The largest Muslim rebel group of the Philippines has pledged to demobilize and stop recruiting child soldiers in armed conflict, in order to get itself removed from the United Nations (UN) list of 57 parties which commit grave violations against children, a UN special representative said Friday.
"The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will enter into an action plan with the UN to stop the use of children and ensure that they are separated from the ranks and return to civilian life," Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict told a news conference here after visiting the conflict-torn Mindanao region in southern Philippines this week.
The Philippines is on the UN's watch list for grave violations against children as MILF, along with the leftist rebel group New People's Army (NPA) and the more violent group Abu Sayyaf, are documented as parties that use minors below the age of 18 in armed conflict.
Coomaraswamy said she did not have the figures on the number of the children who are involved in armed conflict in the Philippines but said "the reported cases are more than enough" to have the three armed groups included in the watch list.
Coomaraswamy said the MILF leadership has committed itself to the action plan which requires an evaluation on demobilization and rehabilitation measures of the rebel side by the end of February 2009, while NPA and Abu Sayyaf leaderships are still far to reach for dialogue on the subject.
Failure to comply with the UN action plans, Coomaraswamy said, would result in sanctions that include travel bans and arms embargo. She said she had faith in MILF commitment as the group, considering itself a legitimate power in the region rather than rebels, is keen on being de-listed from the U.N. shame list some time next year to save its international reputation.
Muslim rebels have been fighting government troops for four decades in order to establish a separate state in resources-rich and Muslim-dominating Mindanao. Peace talks between the two sides have been halted amid lack of trust and escalation of clashes in August this year.
A recent UN report said most of the children associated with MILf had been drawn into the conflict after losing their parents or as a result of their community coming under attack.
According to another study of the International Labor Organization, published in 2001, children were most commonly used by MILF in carrying out patrols, performing sentry duty, preparing food and providing medical support.
Coomaraswamy said during her 5-day visit to the Philippines, she also raised concerns regarding the alleged use of children by the government's paramilitary in some conflict zones.
"The government agreed to immediately issue a directive that all local units must strictly adhere to existing national legislation that no-one under 18 shall be recruited or used," she said.
Coomaraswamy also said there are a lot of innocent children being killed, wounded or affected in the conflict as collective damages. She urged parties involved to spare children and ensure that civilians are not caught in the cross fire.
Source:Xinhua
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