Diomaye Faye calls for protection of children in war without distinction
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Seneweb and Senego
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye argued on 10 November 2026 in Paris, at the Children’s Summit of the Paris Peace Forum, that the protection of children in wartime must suffer no distinction or selective treatment, according to Seneweb. He presented Senegal’s investments in child health, nutrition and education, as well as its national child protection strategy.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye called on Tuesday 10 November 2026 for children to be protected without distinction in wartime. "Children do not decide wars. Yet they too often pay the heaviest price. Their protection must suffer no distinction, no selective treatment and no instrumentalisation," he said at the Palais de Chaillot, during a high-level session of the Children’s Summit, held as part of the Paris Peace Forum.
Before heads of state and government and leaders of international organisations, he called on nations to defend children’s rights together, at a meeting devoted to moving from sovereignty to cooperation. He asked for more resources and better coordination of international initiatives, and defended the right of every child to live and grow up in dignity, to have access to education and to prepare for their future.
The head of state set out Senegal’s measures: investments in child health, nutrition and education, and a national child protection strategy. The latter provides for an integrated system of prevention and care, with a role given to families in the education and development of children.
This stop is part of a diplomatic tour that began on Monday in Dakar. The president was due to carry this plea to the 20th Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, scheduled under the theme "Reinvesting in peace for shared prosperity and lasting stability".
The address comes the day after the announcement on 9 November that Diomaye Faye and Macron are preparing a Senegal-France seminar.
