The African Union’s Peace and Security Council strongly denounced on Thursday, the 13th of October, the ongoing enlistment and abuse of minors by armed terrorist groups and organizations across the continent.
The Council issued a strong warning against the continued recruitment and exploitation of children in conflict situations in a statement that followed the meeting on “Combating the Recruitment and Exploitation of Children in Conflict Situations,” which was presided over by Morocco. Morocco urged to fully uphold international humanitarian and human rights law, respect and preserve the civilian and humanitarian character of education centers, and refugee camps, and immediately stop targeting the innocent civilian population.
The Council applauded Member States’ initiatives to stop child soldiers from being recruited and exploited by armed forces and organizations, as well as to support the demobilization, reintegration, and rehabilitation of child soldiers. The Council also called for strict action to hold violators and abusers of children accountable and punished, or to refer them to the appropriate continental and international mechanisms if they are unable to do so.
The Peace and Security Council emphasized the need for Member States to address the underlying structural causes and elements that continue to contribute to the recruitment and exploitation of children in conflict settings, such as inadequate development, poverty, youth unemployment, climate change, child abuse, and marginalization.
It also stressed the significance of creating thorough national action plans to support efforts to stop this phenomenon, including the demobilization and family reintegration of child soldiers, the introduction of compulsory education, the development of children’s skills and competencies, and the preservation of their mental, emotional, social, spiritual, and physical health.
The Peace and Security Council reaffirmed the need for the states, regional economic communities, and regional mechanisms, as well as the African Union Commission, to integrate child protection into an early warning, conflict prevention, and resolution mechanisms and the establishment and promotion of peace, as well as post-conflict reconstruction.