Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Sri Lanka (S/2009/325)

Third country-specific UN SG report (15 Sep 2007 – 31 Jan 2009). Under access constraints, the Country Task Force verified 39 LTTE recruitments / 6 re-recruitments; 81 outstanding cases; 1,342 persons recruited as children now ≥18. Records 'grave concerns that, in the last months, LTTE has forcibly recruited a much larger number of children, allegedly some as young as 14 years of age.' Records 150 TMVP recruitment/re-recruitment reports; 77% Batticaloa (116). On 24 January 2008 TMVP became a registered political party; on 7 October 2008 Karuna (Vinayagamoorthi Muralidharan) was sworn in as a UPFA Member of Parliament. The report observes that Karuna 'is suspected of a series of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, including the abduction of hundreds of children to serve as child soldiers.' Documented incidents of children abducted by 'persons allegedly in Sri Lankan Army uniform' in Vavuniya (21 Jan 2008, 16-year-old; 3 Apr 2008, 17-year-old).