COMMUNIQUE?
Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1368th meeting held on 2 September 2026, dedicated to an Open Session on the theme: "Protection of Child Soldiers in Africa (UNSCR 1612 (2005))".
The Peace and Security Council,
Recalling Assembly Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.718(XXXII)] adopted by the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in February 2019, which, inter alia, endorsed the strengthening of AU and Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) mechanisms for the protection of children in situations of conflict and the development of a Child Protection Architecture as a sub-aspect of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA); and Assembly Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.753(XXXIII)] adopted in February 2020, which encouraged the Union, Member States and RECs/RMs to redouble efforts to mainstream child protection in their programmes;
Also recalling its previous decisions on the prevention of the recruitment and use of children in situations of conflict and protection of children in conflict situation, particularly Communiqués [PSC/PR/COMM.1262 (2025)] adopted at its 1262nd meeting held on 20 February 2025, [PSC/PR/COMM.1290.1 (2025)] adopted at its 1290th meeting held on 22 July 2025, and [PSC/MIN/COMM.2(DCLXI)] adopted at its 661st meeting held on 23 February 2017, among others;
Making reference to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, particularly Article 22; the AU Policy on Mainstreaming Child Protection in the African Peace and Security Architecture; the AU Policy on Child Protection in African Union Peace Support Operations; and the Revised AU Policy on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development;
Recognising that the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups is both a grave violation of children's rights and a peace and security concern that can sustain armed actors, prolong cycles of violence, weaken family and community protection systems, and undermine disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR), security sector reform (SSR), post-conflict recovery and sustainable peace;
Cognizant that protracted and fragmented conflicts, violent extremism and terrorism, forced displacement, attacks on and military use of schools, poverty, food insecurity, school exclusion, weak birth and civil-registration systems, cross-border recruitment networks and other structural and immediate vulnerabilities can increase children's exposure to recruitment and re-recruitment;
Underscoring the importance of relying on credible and verified information coming from sources recognized by the AU in order to ensure acceptance by Member States concerned and their contribution to the process of protecting children in armed conflicts;
Taking note of the opening remarks by H.E. Ambassador Hervé Djokpe, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Benin to the African Union and Chairperson of the Peace and Security Council for September 2026; the introductory statement delivered by H.E. Ambassador H.E. Ambassador Losi Nancy Nonceba, Permanent Representative of South Africa on behalf of H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security and H.E. Ambassador Rebecca Amuge Otengo, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Uganda to the African Union, in their capacities as Co-Chairs of the African Platform on Children Affected by Armed Conflicts (AP-CAAC); and the presentations by H.E. Ambassador Jainaba Jagne, African Union Special Envoy for Children Affected by Armed Conflict, and Honourable Robert Doya Nanima, Member of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) and Special Rapporteur on Children in Conflict Situations;
Also taking note of the statements by H.E. Ms. Vanessa Frazier, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; H.E. Dr Laila Omar Gad, UNICEF Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; Ms Chantal Mutamuriza, African Union Lead, Save the Children International Pan Africa Office, representing the Save the Children Pan-Africa and AU Liaison Office in its capacity as Secretariat of the AP-CAAC; and
