Burma/Myanmar: workshop on child protection and gender issues with the Karen Human Rights Group

Last November, for the first time, Geneva Call conducted a three-day workshop with the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) on child protection and gender issues. The KHRG is an internationally-recognized human rights organization established in Karen State specializing in seeking to highlight human right abuses in Burma/Myanmar.

27 participants were trained on the obligations contained in the two Deeds of Commitment that the Karen National Union / Karen National Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA) signed in July 2013 – the Deed of Commitment protecting children in armed conflict and the Deed of Commitment prohibiting sexual violence and against gender discrimination.

This training was part of a larger programme to disseminate the obligations of the Deed of Commitment to all stakeholders: members of the armed group, communities and civil society. KNU/KNLA members including commanders from the different brigades have already been trained.

Geneva Call is engaging 11 armed non-State actors in Burma/Myanmar on the prohibition of landmines, sexual violence and on child protection, six of whom have signed one or more of the Deeds of Commitment.