Rabat – Around 20 African countries launched the signing process for the African Convention on the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of Child Soldiers in New York on Wednesday.
Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita chaired the ceremony at Morocco’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, held on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
The convention is the first African treaty to establish regional cooperation specifically aimed at preventing the recruitment of children by armed groups and ensuring that children associated with armed conflicts are included in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programs developed on the continent.
The agreement also sets a framework for African countries to exchange experiences, practices and lessons on preventing child recruitment and supporting the disarmament, demobilization and sustainable reintegration of children into their communities.
Bourita said the convention resulted from an African-led process involving governments, experts, field practitioners and legal and policy specialists. He also said the agreement gives African countries a framework adapted to the realities of the continent.
The process began in Rabat on November 20, 2025, when Morocco hosted an African Ministerial Conference on Child-Centered Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration. The meeting produced the Rabat Declaration and was followed by consultations with African experts and governments on the draft convention.
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The move comes as the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict remains a major international concern. UN figures show that parties to conflict recruited and used 7,402 children in 2024. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Somalia recorded the highest numbers of verified cases that year.
The United Nations also verified 41,370 grave violations against children in conflict situations in 2024, affecting 22,495 children. These violations included recruitment and use, killing and maiming, abduction, and sexual violence.
UNICEF estimates that more than 105,000 children were verified as recruited and used by parties to the conflict between 2005 and 2022. The agency says the real number is likely higher because many cases remain unreported.
The wider impact of conflict on children has also grown. UNICEF reported that more than 473 million children lived in conflict-affected areas in 2024, while 48.8 million children had been displaced by conflict and violence by the end of that year.
In 2024, nearly 16,500 children formerly associated with armed forces or groups received protection or reintegration support in countries on the UN’s children and armed conflict agenda. Since 2005, more than 200,000 children have been released from parties to conflict, according to the UN.
The new African convention now moves to the next stage through the signing and subsequent national processes required for its implementation.
