This CNNfyi.com lesson plan is supplemented with material from

Myanmar's child soldiers

June 13, 2001
Web posted at: 3:44 PM EDT (1944 GMT)

Curriculum Connections: Social Studies, Current Events, Economics

Objectives
Students will be able to:

• Describe the conflict occurring in Myanmar and the role of child soldiers.
• Analyze whether the international community is effectively addressing the problem of child soldiers.

Standards
National Council for the Social Studies
IX Global connections, grades nine - 12
High school students need to think systematically about personal, national, and global decisions, interactions, and consequences, including addressing critical issues such as peace, human rights, trade, and global ecology.

Procedure

1. Have students read the following CNN.fyi article, "Child soldiers in Myanmar's front line" and ask the following questions:

• Where is Myanmar located? By what other name is Myanmar known? How long has this country been in a state of internal armed conflict? Why is this conflict considered one of the worst in the world? To what extent have children become involved in the fighting in Myanmar? How are child soilders in Myanmar recruited? What specific dangers do these young soldiers face?

2. Refer groups of students to multimedia resources to learn more about the history of Myanmar, the Mong Tai Army and the Karen National Union, why these groups have had a longstanding conflict with the nation's government, and how the conflict in Myanmar has impacted the nations' citizens. Have students share their findings and discuss.

3. Inform students that according to the Human Rights Watch organization, "The participation of child soldiers has been reported in 33 on-going or recent armed conflicts in almost every region of the world...Today, as many as 300,000 children under the age of 18 serve in government forces or armed rebel groups." What has the international community done to address the problem of child soldiers? Have students consult the last three Web sites below and other resources to learn more about international law and declarations on the use of child soldiers. (Teachers, please note: The Web sites below contain accounts and images that may be disturbing to some students. We advise you to preview.)

Assessment
Have students share their information in class discussion and ask: To what extent can measures like these be effective? Do you think anything can be done to enforce these measures? Discuss.

Challenge
Ask students: Why is the Human Rights Watch organization urging international companies to stop investing in Myanmar? What is the state of Myanmar's economy? Then, point out to students that, over the years, western nations have withheld financial aid and investment from Myanmar. Direct groups of students to conduct research to learn how economic sanctions have impacted Myanmar's economy. After students share their findings, have each student write an essay addressing the following two questions: Do you think economic sanctions are an appropriate response to the situation in Myanmar? What do you think it would it take to bring money back into the country?

Extension
To have students learn about the historical context of sanctions and assess their current effectiveness as deterrents to war, use the following HighWired.net project, What Are Economic Sanctions?

In-Depth Specials
Myanmar: the politics of compromise

UN Commission on Human Rights - situation of human rights in Myanmar (Feb 96)
Coalition to stop the use of Child Soldiers
UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund
HRW: Child Soldiers: Facts About Child Soldiers

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