A TRAINING course and workshop on preventing the recruitment of child soldiers, organised by the Department of Social Welfare in cooperation with inter-national non-government organisations, was held at the School for Adult and Disabled Children on Kyaik Waing Pagoda Road in Yangon’s Mayangone township from November 19 to 23.

The deputy minister of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, Brigadier General Kyaw Myint, said at the opening ceremony that the department had cooperated with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Vision and Save the Children (Myanmar) on the project.

“Those who finish the course will teach what they learnt about preventing the recruitment and training of child soldiers to people in every state and division,” he said.

He said the ministry was playing a key role in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in Myanmar.

“Myanmar is a signatory to CRC so the country is coordinating with the relevant ministries, non-government organisations and international non-government organisations for the main rights of children – survival, development, protection and participation,” Brig Gen Kyaw Myint said.

Last week’s training course was attended by 47 officials from the Office of the Chief of Armed Forces Training, Directorate of Military Reinforcement, Department of Social Welfare, Myanmar Police Force and Ministry of Education.

Trainees were taught about international humanitarian law, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, child law, military law and rehabili-tation and reintegration for child soldiers.

The department will repeat the course four more times in the coming weeks for new groups of trainees.

Myanmar implemented a monitoring and reporting mechanism for preventing child soldiers following a meeting last June between the United Nations vice secretary general and special envoy on arms conflict, Mrs Kumara Swami, and Prime Minister General Thein Sein, who at that time was secretary (1) of the State Peace and Development Council.

Myanmar became a signatory to CRC in 1991 and formed the National Committee on the Rights of the Child in 1993, while rules and regulations related to child law were drafted in December 2001.