Statement for the Launch of “Forced to Fight: The Reality of Military Conscription in Myanmar”
28 April 2025
1.Ministry of Human Rights of the National Unity Government of Myanmar releases its comprehensive report “Forced to Fight: The Reality of Military Conscription in Myanmar,” documenting the systematic and widespread practice of forced conscription by the military junta since February 2024.
2.This report reveals patterns of human rights violations, drawing on testimonies from 31 individuals who were forcibly conscripted. Their accounts expose a brutal reality of young men being systematically abducted from homes, workplaces, and checkpoints.
3.The military junta has implemented the so-called “People’s Military Service Law” as a strategy to counter significant force attrition and widespread defections among its ranks. The junta employed tactics of coercion, abduction, and violence against young people and their families.
4.The junta have conscripted tens of thousands of young people, including children and persons with physical and mental disabilities. The testimonies the ministry have gathered also indicated extortions from families of enlisted young people.
5.The report concludes that the forceful conscription may constitute forced labour and human trafficking. The conscription of young people between 18 and 35 years as a military strategy may constitute Crimes against Humanity.
6.We call on the United Nations, ASEAN member states, and the international community to take immediate and decisive action including economic sanctions and arms embargoes including that of jet fuel. We would like to request neighboring countries in particular to provide protection and assistance to young people fleeing forced military recruitment, based on humanitarian principles.
Announcements
28 February 2025
Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions , CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar)
Open letter: Removal of the membership of the dis-accredited Myanmar National Human Rights Commission from the Southeast Asia National Human Rights Institution Forum
Progressive Voice is a participatory rights-based policy research and advocacy organization rooted in civil society, that maintains strong networks and relationships with grassroots organizations and community-based organizations throughout Myanmar. It acts as a bridge to the international community and international policymakers by amplifying voices from the ground, and advocating for a rights-based policy narrative.
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