The UN's human rights expert on Burma, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro says that the military government's assertion that it is committed to democracy is as believable as "gnomes, trolls and elves". Pinheiro was granted a visit to Burma in November, but has not been allowed back since. He has asked the Human Rights Council to take action in investigating the government's detention of nearly 2,000 political prisoners.

In January, the UN secretary general called on the Burmese military and various ethnic rebel forces to stop recruiting child soldiers. One of the groups Ban Ki Moon condemned was the Karen National Liberation Army, or KNLA. But the rebel group says they banned the presence of soldiers under the age of 18 in their armed forces. In 2004, the Burmese government created a high-level committee to stop the recruitment of underage soldiers in their ranks. Human Rights Watch's most recent report finds there are still problems on both sides. Zack Baddorf reports.