The civilian National Unity Government (NUG) and resistance groups are condemning the junta’s announcement on Saturday that it will impose military conscription nationwide.
The junta is imposing conscription by activating a never-before-used law requiring all young men and women to serve in the armed forces for at least two years.
The move is occurring as it struggles to cope with escalating offensives by ethnic armed groups and allied resistance forces across the country.
The civilian government declared the junta a “Terrorist Group” and said the conscription law is illegal because the military lacked the legal mandate to activate it.
The NUG said the junta’s concerted effort to implement the 65-year-old People’s Military Service Law blatantly disregards United Nations Security Council Resolution (2669) and the ASEAN five-point consensus.
The Confederation of Trade Unions, Myanmar also condemned the imposition of conscription, calling it a direct attack on youths who want to change the political system as well as the more than 300,000 members of the Civil Disobedience Movement who continue to protest against the regime.
Forced conscription is forced labor and the announcement of compulsory military service blatantly violates international labor standards, the confederation said.

Citizens of Myanmar are worried that the military, which has a severe lack of troops, will increasingly round up civilians to use as porters. It is also likely, analysts say, that the law will drive more young people into armed resistance groups.
Many people have fled Myanmar for safety and better lives since the 2021 coup, and the imposition of conscription is expected to worsen the exodus, analysts said, explaining that most youths in Myanmar are searching for ways to leave the country.
The anti-junta General Strike Coordination Body is urging the civilian government and ethnic armed organizations to welcome young people who want to cooperate with revolutionary forces and give them shelter. It also called on them to support young people who are worried about being forced to join the junta’s military, after Min Aung Hlaing announced that the conscription law took effect on Feb. 10.
The junta said through state media on Tuesday, that young adults will be called up for military service after the Thingyan holidays, Myanmar’s traditional water festival, in late April. Nationwide, 6.3 million men and 7.7 million women are eligible for conscription, according to the 2019 by-census.
As the anti-regime groups condemned the conscription law, supporters of Myanmar’s military took to the streets on Tuesday in several cities – including Mandalay, Pyin Oo Lwin, Meiktila and Magwe – to show their support for the law.