DFA: Probe on use of child soldiers by AFP found to be false

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday said the annual report of the secretary-general to the United Nations Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict regarding isolated incidents committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have been investigated and were found to be false.

“In response, the allegations were investigated and verified by the AFP and were found to be false. Their comments have been submitted to the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict,” the DFA said.

The DFA said the Philippine Inter-Agency Committee on Children in Armed Conflict, chaired by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), and its Sub-committee on Children Affected by Armed Conflict and Displacement, chaired by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), continue to explore ways of improving the monitoring and reporting mechanism provided for by Security Council resolutions, as well as facilitate processes that respond to the recommendations presented in the UN Secretary General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict.

The UN expressed serious concern about the use of children by the Armed Forces for military intelligence and interrogation purposes.

The annual report said a total of six cases of children used by the AFP to carry supplies, for intelligence purposes, or who had been illegally detained for their alleged association with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) or the New People’s Army (NPA) have been documented by the country’s task force.

The DFA said the latest report cited the Philippines for its progress and openness in addressing the issue of children in armed conflict.

The report also particularly cited the signing last year of a Plan of Action between the UN and the MILF to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy highlighted the importance of bringing to fruition the full implementation of the action plan.

According to the DFA, the Philippines reassured the UN of its commitment to the promotion and protection of the rights of children.

The latest report listed the most persistent violators for recruiting and using children in armed conflict for the first time.

The MILF, the Abu Sayyaf, and the New People’s Army (NPA) were among the non-state parties named for committing grave violations against children that includes recruitment, killing, maiming, abduction and sexual violence.

The UN likewise named the three active insurgent groups as persistent users of child soldiers in armed conflicts.

It was the first time that the US named the military forces and rebel groups that are the most persistent violators of children in armed conflicts, including those in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Coomaraswamy said reports on grave violations against children may only be indicative, as the country task force continues to face tremendous challenges with regard to the monitoring of child rights violations.

The report added that a significant portion of southwestern Mindanao continues to be highly restricted to UN travel, as armed skirmishes between non-state groups and government forces intermittently erupt, a situation compounded by the tangible threat of abduction. –Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star)