Freedom for child soldiers in Burma (Myanmar) Siobhan Spiak, Peace and Conflict Transformation Intern October 15, 2014 Columbans are celebrating some good news for children in Burma (Myanmar). On September 25, 109 child soldiers were released by the Myanmar Army in an attempt to reform its military ranks and reputation, as reported by Vatican Radio. Children are victims of human trafficking when they are sold or kidnapped into the military to serve as child soldiers. This is a modern-day form of slavery.

But children in Burma still need our help. While this is the largest discharge yet, Bertrand Bainvel, head of the U.N. Children’s Fund in Myanmar, reports that recruitment continues, though at a decreased rate, specifically in poor communities who depend on the income of sons who join the military. Currently, the Obama Administration provides funding for the military in Myanmar, despite the practice of child soldiers and other human rights abuses.

Columban missionaries first came to Burma in 1936. They lived with ethnic communities in the Kachin State until the government forced them to leave in 1979. The people of Kachin State continue to be greatly impacted by violence and political persecution. In the 2000s Columbans were allowed to return to Kachin State, to care for the sick and assist in formation of seminarians. By their presence, Columbans bear witness and stand in solidarity with the people of Kachin in the Diocese of Myitkyina.

Currently, the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach is advocating for the U.S. government to address human rights abuses in Burma by passing the Burma Human Rights and Democracy Act (H.R. 4377), which would restrict U.S. military aid to Burma. We ask that you a contact your Congressional representatives to request their support and co-sponsorship of H.R. 4377.

Accounts from Forces Watch and Child Soldier International emphasize the vulnerability of youth who are exposed to exploitation once recruited as child soldiers. Younger recruits are considerably more likely to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, to develop drinking habits harmful to their health, and to be more susceptible to violence when they

Burmese Bishop Francis Daw of the Diocese of Myitkyina

celebrates Mass in the Kachin State.

 

return from war. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds are at a greater risk of being recruited. Girls and boys are forced to serve on the frontline as fighters, and as porters, spies, guards, suicide bombers and human shields. They are also required to perform domestic duties such as cooking and cleaning as well as sexual acts for soldiers.

The military recruitment and targeting of young people and vulnerable groups has been criticized by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child. In 2013, the Columbans signed a petition initiated by Pax Christi to end the enlistment of 15 and 16 year olds in the UK armed forces. In the U.S., the Conference of Catholic Bishops advocates for bringing child soldiers home and keeping other children from the grasp of military groups around the world. Please help us raise community awareness of the dangers inflicted on child combatants and hold governments to international human rights standards. Together we can restore human dignity to all of God’s people, especially these vulnerable children.

Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach Respecting Human Rights through Global Supply Chains Siobhan Spiak, Peace and Conflict Transformation Intern December 1, 2014

Businesses play a crucial role in protecting human rights and ending forced labor by identifying, preventing and eradicating slavery from their supply chains. The more transparency in the business supply-chain, the less opportunity for laborers to be exploited and abused.

On October 24 we moved one step closer to the goal of world-wide business supply-chain transparency when China launched new government regulations for its mining companies operating overseas. This is a game-changer for people who live in resource-rich, but economically-poor nations.

China’s economy has a huge appetite for energy and minerals. China’s foreign direct investment in natural resources is spilt between Latin America and Africa. The Chinese government

An Andean man in traditional dress in

Pisac, Peru. Photo by Cacophony (CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)

 

struggles to regulate the behavior of its companies abroad. Violations of international labor and environmental standards by Chinese companies, particularly in the mining section, have been uncovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and Zambia. Corruption and bribery by Chinese mining companies have been documented throughout Latin America.

In December 2013, Chinese copper mining operations in Zambia were halted by the government for failing to comply with environmental and labor regulations. And in March 2014, a Chinese open-pit copper mine in Toromocho, Peru, was shut down after the country’s environmental regulator found that it was contaminating two lakes. Peru is the world’s third biggest copper producer.

The new Chinese guidelines encourage mining companies to publish their receipts of payment to governments—this includes taxes, royalties, and license fees— from every project they operate as well as documentation of fair operating practices.

The Chinese government also requires mining companies to implement the standards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in order to prevent corruption as well as provide guidelines for which types of payments and at what levels those payments should be reported under these standards.

This will allow communities who live near active project sites to have knowledge of how the money is being handled and where the government is putting those funds to use. This in turn will put the power of accountability in the hands of the people and provide local communities the opportunity to ensure that the money going into their government is coming out in the form of services that provide for its citizens.

Columban Fathers and lay missionaries have witnessed the effects of forced labor in the communities where they live and serve. In Peru, Columban Father Peter Hughes has served as the executive secretary of the Department of Justice and Solidarity of the Latin American Bishops’ Conference (CELAM) to bring Catholic teaching into the sphere of extractive industries. In the Philippines, Columbans have served as founding members of the Working Group on Mining, to help indigenous groups organize themselves when voting on approval of mining projects.

The new guidelines will not only set precedence for China, but could also have a positive impact on the U.S. as well. While the U.S. has made efforts towards transparency and accountability with the Dodd-Frank Act (Section 1504), the bill has been delayed on account of a legal challenge by the American Petroleum Institute (API), an oil lobby

group. The API claims that the rules of Section 1504 will put the United States at a comparable disadvantage against their Chinese rival. Yet with China’s biggest companies already functioning under the standards of EITI, the API’s argument is proving weak in comparison.

If the standards set in the Dodd-Frank Act are not implemented, the U.S. risks being stigmatized with a reputation of secrecy around oil and mining practices that leads to conflict, corruption, and human abuses. The Columbans applaud China’s efforts and advocate for U.S. regulators to embrace this new age of transparency.