Myanmar (Burma) has been named as the most persistent user of child soldiers, with thousands in its armed forces ? some as young as 11, Human Rights Watch says in a new report. The military recruitment of children (under-18s) and their use in hostilities is a much larger phenomenon that still takes place in one form or another in at least 86 countries and territories worldwide. This includes unlawful recruitment by armed groups, forcible recruitment by government forces, recruitment or use of children by militias or other groups associated with armed forces, their use as spies, as well as legal recruitment into peacetime armies. The governments of six other countries, five of them in Africa, also recruit children, the report says. Overall the number of armed conflicts in which children are involved has gone down from 27 to 17, it adds. But it says world consensus that minors should not be used as soldiers has failed to protect tens of thousands, who are also used as spies and suicide attackers. The findings make it clear that, despite the high level of international attention on the issue, the impact of that attention is yet to be felt by many children who are, or are at risk of becoming, child soldiers.
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