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"MY GUN WAS AS TALL AS ME"

Child Soldiers in Burma

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Human Rights Watch
New York · Washington · London · Brussels

Copyright © October 2002 by Human Rights Watch.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 1-56432-279-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2002112576



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Terminology and Abbreviations

I. Summary 

II. Recommendations 

III. Introduction 

IV. The Burma Army 

V. Opposition Forces  VI. After the Army  VII. Legal Standards 

VIII. Conclusions

Appendix A: Known Burma Army Training Camps 

Appendix B: Excerpts from the Convention on the Rights of the Child 

Appendix C: Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts 

Appendix D: Human Rights Watch Correspondence with the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations, New York
 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report was written by Kevin Heppner, consultant to the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, based on research conducted in Thailand and border areas of Burma in March 2002 by Kevin Heppner and Jo Becker, advocacy director for the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. The author conducted additional research in February and April through July 2002. Jo Becker also contributed to the writing of sections of the report. 

This report was edited by Jo Becker, advocacy director for the Children's Rights Division; Lois Whitman, executive director of the Children's Rights Division; Ian Gorvin, consultant in the Program Office of Human Rights Watch; Wilder Tayler, legal and policy director of Human Rights Watch; and Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch, and the acting director of Asia Division during the preparation of this report. Rachael Reilly, refugee policy director of Human Rights Watch, and Alison Parker, Leonard H. Sandler Fellow on Refugee Policy, offered input and assistance on refugee standards and policy issues and contributed to the legal standards section of the report. Dana Sommers, Fitzroy Hepkins, Patrick Minges and Veronica Matushaj provided production assistance. 

Human Rights Watch gratefully acknowledges the Bernard Osher Foundation for its financial support, and Patrick Ball, Deputy Director of the Science and Human Rights Program, Directorate for Science and Policy Programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, for providing guidance on the statistical analyses in the report. 

Human Rights Watch is indebted to the many individuals and organizations that contributed their time, energy and information to Human Rights Watch during the research and preparation of this report, including those who helped Human Rights Watch gain access to current and former soldiers. We are particularly grateful to the current and former soldiers who shared their stories with us. 

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