Say what you will — I do as much as possible — about the State Peace and Development Council, aka Myanmar’s military dictators, but these guys have more chutzpah than the Menendez brothers begging for mercy because they’re orphans. And speaking of orphans, the generals do love the little tykes, as cannon fodder.

From The Irrwaddy:

The Burmese military junta celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Universal Convention on Children”s Rights on Friday in Naypyidaw.

The ceremony surprised many people in the human rights community because the junta is often cited as one of the world”s worst regimes in violating the rights of children. The army is regularly accused of conscripting child soldiers.

A non-binding resolution approved on Thursday by the UN Assembly”s Third Committee called on the Burmese government to end the recruitment of child soldiers and “to intensify measures to ensure the protection of children from armed conflict.”

The UN committee called on the junta to cooperate with the UN special representative for Children and Armed Conflict by granting access to areas where child soldiers are recruited.

According to a report by the US State Department: “Urban poor and street children in Rangoon and Mandalay are at risk of involuntary conscription as child soldiers by the Burmese junta. Thousands of children are forced to serve in Burma”s national army as desertions of men in the army rise. Some children were threatened with jail if they did not agree to join the army.”

The Burmese army has an estimated 70,000 child soldiers, one of the highest percentages in the world, according to rights” groups. Some are as young as 11 years old. Non-state armed groups also recruit thousands of children as soldiers.

It keeps them off the streets, right?

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