What is worse than war?

It’s waging  war  by  arming  kids  and  sending  them off to the battlefield.

No civilized society tolerates the creation and maintenance of an army of youth fighters.

But insurgent groups with dwindling followers or terrorist organizations which couldn’t care less about the safety and welfare of children resort to the abominable practice of  sendng kids off to war.

This only betrays the bankruptcy of their cause.

We have serially denounced the practice in this space in the strongest possible terms.

And thankfully, state security forces now have the smoking gun.      

Months after an international human rights group slammed them for allegedly fabricating stories of child recruits in the New People’s Army rebel group, the Armed Forces claimed that it has proof disproving these accusations.

Col. Arnulfo Burgos, AFP spokesman, said that 19 of the 80 rebel returnees who surrendered in Bukidnon earlier this week were minors.

Burgos said the “former NPA rebels” were from 10 to 18 years old. Others who surrendered were 19 years old and have been with the rebel ranks for more than five years.

“This only validates and confirms the recruitment of children in the armed conflict which is against the law. This shows that they continue to exploit children,”  h ewas quoted by a major broadsheet as saying.

The AFP spokesman  added that military records showed that between the years 2000-2010, the NPA rebel group recruited at least 340 minors and were used in the rebels’ frontlines in Bicol, Batangas, and Samar.

Burgos added that the NPA recruit children as couriers or messengers since they could easily evade police and military.

Those aged between 16 and 18 years old are taught how to use firearms and fight.

The 80 rebel returnees surrendered on Monday to the 8th Infantry “Dependable” Battalion last Nov. 14, 2011 at South Poblacion, Maramag, Bukidnon.

In a separate statement, Maj. Eugenio Julio Osias IV said that the young rebels were members of the Tigwahanon, Matigsalog and Manobo tribes from San Fernando, Bukidnon. The ages of the returnees were determined during the debriefing of the 80 former rebels.

Osias added that this also proved that the NPA has been lying since they have consistently denied having child warriors.

Last month, international human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch, accused the Philippine Army of fabricating stories about child warriors in the NPA as part of its propaganda against the rebel group.

The military denied the allegations, saying that they have proof.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said increasing economic and social disparities pose a threat to children’s rights and much needs to be done to safeguard millions of young people around the world.

Speaking at the Second Forum on the Rights of the Child in Stockholm, Sweden, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there is great concern throughout the world about increasing economic and social disparities.

“Children from marginalized, remote and impoverished communities, and those who are living with disabilities or who belong to minority or indigenous populations, are at greater risk of not enjoying their rights to health, education and to protection from violence, exploitation and abuse,” Ban said.

He said that while the Convention on the Rights of the Child has led to great advances to protect children’s interests and well-being, “much remains to be done to make the promises in the treaty a reality.”

Created in 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified international human rights instrument in history.

It outlines the basic human rights that children around the world have, including the right to survival, to develop to the fullest, to be protected from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation, and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life, among others.