Myanmar has signed an agreement with the UN to ban the recruitment of child soldiers and demobilise those already serving.
The Southeast Asian nation is one of about two dozen countries worldwide found by the UN to violate international law on the rights of children in armed conflicts.
The UN office in Yangon said in a press release on Thursday that the agreement was the result of years of negotiations with a task force on child soldiers comprising UN agencies along with the private groups World Vision and Save the Children.
Task force co-chairman Ramesh Shrestha of UNICEF said at Wednesday's signing that supporting the demobilised youth with education and jobs is a key task.
The UN says seven ethnic guerrilla armies in Myanmar also use child soldiers. – Sapa-AP