NCJ Number
173685
Journal
Human Rights Watch Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: January 1997 Pages: -
Date Published
1997
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This report examines the context within which children and their parents must struggle to exercise their rights, looks in detail at the legal provisions which deny them even the most basic rights and freedoms, and reports on the current situation of children in Burma and the daily practices used by the military and other government agents which violate international law.
Abstract
Burma acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991. Since then, however, there has been little progress towards implementation of the convention, and the underlying problems which impede implementation have not changed. These include a total absence of the rule of law and accountability of the government, as well as draconian restrictions on freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly which prevent local reporting and monitoring of the human rights situation of children. The government has shown little political will to implement the terms of the CRC, suggesting that its accession was not so much an indication of its desire to protect the rights of children as an empty gesture designed to improve its image abroad. Notes