UNICEF country representative Lotta Sylwander (right) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front first vice-chairman Ghadzali Jaafar swap tokens during a ceremony on the UN-MILF Action Plan on protecting children against recruitment and use in combat. Ferdinandh Cabrera
CAMP DARAPANAN, SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is set to make history as the only non-state armed organization seriously exerting all means to remove itself from the United Nations list of armed groups using child soldiers.
MILF first vice-chairman Ghadzali Jaafar signified this intention on Tuesday during the orientation of MILF base commanders on the UN-MILF Action Plan on the recruitment and use of children. The event was attended by UNICEF officials and MILF commanders headed by Jaafar.
Jaafar said he hopes this will set an example to other armed groups like the New People's Army, Abu Sayyaf, and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, among others in the country, to respect international children’s rights.
“We approved this code of conduct as our sincere effort to show our concern to children’s future, but it was never the policy of the MILF to use children,” he said.
Child soldiers have figured in the battlefield, said one MILF element who refused to be identified.
He added it is hard to exclude young soldiers who want to join the rebel troops especially when their loved ones or male family members had already sacrificed and there is no one else to continue the struggle.
“But now realizing the improvements of the peace talks and the recent developments with the sincerity of the present government, we rather wanted to see young fighters in schools,” he said.
“MILF is the only non-state armed group in the whole world attempting to be delisted from the list of armed groups that engage children in armed conflict and this is something very very unique,” UNICEF country representative Lotta Sylwander said.
Aside from MILF officials, military commanders and troops also underwent a series of orientation sessions on the Action Plan to ensure that its command structure adheres to international law.
740,000 people killed annually
Globally, every year, at least 740,000 people die directly or indirectly as a result of armed violence.
One third of these deaths can be attributed to armed conflicts in war zones.
In the Philippines, it is estimated that around 30,000 to 50,000 children were displaced by armed conflict every year for the past years, of which the majority were in the southern Philippines.
The UN-MILF Action Plan is a key component in ensuring that children in situations of armed conflict are protected.
Originally signed in 2009, the Action Plan commits the MILF to concrete, time-bound activities pertaining to the prevention of recruitment and use of children as combatants or in supporting roles.
It also commits the MILF to the separation of any children under 18 from the command structure, unimpeded access for UN verification, and awareness raising on child rights and child protection for its military rank and file, as well as for MILF communities.
It also commits the MILF to the separation of any children under 18 from the command structure, unimpeded access for UN verification, and awareness raising on child rights and child protection for its military rank and file, as well as for MILF communities.
Orientations are currently being carried out across all 31 MILF base commands and seven front commands in Mindanao for Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) commanders and troops.
So far, 4,151 BIAF elements from 26 base commands and four fronts have received these trainings.
At the end of these sessions, MILF front and base commanders publicly commit to ensure that no children are associated with their respective commands, and that if there are cases, these children will be separated from the command structure.
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