Lyndon, 11, too young to fully understand the complexities of insurgency war, is among the hundreds, if not thousands, of children coerced into picking up a weapon and fighting battles they have no stake in.

In late 2021, three members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were arrested in Sitio Karatong, Barangay Tinitian in Roxas town, Palawan, including two minors, one of them pregnant 14-year-old Cristy.

This is the reality faced by countless minors in the Philippines, a grim truth the different sectors of society conveniently choose to ignore.

A UN report dated 23 September, meticulously detailed by Secretary-General António Guterres, documents the atrocities committed against these vulnerable children. (https://documents.un.org/symbol-explorer?s=S/2024/626&i=S/2024/626_1729533323150)

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) pushed back against the UN report that accused the NPA of child rights violations, including recruiting minors as young as 16.

While the NDFP may claim to champion children’s rights, their actions tell a different story. Exploiting minors, particularly from marginalized indigenous communities, shows a blatant disregard for the very principles they profess to uphold.

Its selective adherence to international agreements, sidestepping the 2002 Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, seemingly lays bare its motives.

Imagine children robbed of their innocence and thrown into a world of violence and fear by those who should be protecting them. It speaks volumes about their complicity in perpetuating this cycle of abuse.

For an organization that claims to be fighting for a better future, its involvement in the recruitment and exploitation of children is disappointing and morally reprehensible.

Does its history betray its true intentions? Is there reason to doubt its supposed commitment to child welfare?

Children, the embodiment of hope and purity, deserve to be shielded from the horrors of conflict, not manipulated for political gain.

Echoing the UN report, perpetrators must be held accountable for their despicable actions and made to answer for the lives needlessly destroyed in the name of their cause. The future of our children hangs in the balance, and we cannot afford to let them down in the face of such flagrant violations.

Amidst indifference to the suffering of the most vulnerable, we must stand up and demand justice for those who cannot speak for themselves.

The exploitation of children in armed conflict is a stain on humanity that can no longer be ignored or swept under the rug.

For the sake of the innocent lives callously exploited, turning a blind eye to the horror of child recruitment and exploitation is unjustifiable.

Brazen denial of the UN report on child combatants is a slap in the face of international standards, so much so is it a betrayal of the innocent lives caught in the crossfire of conflict.