Rabat: During the African Ministerial Conference on the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of Child Soldiers, Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister, Alhaji Musa Timothy Kabba, revealed his own past as a conscripted child soldier, framing the continent's struggle with the issue in starkly human terms, an event that took place on November 20, 2025, at Rabat, Morocco. According to Sierra Leone News Agency, Minister Kabba addressed the assembled dignitaries with a personal account, stating, 'I stand before you not just as a minister, but as someone who lived through this.' His presence at the Rabat conference was deeply personal, driven by a victim's desire to shape a realistic solution for Africa's pressing issue of child soldier conscription. Grounding his arguments in Sierra Leone's history, he recounted the brutal conflict where the conscription of children was a dominant tactic. He highlighted the 2009 ruling by the Special UN Court for Sierra Leone, which found the Revolutionary United Front gu ilty of war crimes, including forced recruitment of children. The minister spoke of the aftermath of the war, which left collapsed schools and displaced communities, and the DDR process that required disarming over 70,000 combatants, including 6,800 children. Kabba emphasized the complexity of reintegrating these children, stating that it required more than material support, but a restoration of identity and belonging. He shared his personal journey to underline his policy stance, challenging the continent to understand that child soldiers are victims of circumstance, not willing participants. He highlighted the particular plight of girls and insisted that true reintegration is a multi-year pathway built on education, skills training, psychosocial support, and guaranteed livelihoods. He called for targeted support for girls within any modern DDR framework. On a continental level, Kabba urged for stronger cooperation to disrupt illegal arms flows and enhance intelligence sharing, warning of potential confli ct escalation. Sierra Leone proposed recommendations including the creation of an AU Child Soldier Prevention and Early Warning Network and a Gender-Responsive DDR Framework, with expanded reintegration financing tied to youth development initiatives. Minister Kabba concluded by offering his life as a symbol of hope, stating that Sierra Leone's story proves that with compassion and commitment, children of war can become nation builders. He embodied the redemption the conference seeks to systematize for many across Africa.