COTABATO CITY – In a joint effort for the protection of children in the conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, the United Nations (UN) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed on Friday an Action Plan regarding the issue of child soldiers.

Signatories to the Action Plan include Sammy Al Mansoor, chief of staff of the MILF Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), Jacqui Babcock, resident coordinator for the UN in the Philippines and Vanessa Tobin, representing the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).

The Action Plan was signed in Crossing Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, at the office of Ghazali Jaafar, vice chairman for political affairs of the MILF Central Committee.

Among those who witnessed the joint effort were Eid Kabalu, BIAF chief for Civil-Military Relations; Natalie McCauley Lamin, UNICEF chief of Child Protection; and Leon Dominador Fajardo, UNICEF child protection specialist – Children and Armed Conflict.

The Moro rebel group said the UN-system plan “is a concrete offshoot of the meeting between Madame Radhika Coomaraswamy, special representative of the UN secretary-general for Children and Armed Conflict, and the MILF Central Committee” in meeting with MILF leaders last in December.

Earlier, Coomaraswamy paid a visit to Mindanao to see for herself the plight of children caught in the armed conflict pitting the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the MILF, which has been fighting for an independent Muslim state.

In her message during the signing rites, Tobin expressed UNICEF’s appreciation for the Action Plan with the MILF, saying it is “a big occasion and milestone.”

As quoted by the MILF, Tobin said the UN in New York, United States, has mandated the signing of the Action Plan.

“As Representative of the UNICEF, I am representing the United Nations in this endeavor and I express optimism and pride in announcing this milestone for our work for the children,” Tobin said.

She acknowledged that keeping safe and protecting children are common to all the people around the world.

“This is two years in the making between the UNICEF and MILF and it was hard work between the two parties that made possible to put together the action plan and this hard work, as well, that will make the difference in the realization of the plan,” Tobin said.

Al-Mansoor voiced gratitude to the UN, saying he believes the cooperation between the MILF and the UN, especially on the issue of children caught in armed conflict, is a positive development for the MILF and for the children.

The MILF military chief appealed to the UN to intervene without let-up and as appropriate for the peaceful, political and democratic resolution of the centuries-old conflict in Mindanao and the so-called Bangsamoro problem, which had been shattering dreams of children.