"Nay Pyi Taw, 8 April—The government is taking measures to prevent child labour and the employment of children in dangerous or illegal work, including the recruitment of minors into armed forces, Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Brig-Gen Kyaw Zan Myint told the Pyithu Hluttaw session on Wednesday. Those who abandon or traffic children, or force them to beg, will also be targeted, the deputy minister said, in accordance with criminal and juvenile laws. Those who abandon a child under 12 are liable to a maximum seven-year sentence. Trafficking children for forced labour is subject to a life sentence under the anti-human trafficking law, according to the deputy minister. The ministry of health is also trying to issue birth certificates when newborns are discharged from hospitals to prevent abandonment of children, the deputy minister added. Concerning child soldiers, the deputy minister said that armed forces have their own rules and regulations for recruiting new soldiers who are required to be between the ages of 18 and 25. Armed forces have released 594 child soldiers who were recruited improperly, while action was taken against 50 officers and 277 other personnel who recruited child soldiers."