Submitted to the Members of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child by Ethan Taubes, consultant to the International League for Human Rights 432 Park Avenue South New York, New York, 10016, U.S.A July 1996....Executive Summary: "Myanmar?s initial report demonstrates a serious lack of understanding for the principles animating the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Through its chronic omission of virtually all relevant information, it describes a country in which children?s rights are afforded special protection under national law .With its primary emphasis on reciting enacted legislation, and with little relevant commentary or factual documentation to fill the gaps, the report avoids any substantive discussion of what measures Myan.mar is taking to protect children?s rights and enforce existing laws. SLORC attempts to mask its noncompliance with the Committee?s reporting guidelinesl by using the subtitle "Implementation" in each section of its report. However, although the term "implementation" is continually waved like a talismanic wand at the reader, the sections usually refer to statutory provisions without providing any material on actual implementation measures the government is taking or, at least, planning to pursue. Implementation of the Convention does not"end simply with mechanical incorporation of the CRC provisions into national law .Legislation is meaningless unless it is accompanied by concrete administrative codes and guidelines for government agencies to follow and apply .Legislation must be bolstered by specific policy decisions and by political will to implement the principles of the Convention.2 Article 44(2) of the CRC requires States parties to include in their reports ". ..sufficient information to provide the Committee with a comprehensive understanding of the implementation of the Convention in the country concerned," The Myanmar report fails to satisfy this basic requirement. As a result, it will be all but impossible for the Committee to conduct discussions "to analyze progress achieved and factors and difficulties encountered in the implementation of the Convention," as is the responsibility of the Committee under its guidelines,3 The Committee should require that Myanmar submit another report within six months, because the current report is not in compliance with the reporting guidelines established by the Committee and fails to provide the information necessary for the Committee to conduct its discussions. For this purpose, the Committee should: (1) emphasize, and elaborate on, the reporting guidelines previously established in the CRC?s Overview on Reporting Procedures, and (2) require that Myanmar be more forthcoming in its reporting, especially in its discussion of implementation measures, and demand that the SLORC not avoid difficult issues about protecting the rights of the Bumiese child."