs disproportionately affect children, saying that 32 percent of the 1,000 people injured by such devices were children.
He called on the international community to increase support – through funding, advocacy and solidarity – to protect children.
“The cost of inaction is far too high – Myanmar’s children cannot afford to wait,” Chaiban said.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors junta atrocities, said the regime has killed more children each year since the 2021 coup, mainly due to airstrikes and shelling.
The rights group said 101 children were killed during 2021; 136 in 2022; 208 in 2023; and 226 so far this year.
