President Benigno S. Aquino III has revamped the Inter-Agency Committee on Children in Armed Conflict (IAC-CIAC) under an executive order aimed to further strengthen the government’s program for the protection of children against armed hostilities, abuse and exploitation.
According to Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr., President Aquino signed on August 2 Executive Order No. 138 amending Executive Order No. 56 (S. 2001), and placed the IAC-CIAC under the direct supervision of the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), instead of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
Under EO No. 138, the CWC will be the lead agency in the implementation of the CIAC Program Framework, which addresses the alarming involvement of children in armed conflict, either as combatants, couriers, spies, medics, cooks or their recruitment for sexual purposes, among others. The council will coordinate and monitor the program framework at all levels.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development had earlier sought the establishment of the Monitoring, Reporting and Response System for Grave Child Rights’ Violations (MRRS-GCRV) in situations of armed conflict to be headed by the CWC in order to step up government response to the problem of children being recruited, killed, maimed and abused in areas of armed hostilities.
The MRRS-GCRV will now serve as the monitoring arm of the inter-agency committee.
The OPAPP remains a member of the inter-agency committee, along with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR); the Departments of Education (DepEd), Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Health (DOH), National Defense-Armed Forces of the Philippines (DND-AFP), Justice (DOJ), and Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); the Philippine National Police (PNP); the Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC); and the Presidential Management Staff (PMS).
In line with the enhancement of the CIAC Program Framework and the new set-up, Ochoa said, the CWC and member-agencies are mandated to craft a memorandum of agreement to define and delineate their functions and duties within 60 days after the presidential directive took effect.
EO No. 138 also mandates the IAC-CIAC to observe all international instruments on upholding the rights and welfare of children and other related human rights treaties in all initiatives in the formulation of guidelines and programs for the handling of children involved in armed conflict, among others. It should also conduct training, advocacy and information campaigns and capacity-building of local government units (LGUs).
The Philippines is a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.
President Aquino also ordered national government agencies to formulate and integrate the program framework in their annual programs and projects in consultation with the CWC.
“LGUs of areas affected by armed conflict may also develop and implement complementary programs to carry out the enhanced CIAC Program Framework in coordination with the CWC,” Ochoa said.
Funding for the implementation of the CIAC Program Framework will come from the current appropriations of participating agencies and subsequent funding for the implementation of the CIAC Program Framework will be incorporated in their respective regular appropriations.
EO No. 138 takes effect 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation. /MP
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