Bata Rin Sila: Save Children From Being Recruited as Combatants by Terror Groups!

    The Bata Rin Sila Project is an initiative that was made out of the growing concern of child combatants who are involved in armed conflicts around the world, especially in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.

    In discussing conflict, every person, most especially non-combatants, is vulnerable to the situation. The main reason for such is because they lack the capacity to defend themselves against armed fighting that may be happening between parties in their area. In a way, this risk of harm is heightened when it comes to children. All around the world, it is estimated that about 250,000 child soldiers are being recruited into terror groups across 20 countries.

    For war-stricken areas in the Philippines, the case of children being used as child combatants remains apparent. Ranging from Luzon to Visayas, to SOCCKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato City, Cotabato Province, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City) and some parts of Mindanao (i.e., BARMM region), the direct participation of children in armed conflict remains apparent in these areas where there is constant fighting between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the armed insurgents in the Philippines.

    According to Mangosing (2020), in a report submitted by the human rights arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, they account for approximately 544 children still being utilized by armed insurgents as pawns of war. Alongside this, Malindog-Uy (2010) emphasizes that they assign these children to various roles, but the most eminent being that they are trained to bear arms on the frontlines of conflict. In some cases, they are even used as main characters in the suicide missions that these groups conduct.

    Around the world, there are various identified causes that explain the growing trend of children being recruited as combatants. Generally, scholars are already aware that children can either be recruited through force, coercion or by convincing them that this is the only way to improve their circumstances. Hence, factors such as lack of access to educational institutions and employment, poverty and the inability to provide for even the very basic necessities, environmental situations such as war, and even social contexts like a lack of strong familial bonds and a growing communal hatred for the state largely affects how children are more likely to submit with little resistance to become combatants for terror groups. However, Malindog-Uy (2010) reminds people that regardless of whether or not the recruitment of these children was voluntary, the fact remains that the circumstance takes advantage of children who have lesser faculties to resist recruitment. Thus, making it a serious offense to the protection of human rights.

    Given the undeniable reality of children participating in direct armed conflict as combatants, it is best to ask how society should move forward, knowing that children forever be vulnerable to the ills of terror as long as these structural problems exist? Hence, the Bata Rin Sila petition was created in order to help better ground the conversation on the alarming realities of child combatant recruitment of terror groups, especially in the Philippines.

    At the heart of "Bata Rin Sila" is an advocacy driven by both a societal-level and personal-level of connection with our goals. As conflict continues to ensure in Mindanao, "Bata Rin Sila" fights for the right of non-combatants, particularly children, to be free from the direct impacts of conflict because like us, they equally deserve to live safely and away from the threats of war.

    As one with the people of Mindanao, with other advocacies for children, and with the core values of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Bata Rin Sila Project sees a world that allows all children to prosper and fulfill their dreams, especially those who became part of armed conflict. It is our mission to contribute to the advancement of their future, even in the smallest ways we can do today.

    Your signature can truly be of big help for these children! We highly encourage you to support and share this petition to your family and friends! 

    #SupportChildrensRights

    #SupportInternationalHumanRights

    This petition was crafted and pushed by the following students of Ateneo de Davao University. A.Y. 2021-2022:

    Alivio, Francheska Mari
    Balagot, Mikaela Abrielle
    Balili, Mae Antonnette
    Dolores, Jeanne Melinda
    Geroy, Yitzhak David
    Javier, Neil Adrian
    Kaparaz, Justinne Roy
    Palamos, Maria Alessandra
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