Despite widespread agreement that the use of child soldiers must end, the United Nations (U.N.) reported ongoing violations in dozens of countries in 2024. While 173 countries have ratified the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, grave violations—including the recruitment and use of child soldiers—persist in conflict zones worldwide. Some countries, like the Philippines, have made significant progress in reducing violations. With support from the U.N., the Philippine government nearly halved its total number of violations and took major steps to address the widespread presence of non-state military groups such as the New People’s Army (NPA), the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and their use of child soldiers in the Philippines.

Non-State Sanctioned Military Groups

Regardless of the year, the NPA has more often than not been responsible for the highest number of violations, reportedly accounting for 40% and 41% of the total in 2022 and 2024, respectively. The majority of the remaining violations were spread somewhat evenly among the other groups, though the Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute Group and the Armed Forces of the Philippines stand out as repeat offenders. As one may notice, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is a state military force, showing the government is not entirely free from blame; however, this group also showed the greatest reduction in violations, dropping from 21 in 2021 to 12 in 2023. In contrast, the Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute Group more than quadrupled its violations, rising from two to nine.

The Acts

Overall, the most common and consistent violations were killing and maiming, recruitment and attacks on schools, which together made up just under 95% of total violations in 2024; 43% in killing and maiming, 38% in recruitment and 12% in attacks on schools. The remaining 7% consisted of sexual misconduct, abductions and denial of humanitarian access. The acts were generally split evenly between areas, with one standout case of a disproportionate number (53%) of violations taking place in Mindanao, the second largest of the Philippine islands and one of the most populated islands in the world.

Looking Ahead

In 2021, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.N. signed a strategic plan in order to improve conditions and lower the number of violations of child rights. There are now more than 3,100 trained child protection actors throughout the country. Furthermore, some regions have even established a regional reporting system so that civilians can alert authorities to violations. These, along with the 2019 issuance of the child protection policy by the Philippine police, have started great advances in Philippine child rights, with the data supporting the fact that the plan is showing results and reducing the number of child soldiers in the Philippines.

– Seth Christopher

Seth is based in Baltimore, MD, USA and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr