What happened
Myanmar's military junta has conscripted over 130,000 new soldiers since 2024, with many facing exploitation and danger. Conscripts are often unpaid and used as human shields, with their families receiving little compensation when they are killed.
The conscription process has been marked by reports of drugging, capturing, or forcibly press-ganging young people into military service. Recruiters have also used false job offers to lure people into the military. In some cases, abducted recruits are sold along a chain of buyers, with prices ranging from 150,000 to 300,000 kyats ($35 to $70) per person.
Conscripts are often sent on dangerous missions without adequate training or equipment, and are used as cannon fodder in offensives to retake territory. Defectors have reported that conscripts are used as porters and human shields, and are assigned to the most dangerous frontline positions. When conscripts are killed, their families often receive little or no compensation, with some families receiving as little as 1 million kyats ($476) and two sacks of rice.
The practice of conscripting soldiers has drawn condemnation from within the junta's own camp, with one lawmaker describing it as akin to human trafficking. The use of conscripts has also been criticized by human rights groups, who have reported on the poor treatment and exploitation of conscripts.
