Philippines to be Removed as a Situation of Concern in the United Nations Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict
Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, reaffirming the Philippines’ steadfast commitment to multilateralism and global peace.
NEW YORK 23 June 2025 — The 2024 report of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Children and Armed Conflict, released on 20 June 2025, reported that the situation of the Philippines will be removed from the agenda of children and armed conflict in 2025.
The removal from the agenda marks the completion of the country’s historic transformation from conflict to peace and its expanding leadership in child protection. Since the Philippines first appeared in the Secretary-General’s Annual Report in 2003, the country has implemented significant, sustained on-the-ground reforms to promote a safer society for every Filipino child.
Since November 2024, the Philippines ramped up its cooperation with the UN highlighted by the 27 March 2025 meeting between Undersecretary Angelo Tapales of the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) and SRSG Virginia Gamba in New York, where the country presented its roadmap and reaffirmed its commitment to long-term child protection.
“The Philippines carries forward a strong record of effective action – strengthening protections, institutionalizing safeguards, and ensuring that no child is left vulnerable to conflict,” Undersecretary Tapales assured SRSG Gamba.
In the March 2025 dialogue, the Philippines highlighted key government initiatives including the (1) establishment of the Inter-Agency Committee on Children Involved in Armed Conflict (IAC-CIAC) in 2007 to lead the implementation of Republic Act No. 11188 on child protection in conflict settings; the (2) adoption of the 4th National Plan of Action for Children (NPAC) that is aligned with international child rights standards; and (3) Executive Order No. 79, which institutionalized the MAKABATA Program and Helpline 1383 that created a centralized reporting mechanism for child rights violations.
In a concrete demonstration of its willingness to sustain its gains, the Philippines, through the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in New York, submitted a comprehensive set of commitments to SRSG Gamba, developed in close collaboration with the Inter-Agency Committee on Children in Situations of Armed Conflict (IAC-CSAC) and the UN Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (CTFMR).
These commitments are designed to chart ways forward in developing critical protocols for the handling of CAAC cases, ensuring the continuous support of implementing agencies, and synchronizing the reporting and monitoring mechanisms available to the government to guarantee the protection of children in conflict situations.
Prior to the release of the report of the UN Secretary-General, the Philippines also positively welcomed SRSG Gamba’s invitation to co-host an event later this year to showcase the country’s lessons learned and good practices, serving as a potential model for other countries facing similar challenges and reinforcing the Philippines as a pathfinder in safeguarding children and children’s rights. END
CWC Undersecretary Angelo Tapales meets with UN SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba to reaffirm the Philippines' commitment to protecting children from the impacts of armed conflict.