The International Center for Research on the Prevention of Child Recruitment, based in Dakhla, has launched a pioneering forward-looking model for cooperation between academic circles and the defense sector in Africa, with the aim of addressing the complex challenges associated with child recruitment and protecting them.
This step comes through the conclusion of partnerships with prominent military colleges on the continent, particularly the War College in Zombakro, Côte d'Ivoire, and institutions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the center is working to integrate military perspectives directly into academic research and policy innovation.
In this context, the visit of a high-level military delegation from Côte d'Ivoire to Dakhla constituted a strategic stop in the path of continental and international cooperation to protect childhood, especially in the most fragile conflict zones around the world. This dynamic also reflects the pioneering role of the Kingdom of Morocco, thanks to the pioneering royal initiatives, in supporting a comprehensive and sustainable renaissance for Africa, in the field of protecting children from recruitment.
On the occasion of this visit, the International Center for Research on the Prevention of Child Recruitment signed an agreement with the African Coordination for Human Rights in the Armed Forces.
In this regard, the head of the center, Abdelkader Filali, said in a statement to the Moroccan News Agency, that this agreement aims to develop an innovative vision that reconciles academic and field research with the defense and security sectors, in order to achieve the supreme goal of protecting children from exploitation in conflict zones.
He added that the agreement is based on the center's experience in previous field research in the Sahel region, Latin America, and East Asia, as well as in Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
For his part, Bakari Sidiki Diaby, the General Coordinator of the African Coordination for Human Rights in the Armed Forces, highlighted that the agreement aims to unify efforts and exchange experiences to confront the phenomenon of child recruitment, stressing that Africa is required today to provide concrete solutions to this international challenge.
The center intends to sign another agreement in the near future with the Higher School of Defense Studies in Zombakro (Côte d'Ivoire).
In this context, Colonel, Bley Tonohui Seraphin, the commander of the Technical Preparatory Military School in Bingerville (Côte d'Ivoire), said that the visit to the city of Dakhla enabled the establishment of the foundations for fruitful cooperation between the center and Ivorian institutions working in this field.
The visit also witnessed the launch of the "Resident Researchers" program by the center, through the reception of the first resident researcher from the Democratic Republic of Congo. This program comes within the framework of a vision through which the center seeks to become a platform for forming a community of researchers, who contribute to developing innovative concepts and solutions that would contribute to addressing the problem of child recruitment.
The members of the delegation also learned about an artificial intelligence program developed by the center, which aims to track and monitor militias and armed groups involved in recruiting children around the world.
The Ivorian delegation includes representatives from military training structures, international humanitarian law, and the African Coordination for Human Rights in the Armed Forces, and is headed by Brigadier General. It also includes in its membership two colonels, and a captain, the director of the press information office of the armed forces, and the general coordinator of the African Coordination for Human Rights in the Armed Forces.
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