UN Report: Use of child warriors in conflicts increased
THE number of child warriors involved in the long-running Communist
and Muslim rebellions have increased in the two years that the Aquino
Administration has been in power, and they have been casualties in
explosions and shootings, a United Nations report said Friday.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the children, with ages ranging
from seven to 16 years, were working as guerrillas of the New People’s
Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or serving as messengers and
intelligence gatherers for the Armed Forces and para-military units.
“These children are not only casualties of explosions, shootings and attacks, but they are also kidnapped, killed or maimed,” Ban said.
“Last year, 26 children were killed in armed conflict.”
Ban submitted his report to the UN General Assembly last month, but it was cleared for release to the public only on Friday. He provided the Manila Standard a copy of the report by e-mail at its request.
The NPA, which started as a rag-tag army of barefoot communist guerrillas, has been fighting the government for 43 years. The MNLF war, which has sputtered off and on for almost the same period, seeks an independent Muslim state in Mindanao.
Ban said the number of children recruited by rebels in 2011 was 54 compared with 24 in 2010, and “our country task force documented 26 incidents involving 33 boys and 21 girls.”
He said out of the 52 recorded cases, 16 children were verified to be connected with the government’s military operations while the others were connected with rebel groups.
“They are used by rebels as combatants and as military intelligence by the Armed Forces and the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units [militia],” Ban said.
Malacañang declined to issue a statement when asked for comment, while deputy spokeswoman Abigail Valte said she had yet to see a copy of the report.
“But as a matter of policy, that [using children in war] is not allowed,” she said.
Source: http://news.manilastandardtoday.com/2012/06/16/un-report-use-of-child-warriors-in-conflicts-increased/
Boys at war. A child combatant of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has a finger on the trigger in this undated photo.
“These children are not only casualties of explosions, shootings and attacks, but they are also kidnapped, killed or maimed,” Ban said.
“Last year, 26 children were killed in armed conflict.”
Ban submitted his report to the UN General Assembly last month, but it was cleared for release to the public only on Friday. He provided the Manila Standard a copy of the report by e-mail at its request.
The NPA, which started as a rag-tag army of barefoot communist guerrillas, has been fighting the government for 43 years. The MNLF war, which has sputtered off and on for almost the same period, seeks an independent Muslim state in Mindanao.
Ban said the number of children recruited by rebels in 2011 was 54 compared with 24 in 2010, and “our country task force documented 26 incidents involving 33 boys and 21 girls.”
He said out of the 52 recorded cases, 16 children were verified to be connected with the government’s military operations while the others were connected with rebel groups.
“They are used by rebels as combatants and as military intelligence by the Armed Forces and the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units [militia],” Ban said.
Malacañang declined to issue a statement when asked for comment, while deputy spokeswoman Abigail Valte said she had yet to see a copy of the report.
“But as a matter of policy, that [using children in war] is not allowed,” she said.
Source: http://news.manilastandardtoday.com/2012/06/16/un-report-use-of-child-warriors-in-conflicts-increased/
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