COMMUNIQUE?
Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1314th meeting held on 21 November 2025, which was dedicated to an Open Session on Children Affected by Armed Conflicts.
The Peace and Security Council,
Recalling Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.753(XXXIII)] adopted by the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union held in February 2020 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which, among others, requested the AU Commission to integrate child protection into the Silencing the Guns campaign and also in the AU Theme for the year 2020, as well as to develop a comprehensive policy on child protection;
Also recalling its previous pronouncements and decisions on children affected by armed conflicts, in particular, Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.1290.1 (2025) adopted at its 1290th meeting held on 22 July 2025;
Mindful of the increasingly asymmetrical nature of armed conflicts on the Continent, including the rise in violent extremism and terrorist attacks, as well as emerging unconventional threats to peace and security, exacerbating the vulnerability of children to the six grave violations, namely: killing and maiming; recruitment and use by armed forces and armed groups; sexual violence; attacks against schools or hospitals; abduction; and denial of humanitarian access;
Taking note of the Opening Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Churchill Ewumbue-Monono, Permanent Representative of the Republic Cameroon to the African Union and Chairperson of the Peace and Security Council for November 2025; the Introductory Statement by H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security and Co-chair of the Africa Platform on Children Affected by Armed Conflicts (AP-CAAC), the statement by H.E. Ambassador Ntsiuoa Sekete, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Lesotho to the AU and Vice Chair of the AP-CAAC, and the statement by Honourable Professor Robert Nanima Doya, Special Rapporteur on Children Affected by Armed Conflicts and member of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC);
Also taking note of the statements by the representatives of the United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF); Save the Children International; AU Member States and by Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolutions (RECs/RMs); and
