Speaking on the occasion, the President of the CNDIH, Farida El Khamlichi, stressed that the Rabat Declaration, issued at the conclusion of the African Ministerial Conference on the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of Child Soldiers, held on November 20, 2025, notably reiterated the need to “sound the alarm on the reality of African childhood affected by armed conflicts”.
Ms. El Khamlichi stated that preventing the recruitment of children, supporting their release and ensuring their reintegration are no longer merely moral and legal obligations, but now constitute “the cornerstone of peace and sustainable development in Africa”.
She also affirmed that the Commission is working to contribute to the implementation of certain ideas contained in the Rabat Declaration, particularly the initiative to launch a process to develop a specific African legal instrument, in the form of a convention, aimed at preventing the recruitment of children, with a view to submitting it to the African Union.
The African ministers who took part in this conference, held under the theme “Building sustainable pathways for children affected by armed conflicts”, acknowledged that the phenomenon of child recruitment transcends borders, calling for a collective response based on strengthened regional cooperation, the exchange of best practices and the mobilization of resources, she recalled.
For his part, the Director of Global Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Ismail Chekkori, considered that “after reaffirming the strong signal sent by the Rabat Declaration, the time has come to address the legal dimension”, stressing that this Declaration has crossed a decisive threshold, moving beyond the stage of a simple declaration of intent to now be explicitly integrated into the international normative architecture, following its registration as a joint official document with the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
This dual anchoring gives the Declaration a concrete political and normative dimension, placing the issue of child soldiers at the crossroads of the imperatives of peace, international security and good governance, he added.
Mr. Chekkori also considered that the development of a continental legal instrument represents a historic step forward, noting that the challenge is not to replicate existing standards, but to adapt them to the realities of the continent and to fill legal gaps in order to strengthen African countries’ capacities in prevention and sustainable reintegration.
He further highlighted the need for this instrument to translate, both at the normative and operational levels, a coherent vision structured around three major imperatives, namely structural prevention, proactive accountability and the consolidation of long term peace.
This workshop brought together African experts, academics and representatives of ministerial departments and relevant institutions, around two panels focusing on “Prevention and demobilization” and “Disarmament and reintegration”.
Its objective is to lay the foundations for reflection on an African instrument focused on the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of child soldiers at the continental level.
Editorial team/le7tv