The Rabat Declaration on Child-Focused Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration has been published in the six official languages of the United Nations as a joint document of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly.
This document has been registered under Item 67 of the General Assembly agenda, entitled “Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child,” as well as among the official documents of the United Nations Security Council.
The Rabat Declaration was adopted during the African Ministerial Conference on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of Child Soldiers, held on 20 November 2025, under the theme “Building Sustainable Pathways for Children Affected by Armed Conflict.”
This high-level event, which coincided with World Children’s Day, enabled a collective commitment to protecting children’s rights, preventing the recruitment and use of children by armed groups, and promoting their sustainable reintegration into local communities.
The Rabat Declaration constitutes an African complement to existing international legal and institutional frameworks related to the protection of children, while supporting United Nations efforts reflected in successive resolutions on children and armed conflict.
The Declaration expressed the determination of the African countries participating in the Rabat Ministerial Conference to launch a process for developing a specific African instrument in the form of a Convention on the Prevention of Child Soldier Recruitment and their Reintegration. To this end, a Group of Friends was launched to help materialize this ambition.
This timely and significant African contribution enriches United Nations efforts to prevent and combat, at the continental level, the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and to foster international cooperation aimed at strengthening their protection.
This multilateral recognition of a process initiated by the Kingdom of Morocco to combat the exploitation of children in armed conflicts underscores the value and impact of the Rabat Declaration within the UN framework.