A team of high-level delegates from the Steering Committee of the Africa Platform on Children Affected by Armed Conflicts (AP-CAAC) undertook an Advocacy Mission to Nigeria from 29 July to 1 August. The mission was hosted by Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with Save the Children International, Nigeria.

The 13-member delegation was led by Her Excellency, Jainaba Jagne, Permanent Representative of The Gambia to the AU and AP-CAAC Co-Chair. It included Namibia and Lesotho’s ambassadors, the Special Rapporteur on Children and Armed Conflict from the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and delegates from various member states (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritania, The Gambia, Ghana, Uganda, and Nigeria). It also included AU Commission and Save the Children International’s AU Liaison and Pan Africa Office representatives. The objective was to identify ways to strengthen the promotion and protection of children’s rights and welfare in conflict situations and strengthen collaboration on the implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD).

The delegation engaged in stakeholder dialogues with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Ministry of Education, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. They met with children’s representatives to interact with them and hear their concerns, and with country directors, representatives of international development and humanitarian partners, and civil society organisations.

While the visiting team acknowledged Nigeria’s notable progress in protecting and promoting
children’s rights and welfare, particularly with the level of implementation of the SSD, they also identified areas requiring further attention.

Key among these were the need to champion the course of protecting children’s rights and create opportunities for them to amplify their voices to be heard across the continent. They also included advocating at the AU PSC for continued compliance with child protection normative and legal frameworks and further mainstream child protection in its own work.

Another priority was for the AP-CAAC to continue pushing for the remaining 17 AU Member States to endorse the SSD and engage with the Federal Government of Nigeria to adopt and implement the Paris Principles and Commitments on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups (2007).

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