Engaging Non-State Armed Groups Through Human Rights Education:
Experience with Youth from Southern Philippines
Ryan V. Silverio

The Southeast Asia Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (seasucs) is a regional non-governmental organization (ngo) working
to promote respect and ensure compliance with international anddomestic child protection standards particularly on the prohibition of therecruitment and involvement of children in armed conflict. It has member-organizations from Indonesia, Burma, Thailand and the Philippines.
Seasucs undertakes research, advocacy and human rights education targeting government actors, non-state armed groups and civil society groups.
Since 2002, seasucs has conducted several human rights education workshops in southern Philippines involving different groups such as activists,children, youth, women, and academics.
In this article I employ the cyclical process of praxis by looking back at
my first-hand experiences of conducting human rights education and reflecting on the lessons learned. I focus on the added value of human rights
education in the work of seasucs, and the contribution of the initiative inpeace-building efforts in southern Philippines. I highlight lessons that canguide the conduct of future initiatives with non-state armed groups.

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Engaging Non-state Armed Groups
The term non-state armed group (nsag) is defined as groups that have
weapons, use force to achieve its political and/or quasi-political objectives,and opposed to, or autonomous from, the state. They are also commonly
being referred to as “rebel groups” or “armed opposition groups.” In the context of the Philippines, nsags do not operate in a vacuum rather they operate with the support of communities and sectors or groups. In some cases,
nsags are considered as “de facto” government who are given a mandate bycommunities to exercise influence and control over certain areas. Given thisconceptual understanding of nsags, any engagement process with themshould involve communities or groups whose members may not necessarily
be part of the armed groups but directly or indirectly support their cause
and activities. Engaging these communities or groups is important because
they can condone or defy practices of nsags, or facilitate or counter theprocess of changing their policies and practices.
Engaging nsags to ensure the non-recruitment, and/or secure the release, of child soldiers largely remains a new discourse. Many of the existing studies and literature focus on engagement with armed groups in peace
processes (Chhabra, n.d.; Guinard, 2002; Hottinger, 2005; Lederach, 1997;
Petrasek, 2005). They provide lessons that should be considered particularly
in relation to the different objectives and methods of engagement.
There are two categories of engagement based on objectives: politicalengagement and humanitarian engagement. Political engagement connotes“efforts to persuade armed groups to negotiate a peaceful resolution of thearmed conflict, including facilitating their participation in processes to thisend” (Petrasek, 2005, 44). Humanitarian engagement on the other hand intends to persuade armed groups to respect human rights and humanitarian
standards (Petrasek, 2005, 44; Bessler and McHugh, 2006, 5). Humanitarian
engagement is useful in achieving the following goals: secure humanitarian access to those in need, secure agreement on operational mechanisms,
ensure humanitarian workers’ safety and secure protection for vulnerable
persons in conflict situations (Bessler and McHugh, 2006, 12).
While there are differences in terms of objectives, the lines are blurred
between political and humanitarian engagements. From the perspective ofpeace building, these two approaches are seen as reinforcing. Achieving asituation of peace addresses perennial humanitarian concerns. On the other140

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i chand, the people and communities affected by armed conflict require special attention and have special needs to be addressed while the process ofpeace building takes place.
The engagement process cited in this article can be considered as ahumanitarian engagement because of its clear objectives: to raise awareness and ensure respect for and compliance with child rights laws; to create
mechanisms to ensure the non-recruitment and use of child soldiers; to ensure the release of children from the ranks of the nsags; and to ensure support for programs on reintegration of children into a civilian environment.
Based on the experiences of civil society groups working on the issueof child soldiers in the Philippines, engagement takes place in various yet
interrelated forms, namely:• monitoring and documentation of the number of child soldiers andtheir specific cases• dialogues or negotiations (usually low profile due to the sensitivityof the issue of child soldiers) with leaders or members of a nsag1• advocacy through press releases and letters of appeal as methods inreaching nsags that are not accessible or willing to dialogue withcivil society groups.
Another form of engagement entails awareness-raising and capacity
building for members or communities or groups surrounding nsags. Threefactors require this kind of engagement: preliminary dialogue with thensags; certain level of confidence and openness with it; and support fromlocal groups affiliated directly or indirectly with it.
Children’s Involvement in Armed Conflict
As a party to the on-going conflict in southern Philippines, the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (milf) has been cited several times for violating humanrights and International Humanitarian Law (ihl) standards. The involvement of children below eighteen years of age in the ranks of the milf is one
example.
According to Cagoco-Guiam (2002, 76), at least ten to thirty percent
of children in a community influenced by a nsag have volunteered or havebeen convinced to participate in its activities. This partly explains why children have been involved in the activities of the milf.
A 2005 research that interviewed one hundred ninety-four current andformer child soldiers from different nsags in the country shows a number

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141of reasons for the participation of children in the armed conflict. Most of
their responses cited support for the political ideologies of the nsag, religious conviction and belief, lack of options and uncertain future, and defense and protection of the family and community (PhilRights, 2005, 40).
The respondents affiliated with the milf expressed strong support for secessionist advocacy guided by the belief that the struggle for self-determination
was their best offering to Allah (PhilRights, 2005, 77).
The research shows that the nature of children’s involvement withnsags is highly voluntary. Other researches (Cagoco-Guiam, 2002 and Brettand Specht, 2004) support this claim.
Brett and Specht (2004), however, qualify their concept of voluntary involvement by questioning the degree of free choice the children have prior
to their participation. They further add that the interplay of various factors
such as militarization, the presence of armed conflict, poverty, lack of options, religion and culture pushed the children to be involved.
Children from Bangsamoro (Muslim) communities in Mindanao who
might have voluntarily joined a nsag also believed that doing so meant
obeying Islamic teachings and fulfilling the responsibilities of a good Muslim
laid down by their elders (Cagoco-Guiam, 2002, 75). Some of these children
have parents who were mujahideens (freedom fighters) while some children
believed that it was their religious and moral obligation to take part and help
the adults in the community in their jihad or holy struggle to liberate theircommunity from social injustices (Cagoco-Guiam 2002, 40).
In response to these researches and reports, the milf issued a statement reiterating its policy concerning the involvement of children in armed
conflict, to wit:
1. The general policy of the milf is not to recruit children forconflict; if they are with the milf, their roles are purely auxiliary incharacter;2. The milf is fully cognizant that the rightful place of children isin schools;
3. The milf recognizes the right of everybody including children to
self-defense especially when communities or villages are under indiscriminate military actions by the enemy; and4. It is preferable that children, who are forsaken or those who haveno reliable guardians, are taken cared of by the milf rather than allow
them to [become] misfits of society… (milf reiterates policy on ‘childsoldiers’, 2006).

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The Philippine government as well as various non-governmental organizations (ngos) responded to the issue. The government established an
Inter-agency Committee composed of lead government agencies such as
the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of
National Defense, Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process,and some ngos as well. This Committee was mandated to implement programs aimed at the demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration of children involved in armed conflict. There were support services meant to help
in the reintegration of the children into civilian life such as programs foreducation, livelihood, and temporary shelter for those who were separated
from their families or communities or for those whose families or communities were involved in or affected by armed conflict.
On the prevention of recruitment and involvement of children, seasucs held low-profile dialogues with members and leaders of nsags. These
dialogues led seasucs to realize that the information shared and the engagement in the dialogues was limited to the top leadership. As a result,seasucs modified its approach by employing human rights education as analternative strategy.
Human Rights Education as a Strategy
On 2 to 5 May 2006, seasucs held a training workshop entitled “Trainer’s
Training on HR and ihl for Bangsamoro Youth” at the Bangsamoro
Development Academy, Cotabato City, Philippines. The workshop was organized in cooperation with international organizations such as Geneva
Call and local organizations, namely, the Center for Muslim Youth Studies
and the Institute for Bangsamoro Studies.
This workshop served as a follow-up activity to a previous workshop
on human rights, ihl and child protection involving members of the milf.
The previous workshop took place on 12-17 November 2005 and was organized by several organizations, notably Geneva Call and the Institute ofBangsamoro Studies. 2
This workshop involved twenty-five youth who were selected by theleadership of the milf. The participants represented organizations andcommunities in the armed-conflict-affected provinces of Maguindanao andCotabato.
This workshop’s overall objective was to encourage respect and compliance with international human rights standards.3 To achieve this objec-

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tive, the training employed a progressive approach that started with raisingawareness and critical understanding of various laws and programs, and followed by the training on developing capacities and skills to educate otheryouth.
This workshop had a four-day program consisting of plenary discussions and small group interactions on topics regarding basic human rights
laws and principles, the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols,
the landmines issue including Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment banninganti-personnel landmines signed by the milf,4 the role of young people inpeace building, and child protection issues and concerns.
The sessions on child protection focused on both international and national laws, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rightsof the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. The facilitatorsstressed that both state and non-state armed groups have the responsibility
to observe human rights laws and ensure the protection of children. The
session was also designed to elicit ideas and practical measures to encourage
their communities and also the milf, as a political body exercising effective
control of certain communities, to become child-friendly organizations. See
Annex A for a similar training module used in the 2005 training workshop.
During the open forum, one participant asked why was it importantthat the youth become aware of human rights, ihl and child protection
standards. One of the facilitators responded that if the youth wanted to create an independent Bangsamoro state, it would be necessary that they participate in the development of policies and laws that were consistent withinternational human rights standards.
The workshop introduced an innovation by including practical sessions
on facilitation skills and development of training modules. After providing
knowledge on human rights and ihl, the participants were challenged todevelop ways of disseminating such information to their colleagues. They
were divided into groups and were asked to produce modules related to the
topics assigned to them. The modules were tested during the training andwere critiqued by the facilitators and fellow participants.
The participants appreciated well the workshop. During the evaluation
session, most of the participants said that their attendance in the workshop
on human rights and ihl was a first. The knowledge gained was new andcould give them an alternative view in dealing with armed conflict.
They also appreciated the methodology employed, which allowed them
to clearly understand the content. With the use of simple language and par-144

H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i cticipatory methodologies the interaction and exchange of opinions became
highly valued.
The issue of involvement of children in armed conflict turned out to bea sensitive matter. There were divergent and conflicting positions that surfaced during the discussions. To explain the reasons behind the voluntary
involvement of children, the participants raised religious obligation and theneed to respond to the injustices and oppression caused by the government.
Others mentioned that child soldiers did not exist in their communities,
but there were children victims of war who were in the custody of the community leaders.
While the workshop program had an explicit position on the issue, thefacilitators designed the sessions in the form of a dialogue. The facilitators
realized that imposing previously held views was not beneficial. Frank andopen discussions grounded on respect for each other’s opinions and cultural
background were the prevailing norm.
The exchange of different views was a learning process for both theorganizers and the participants in order to have a wider perspective andbroader analyses to address the problem. Understanding the cultural foundations of their perspectives was beneficial in developing context-specificapproaches in the design of future workshops. Agreements on certain critical issues were not anticipated. The underlying interest, however, was toseek a common understanding on the need for further dialogue and interaction, and a common objective to protect the rights of children.
One of the strengths of the workshop was its respect for the capacity of
local partner groups. Such principle of respect inspired all members of theorganizing team to mutually reinforce and support each other’s interests.
The workshop was intended as a collaborative effort to establish a senseof local ownership of the project. Hence, there were close consultations withpartner organizations from the project’s conceptualization, to the designing of the training program, and to its implementation. The local partners
who supported the workshop were the Center for Muslim Youth Studies(cmysi), a local youth organization based in Mindanao, and the Institute ofBangsamoro Studies (ibs). These two organizations have also played a vitalrole in facilitating seasuc’s request for permission from the leadership ofthe milf to undertake the project. Other international organizations such as
Geneva Call have also given a significant contribution to the project.
Encouraged by the participants’ positive feedback and interest to sustain the initiative, the workshop organizers plan to hold follow-up work-

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shops. This time the focus will be on the development of skills in the areasof facilitation, creative pedagogy and module development. This is intended
to equip the youth with knowledge and skills needed to systematically reachout and spread the information to other members of their community.
Apart from the follow-up workshop, the participants have also expressed their interest to organize themselves into a group that would takethe lead in educating young people on human rights and ihl, and also toundertake monitoring and reporting of violations within their communities.
Reflections on the Activity
Seasucs chose the youth as primary participants in its human rights education project given the belief that they constitute the “new blood” and cancatalyze change within their community. This is probably manifested by theplan of the participants to organize their ranks as a youth-led mechanismthat promotes human rights and ihl within their ranks through education,and monitors their violations.5 The creation of this youth-led mechanism
can also be seen as similar to devising new structures of accountability, anelement considered to be part of social change (Sharma 1999).
While the training did not make all participants agree to the new perspectives concerning children’s involvement in armed conflict, they nevertheless gained common understanding on the shared responsibility of protecting children.
The workshop provided several benefits to the sector. First, it provided
new knowledge to the youth and built their capacities relating to humanrights and ihl. The training helped them fill the gap in the education program for young people, particularly on human rights and ihl.
Second, it helped provide a positive image to armed groups such as themilf in allowing civil society groups such as seasucs to conduct a humanrights education activity. A positive image is necessary to mobilize support
to its advantage given that the milf is currently engaged in peace negotiations with the Philippine government.
It is important to note that the milf used to be listed by the governmentof the United States of America as a terror organization. It is also listed in
the United Nations Secretary General’s reports submitted to the Security
Council as one of parties that recruit or use children in situations of armed
conflict. (United Nations, A/59/695-S/2005/72, page 38)

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In terms of strategies, the use of human rights education in engaging
nsags serves not only the participants but also facilitates the evolution ofa human rights culture. The mobilization of local civil society groups independently operating in milf stronghold areas serves to pressure the armed
group to seriously take on its responsibility of respecting human rights andhumanitarian standards. In this way, local “owners” would sustain the mobilizing of local support for any advocacy.
Contribution to Peace Building
The workshop in itself is not the solution to the conflict in Mindanao but it
has a contribution on the process of peace building. The contribution might
not be tangible compared to the efforts of other organizations providing
direct services to victims. It might not be as precise compared to close involvement in the conduct of peace negotiations.
The issue of child soldiers is a concrete manifestation of a larger problem related to the armed conflict. Addressing the issue of child soldiers
through human rights education leads to the option of shifting from armed
conflict to non-violent politics. The knowledge on human rights and ihl,
including that of the non-usage of child soldiers, can serve as a catalyst towards greater respect for the rule of law and giving primary concern for
civilians affected by war.
Addressing the long-term goal of resolving the conflict in Mindanao
is a long and arduous task that would certainly involve all actors from thenational level down to the grassroots level. Addressing the issue of child soldiers through human rights education can then be viewed as a two-pronged
approach using Lederach’s paradigm (Lederach, 1997).
The workshop’s contribution can be characterized as a reinforcement of
the peace process as it promotes a sense of obligation and accountability toall parties to the conflict to respect norms and standards to protect vulnerable groups such as children, and at the very least respond to their needs
to alleviate suffering. It also seeks to minimize further violations that could
either pose as a consequence of or an impetus to perpetuate the conflict.
Second, human rights education provides options. The process of resolving the conflict also needs to recognize the need for the community tosustain its post-conflict productivity. Human rights education can provide
a different way of looking at social life in terms of one’s roles and contributions. The role of children and young people can be taken as one aspect.

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Given the justifications for involving children in armed conflict inBangsamoro areas as presented in existing researches, it is indeed difficult to
advocate for the non-recruitment and non-use of children in armed conflictfrom the perspective of human rights standards. However, human rights
education provides an alternative approach that can provide an understanding of the strategic role of children and young people in the developmentof an ideal Bangsamoro society. As articulated by the participants, allowing children and young people to participate in the armed conflict weakens the realization of the vision of having future doctors, nurses, educators,
engineers and other professionals that will constitute the social capital in a
post-conflict Bangsamoro society. This is probably one message that has tobe communicated in order for armed groups to see the benefits of engaging
with seasucs and other civil society institutions.
Conclusion
Engaging non-state armed groups to respect and comply with human rights
and humanitarian law standards is a long and arduous process. One challenge facing any entity that wishes to engage an armed group is to identify
common interests underlying conflicting positions. Human rights education is a potential tool in both extracting common interests and responding
to them. Based on the experience of seasucs and my reflections, these common interests can be found in the following factors: the provision of benefits
to the nsag such as capacity-building and legitimacy, and the integration ofefforts to the larger goal of building peace that would benefit both the nsag
and its constituency at the community level.
Endnotes
1
A concrete example of the second form of engagement is the multi-partite dialogue with the Revolutionary Proletarian Army – Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB)
that eventually led into the signing of a unilateral statement in 2005. The RPA-ABB isa leftist armed group that broke away from the Communist Party of the PhilippinesNational Democratic Front-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA-NDF). The talks with the
RPA-ABB concerning the issue of child soldiers started in 2003 by an NGO called
the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights). The author was directly involved with the talks with RPA-ABB’s Commander Gen. Carapali Lualhati.
The talks introduced to the group’s leadership international and national child protection laws and identified ways by which the RPA-ABB could cooperate in various

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aspects of child protection work. The dialogues with the RPA-ABB culminated withthe signing in February 2005 of a deed of commitment on non-recruitment or nonuse of child soldiers.
2
See: Geneva Call, 2006, Training of Trainers Workshop, http://www.genevacall.org/resources/conference-reports/f-conference-reports/2001-2010/gc-200512nov-totfim.pdf
3These include the Optional Protocol of the CRC on the involvement of children
in armed conflict, the Geneva Conventions, the ILO 182 on the worst forms of childlabor as well as domestic laws such as the Republic Act 7610 on “Special Protectionof Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.”
4
The Deed of Commitment for Adherence to the Total Ban on Anti-personnel
Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action was signed by the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) in 2002. See: http://www.genevacall.org/resources/testireference-materials/testi-deed/2007-07apr-milf.pdf.
5
SEASUCS is currently working together with key persons from the groupformed by the participants to organize a follow-up workshop focusing entirely onskills development in the areas of human rights education philosophy and pedagogy,
module development, and training techniques. All these are aimed at supporting thegroup’s function to promote human rights and international humanitarian law byeducating the members of their ranks.

References
Asia-Pacific Resource Center for Human Rights Education (ARRC). 2004.
Reclaiming Voices: A Study on Participatory Human Rights Education Methodologies
in the Asia Pacific. Bangkok: Asia-Pacific Resource Center for Human Rights
Education.
Bessler, M. and McHugh, G. 2006. Humanitarian Negotiations with Armed
Groups: A Manual for Practitioners. New York: United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Brett, R. and Specht, I. 2004. Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight. Geneva:
International Labor Organization.
Cagoco-Guiam, R. 2002. Child Soldiers in Central and Western Mindanao:
A Rapid Assessment. Geneva: International Labour Organization - International
Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC).
Chhabra, S., n.d. Gender Perspective in Peace Initiatives: Opportunities andChallenges (unpublished article)
Flowers, N, et. al. 2000. Human Rights Education Handbook: Effective Practices
for Learning, Action and Change. Minneapolis: Human Rights Resource Center –University of Minnesota.
Guinard, C. 2002. From War to Peace: Lessons Learned from Achievements andFailures in Peace Agreements over the Past Decade – A Strategy for Peace Process
Optimization. Bangkok: Nonviolence International.
Hottinger, J. 2005. “The Relationship Between Track One and Track Two
Diplomacy,” Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives 16/2005.

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Lederach, J. 1997, “Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation” in Divided
Societies. Washington D.C.: United States Institute of Peace.
Mazunara, D. 2005. Women in Armed Opposition Groups Speak on War,
Protection and Obligations Under International Humanitarian and Human Rights
Law. Geneva: Geneva Call and Program for the Study of International Organizations.
McConnan, I. and Uppard, S. 2001. Children Not Soldiers: Guidelines for
Working with Child Soldiers and Children Associated with Fighting Forces. London:
Save the Children,.
“MILF Reiterates Policy on Child Soldiers”, 2006, Luwaran, May 2, http://www.
luwaran.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=152, accessed in 15 July
2006.
Petrasek, D. 2005. “Vive la Difference? Humanitarian and Political Approaches
to Engaging Armed Groups,” Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives,
16/2005.
Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights), 2005. Deadly
Playgrounds: The Phenomenon of Child Soldiers in the Philippines. Quezon City:
Philippine Human Rights Information Center.
Philipson, L. 2005. “Engaging Armed Groups: The Challenge of Asymmetries”,
Accord: An International Review of Peace Initiatives 16/2005.
Ritzer, G. 1996. Sociological Theory, 4th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Santos, S., Jr. 2005. “Defining and Categorizing Non-state Armed Groups: Who
are We Going to Engage?” (unpublished article)
Sharma, M. 1999. “HR Education and Social Change” in Human Rights
Education, Social Change and Human Values. Pune: World Peace Center of MAEER’s
MIT.
United Nations General Assembly, 2005, Children and Armed Conflict: Reportof the Secretary General, 9 February, A/59/695-S/2005/72.
Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict. 2006. The Power of Partnerships:
Guiding Principles for Partnerships to End Violations Against Children During
Armed Conflict. New York: Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict.
Yeban, F. 2003. “Building a culture of human rights: challenge to human rights
education in the 21st century” in Human Rights Education Pack, new edition.
Bangkok: Asian Regional Resource Center for Human Rights Education.

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Annex A

Session on Child Protection in Armed Conflict
Prepared by the Philippine Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Workshop Objectives: To
1. Determine the notions of the participants on children and childhood, exploring
Islamic and organizational perspectives on children’s rights, particularly survival,
development, protection, and participation;
2. Identify the existing policies of the MILF on children, childhood, and childprotection;
3. Determine the extent of knowledge and views of participants on international andnational laws and instruments (such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC), the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict,and Republic Act 7610, Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation
and Discrimination Act) and whether the group has considered these instruments inmaking their policies/ practices.
Workshop Flow:
1. Introductions and Expectations Check
The summary of the participants’ expectations is as follows:• Knowledge• Means to protect children• National and international laws concerning child protection• Understand the Optional Protocol• Understand the minimum age for recruitment• Identify ways to prevent the involvement of children in armed conflict• Skills• Ways of caring [for fellow] children• Ways of handling children captured/ rescued during conflict• Skills to disseminate information concerning child protection/ rights.
2. Understanding Childhood
There was a change of module given certain factors: time-limitation, attention spanof the participants, and their expectations. In the initial group (Davao/Tausug group),
there was a preliminary activity to elicit the participants’ childhood experiences. The

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plenary was divided into four groups and instructed to complete the following phrases:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Noong bata pa ako, ang naaalala kong masayang pangyayari ay…….
(When I was a child, one happy experience I can remember is…)
Noong bata pa ako, ang naaalala kong malungkot na pangyayari ay…….
(When I was a child, one sad experience I can remember is…)
Noong bata pa ako, ang turo sa akin ng tatay ko ay…..
(When I was a child, my father taught me…)
Noong bata pa ako, ang turo sa akin ng nanay ko ay….
(When I was a child, my mother taught me…)
Noong bata pa ako, napagalitan ako ni tatay dahil…
(When I was a child, my father got angry at me because…)
Noong bata pa ako, napagalitan ako ni nanay dahil….
(When I was a child, my mother got angry at me because…)
Noong bata pa ako, natuwa sa akin si tatay dahil…
(When I was a child, my father was happy with me because…)
Noong bata pa ako, natuwa sa akin si nanay dahil…
(When I was a child, my mother was happy with me because…)

This activity was dropped during remaining sessions. Instead, the discussion
proceeded with some process questions to elicit the participants’ understanding ofchildhood. The matrix below provides the summary of the participants’ responses:

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Who is a child?

When can you saythat he/she is nolonger a child?

What are your bases?

What is the view ofthe MILF on the ageof the child?

- Someone who needs
attention, care anddirection- Plays unlimitedly- Neglect or ignoresthe parents’ advice- Not more than 15
years old.

- Adolescents:
Girls - 13 to 14 years
old;Boys - 15 to 17- Not “balig” (A Moroterm for puberty. Thereis no specific age
indicator to determine
when a person is in thestage of “balig.” Ages
differ between girls
and boys. The signsof “balig” are thefollowing:- Adams apple- Menstruation- Pubic hair
- Wet dreams/ desire forsexual intercourse

Note: Initially, thequestion asked was“How does the Holy
Qur’an define the child?”
Almost all the participants
responded that they needa religious leader to answer
that. Hence, the trainers
rephrased the question
into: “Based on yourunderstanding of theIslam, how does it definea child?”- Understand Islam- Obligatory to do
prayers during
Ramadhan- All should learn andunderstand the
Qur’anThere were various
responses
but the mostcommon was “nocomment.”
Others gave the following
answers:- Based on Qur’an- 15 years old and below- 18 years old and below

There were other process questions to surface the participants’ understanding ofchildren and their parameters of their participation in community.
What can a child do which adults cannot?
Playing such as entering small spaces, sucking mother’s milk, playing naked,
begging, crying out in public
What can an adult do which a child should not do?
Sex, handling firearms, driving vehicles, carry heavy equipment, travel freely
Can a child marry?
Participants’ categorically said no. However, they said that there are certain culturesin Mindanao that allow such.
Can a child vote?
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exceptions when they are coerced to do so.
3. Discussion on International Standards and National Laws
The trainers gave an overview of the following international laws pertaining to childprotection:• [United Nations] Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)• Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict• ILO Convention 182 on Worst Forms of Child Labor
The national laws covered during the discussion were the following:• Philippine Constitution• Republic Act 7610, Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse,
Exploitation and Discrimination Act• Republic Act 7658, Act Prohibiting the Employment of Children Below 15 Yearsof Age in Public and Private Undertakings• Republic Act 9208, Anti-trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.
The participants raised many questions and clarifications. Some shared first hand
information of human rights and humanitarian law violations committed by the Philippine
armed forces that they have witnessed. The trainers suggested that these incidents
have to be documented properly and submitted to independent bodies such as the IMT[International Monitoring Team], the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross],and the UNCRC [United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child].
Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Violations Shared
In Sibugay, a mother and a two-year-old child were imprisoned for three months
after they were caught by the police for unestablished reasons.
In Camp Abubakar, military ransacked schools in the community during the military
takeover in 2000.
Some were not specific with their cases. Instead, they have repeatedly mentioned
the actual conditions of Bangsamoro children where they do not have access to
education and basic quality healthcare.
Clarifications/ Talking Points on the Topics Discussed
What do we mean by situations of emergency? It involved both natural disasters andhuman-made disasters such as armed conflict or other forms of disturbances.

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H u m a n R i g h t s E d u c at i o n i n A s i a - Pa c i f i c

Protection should include children who are in conflict with the law. What will happen
to children who are caught because they are involved in the conflict?
What is the role of UNICEF? Do they have an office in the Philippines?
What are the penalties if we violate the law?
Is there any country that was already sanctioned because of their violations of the
CRC? [United Nations] Security Council listed down countries where child soldiers arebeing used.
These included Congo, Burundi, Sudan, Sierra Leone and Rwanda. There are calls
for arms embargo. There were six resolutions made already related to children in armed
conflict.
- “The laws are there but what’s the point?” Such was raised commonly byparticipants who expressed frustration on the non-implementation of the laws. (This
could have been processed better by asking them also: How could the MILF contributetowards the respect and implementation of these laws?)
Recommendations by the Participants Raised during the Discussions• Reproduce materials• Conduct follow-up trainings particularly on the conduct of monitoring anddocumentation• Need more time to discuss the laws.
4. Evaluation of the Session
The participants were asked the following questions:• What is your dream for children?
• What can you do to make that dream a reality?
Dreams for Children

Contributions

Feelings after the Session

Education
Peace
Freedom
Leader

Impart knowledge
Provide training
Provide education
Help them become• Brave• Good fighter• Good counselor• Good father
Provide security
Work for peace

Happy
More knowledgeable
Satisfied
Remembered the past
Comfortable
Liked everything
Feel goodBest

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Some observations on the process:• Time allotted is very limited given the coverage of topics.
• The participants seemed to be open to directly discuss the issue of childsoldiers. It was opposite to some assumptions that bringing such topic
would instigate a heated debate that might lead to discussions on religious
perspectives. Should the topic of child soldiers be brought up, the discussion
must be from a legal/ policy angle.
• Some groups have undergone the human rights and International Humanitarian
Law session prior to the child protection session. It would be good to build on
their understanding of human rights and International Humanitarian Law indiscussing the issue of child soldiers.
• There is a need for more audio-visual materials such as videos and pictures.
• Using the local language makes the discussion more participatory. In fact,
various stories and information were shared during the informal discussions
during breaks.