African States Begin Signing Treaty to Tackle Child Soldier Recruitment

Around 20 African countries have begun signing a new continental treaty aimed at preventing the recruitment of children by armed groups and ensuring former child soldiers are included in disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes.

The signing ceremony took place Wednesday at Morocco’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. It was chaired by Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.

The African Convention on the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of Child Soldiers establishes a framework for countries to work together on preventing child recruitment, sharing experience and supporting the return of children affected by armed conflict to their communities.

Bourita described the agreement as an example of collective African action, arguing that the continent was developing its own legal standards rather than relying exclusively on frameworks developed elsewhere.

The treaty is the first African instrument specifically to establish regional cooperation around the prevention and combating of child recruitment and the inclusion of children in DDR processes designed and implemented in Africa, according to the Moroccan foreign ministry.

It provides for cooperation and exchanges between African states on policies, practical experience and lessons from efforts to prevent the recruitment and exploitation of children in armed conflicts. It also addresses the disarmament, demobilisation and long-term reintegration of affected children.

The convention brings together two areas that have often been treated separately in conflict response: peace and security, and the protection of children.

Its development followed a ministerial conference on child-centred DDR held in Rabat on November 20, 2025. The meeting produced the Rabat Declaration and was followed by consultations involving African governments, DDR specialists, field practitioners and other stakeholders.

African states subsequently submitted their views on the draft treaty before the signing process began.

Bourita said the convention was developed through an African-led process involving governments, experts and practitioners, with the aim of building collective capacity and producing responses suited to conditions on the continent.

The treaty now moves from negotiation to implementation, with its effectiveness depending on the number of states that ratify it and how its provisions are incorporated into national policies and DDR programmes.

Source: FSX Business News