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Nous vérifions la procédure, alors qu'ils l'ignorent.

Nous vérifions la procédure, alors qu'ils l'ignorent.
We are checking the procedure, whereas they are ignoring it.
From Lesson 308:Double pronouns with causative faire·French

Questions & Answers about Nous vérifions la procédure, alors qu'ils l'ignorent.

Why use alors que here instead of pendant que?
While both can translate to "while", pendant que is strictly temporal (focusing on two actions happening at the exact same time). Alors que is used to highlight a contrast or opposition between two facts, making it the perfect match for "whereas" in English.
I thought ignorer was a false friend that meant "to not know". Can it also mean "to ignore"?
You are right to be cautious! Traditionally, ignorer strictly means "to be unaware of" or "to not know." However, under the influence of English, using it to mean "to deliberately pay no attention to" (like a rule or a procedure) has become widely understood and accepted in modern French.
Why is it ils l'ignorent and not ils ignorent la?
In French, direct object pronouns must be placed immediately before the conjugated verb they belong to, not after it. Here, l' is the direct object pronoun replacing la procédure, so it steps directly in front of ignorent.
Is the -ent at the end of ignorent pronounced?
No, for all third-person plural regular verbs in the present tense, the -ent ending is completely silent. You pronounce ignorent exactly the same way you would pronounce the singular form ignore.

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