School-Age Children Reportedly Dealing Drugs in Myanmar’s Kachin State Capital

School-age children are openly trafficking illicit drugs in Myitkyina, the capital of northern Myanmar’s Kachin State, amid a collapse in child protection under military rule, according to residents and rights advocates. Witnesses in the city's Rampu Ward recently observed three minors—a 12-year-old boy, his 16-year-old sister, and another teenage girl of similar age—selling drugs in a local alleyway. Residents suspect the children are operating under their parents' direction. "This should never be happening. They should be in school," a resident told the Kachin News Group, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "If this continues, these children will end up using drugs themselves. Young people are the country’s future, but under military rule, Myanmar’s youth have already lost their future." According to the community, underage children have been visible in the local drug trade for roughly three years. Despite minors openly buying and selling illicit substances, authorities have taken no meaningful action, allowing the trade to operate with near-total impunity. Daw San Htoi, spokesperson for the Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT), stated that Myanmar's child protection framework has effectively disintegrated since the military seized power, leaving children vulnerable across the country. "Myanmar is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child," Daw San Htoi said. "Although the country has committed to this international legal framework, there is a severe failure in implementation. Similarly, labor rights have plummeted to historic lows. It has become extremely difficult to monitor the situation on the ground, and Myanmar has reached a point where rights protections are virtually non-existent." Distressed residents are calling on authorities and aid organizations to intervene, urging them to provide protection, rehabilitation, and social support for the children trapped in the trade rather than criminalizing or abandoning them.