ASIA / PHILIPPINES - Still too many children engaged in armed conflict in the country

Cotabato City (Agenzia Fides) - Significant progress has been made in the Philippines against the use of child soldiers committed by rebel groups, but the problem still persists. According to the UN, approximately 250 000 children worldwide are enrolled in armed conflict as soldiers, messengers, spies, porters, cooks or to provide sexual services, violating the international law. A recent meeting in Manila of the Special Representative of the United Nations for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, revealed that rebel groups like the New People's Army (NPA) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have expressed a desire to stop the recruitment of child soldiers. Both rebel groups are negotiating peace talks with the government of President Aquino, in the hope of finding a political agreement during his term that ends in 2016. There is also a third group linked to Al-Qaeda terrorist organization, which often uses child soldiers.
"In Mindanao, girls and boys are born in a context where conflicts are a constant feature, it is urgent to accelerate the process of registration of children" Coomaraswamy said in a statement reported by the agency IRIN. So far, with the support from UNICEF about 600 children under 18 years of age have been registered. A spokesman for the MILF said that the group is trying to remove child soldiers from their ranks, but also insisted on some cultural differences that encourage the phenomenon. According to local Islamic law, for example, children older than 13 are normally considered adults, and those born into families involved in struggles for independence, have a duty to contribute. In addition to poverty there are personal factors, such as protection of loved ones, revenge for the death of a family member , cultural and religious factors. According to some data, between 2007 and 2008, about 40 of the NPA child soldiers have been captured or rescued. While 15% of the forces of the MILF is formed by children under the age of 18. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 18/04/2011)