Experts and human rights activists denounced the forced recruitment of children in conflicts worldwide, particularly in Tindouf camps, calling it a serious violation and a major obstacle to peace and development.
The Independent Human Rights Commission-Africa held a panel in Geneva, during the 57th session of the Human Rights Council, focusing on the forced enlistment of children in armed militias.
This practice was identified as a significant challenge to the right to development in various regions globally.
Abdelkader Filali, president of the International Center for Child Soldiers Prevention, presented findings from the latest report of his NGO.
The report is the result of fieldwork in several child soldier recruitment camps across the world, including the Sahel, Colombia, and Kazakhstan.
The report detailed the experiences of children recruited into armed groups, fleeing conflict zones like Sudan and Yemen, and their dangerous journeys to seek asylum in Europe.
The document emphasized the effectiveness of South-South cooperation projects, such as the Atlantic Initiative for Sahel countries, to combat the recruitment of child soldiers.
Filali warned that without such efforts, the Sahel region risks repeating the violent histories of other conflict zones, such as Colombia.
He noted that beyond Africa, this initiative could serve as a model for other regions facing similar challenges.
Spanish human rights activist Pedro Ignacio Altamirano, president of the Altamirano Foundation, focused on the Tindouf camps, denouncing crimes committed against children recruited by Polisario militias.
These children are deprived of basic rights, including safety, education, and even the right to life, he said.
Altamirano raised concerns over how the right to development can be discussed while peace and stability remain unattainable due to the actions of Polisario leadership, who hold the Sahrawi populations hostage.
Lahcen Naji, president of the Independent Human Rights Network in Geneva, moderated the discussion. He pointed out that ongoing conflicts in Africa, particularly in the Sahara and Sahel regions, severely impede the right to socio-economic development.
The presence of terrorist organizations and separatist groups in these regions exacerbates the instability, hindering access to essential services like healthcare.
Ayman Okaile, president of the NGO Maat for Peace, Development, and Human Rights, highlighted the broader challenges to development in the Arab world and Africa.
He cited poverty, armed conflicts, climate change, population growth, and insufficient funding as significant barriers.
Okaile stressed that the escalation of conflicts in the Arab region between 2011 and 2018 cost states over USD 900 billion. This economic toll was particularly devastating in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Palestine, affecting both the countries and their neighboring regions.
Okaile noted that the region is home to 19 of the world’s 37 most fragile states, where instability severely hinders access to basic rights like health and socio-economic development.
In Africa, growing insecurity across 10 states, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, poses a severe threat to development.