At a second meeting of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) held via videoconference yesterday, Morocco called for the end of impunity for those who recruit and criminally exploit child soldiers and commit other serious human rights violations against such children.
Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the AU and the ECA-UN, Ambassador Mohamed Arrouchi, chaired the meeting which was dedicated to “Combatting the Use of Child Soldiers” in Africa.
The Moroccan delegation advocated a holistic and pluralistic approach, both comprehensive and local, theoretical and practical, combining both addressing the problem after the fact and preventing the recruitment before it happens.
The Moroccan delegation called on the AU Commission to develop guidelines for best practices to prevent and end the recruitment and exploitation of child soldiers by non-state armed groups.
“While armed forces and militia groups’ recruitment and use of children are global phenomena, a significant proportion of recruited and exploited children are found in Africa,” the Moroccan delegation stated.
It reiterated the Kingdom’s firm commitment to the protection and promotion of the fundamental rights of all children, reaffirming that Morocco advocates a holistic approach and robust coordination of international community efforts to effectively combat the scourge of child soldiers.
As a major actor in peacekeeping and peace consolidation on the continent, Morocco’s action intends to break the vicious cycle of human exploitation surrounding the phenomenon of child soldiers, by raising awareness about the plight of child soldiers, the processes of recruitment and manipulation, as well as the underlying causes that fuel the persistence of this scourge, thus contributing to preventing the recruitment of child soldiers and promoting lessons learned and best practices.
When Morocco held the Council presidency in October 2022, the PSC adopted statement no. 1110, entitled “Prevention against the recruitment and use of children in conflict situations.”
There, the PSC strongly condemned the continued recruitment and use of children by armed forces, armed groups, and terrorist organizations on the African continent. It also called for preserving the civilian and humanitarian nature of education centers, refugee camps, and displaced persons, as well as immediately ceasing to target or use schools, refugee camps, or displaced persons’ centers as recruitment hubs.