It calls for the creation of an African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Committee of Experts). Its mission is to promote and protect the rights established by the ACRWC, to practice applying these rights, and to interpret the disposition of the ACRWC as required of party states, African Union (AU) institutions, or all other institutions recognized by AU or by a member state.
Focus on children's rights in Africa
Children in Africa are affected by many different types of abuse, including economic and sexual exploitation, gender discrimination in education and access to health, and their involvement in armed conflict. Other factors affecting African children include migration, early marriage, differences between urban and rural areas, child-headed households, street children and poverty. Furthermore, child workers in Sub-Saharan Africa account for about 80 million children or 4 out of every 10 children under 14 years old which is the highest child labour rate in the world.
The ACRWC defines a "child" as a human being below the age of 18 years. It recognises the child's unique and privileged place in African society and that African children need protection and special care. It also acknowledges that children are entitled to the enjoyment of freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, thought, religion, and conscience. It aims to protect the private life of the child and safeguard the child against all forms of economic exploitation and against work that is hazardous, interferes with the child's education, or compromises his or her health or physical, social, mental, spiritual, and moral development. It calls for protection against abuse and bad treatment, negative social and cultural practices, all forms of exploitation or sexual abuse, including commercial sexual exploitation, and illegal drug use. It aims to prevent the sale and trafficking of children, kidnapping, and begging of children.
Children's Charter vs. Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Children's Charter originated because the member states of the AU believed that the CRC missed important socio-cultural and economic realities particular to Africa. It emphasises the need to include African cultural values and experiences when dealing with the rights of the child in such as:
Challenging traditional African views which often conflict with children's rights such as child marriage, parental rights and obligations towards their children, and children born out of wedlock
Expressly saying that the Children's Charter is higher than any custom, tradition, cultural or religious practice that doesn't fit with the rights, duties and obligations in the Charter
The Children's Charter has a clearer definition of the child as a person aged under 18 years old
Outright prohibition on the recruitment of children (i.e. under 18 years old) in armed conflict and deals with conscription of children into the armed forces
Prohibiting marriages or betrothals involving children
Prohibiting the use of children as beggars
Granting girls the right to return to school after pregnancy
Tackling specific African issues that affect children. For example, it called for the confrontation and abolishment of apartheid and similar systems; and although, apartheid is now over, this provision is still applicable to children living under regimes practicing ethnic, religious or other forms of discrimination
Protecting internally displaced and refugee children
Protecting imprisoned expectant mothers and mothers of infants and young children
Providing a way for children themselves to petition the Children's Charter's Committee of Experts regarding infringements of their rights
Including special reference to care of the child by extended families
Encouraging the state to provide support for parents "in times of need"
Protecting handicapped children.
The fundamental principles guiding implementation of these rights include:
Selected structures within the AU relating to the Children's Charter.
This graph shows the slow progress of both the signing and ratification process of the Children's Charter since it was adopted in 1991.
Map of Africa showing the current status as at August 2008 of the Children's Charter.
Shortcoming and criticism
It doesn't protect children from life imprisonment without the possibility of release
When dealing with criminal activities, there is no provision for alternative measures such as community rehabilitation
No mention of the rights such as to remain silent, to be protected from retroactive legislation, to challenge detention, or to be compensated for miscarriages of justice
Article 20 can be construed as supporting physical punishment by parents as it is unclear regarding the meaning of "domestic discipline;"
There is some confusion regarding Article 31 that deals with children's responsibilities. Children are required to respect parents, superiors and elders at all times which could conflict with the child's right to participate in decisions that affect them
The omission of a provision which requires countries to fully commit and use their resources means that the Children's Charter has no way to ensure or force states to provide resources to ensure the realisation of children's rights
Although the Children's Charter makes provision for special protection measures for the disabled, it fails to expressly include disability as a prohibited ground of discrimination
Unlike the CRC, which specifically ascribes rights to children of minorities, there is no similar provision in the African Charter, despite many countries in the region having significant populations of minority and indigenous groups.
African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Committee of Experts)
The committee was formed in July 2001, one and half years after the Children's Charter came into force. The members are elected by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union. The criteria for the selection of members are:
Members must be nationals of a state party to the Children's Charter.
They must be individuals of high moral standing, integrity, impartiality and competence in matters of the rights and welfare of the child.
Members are nominated by signatory countries and elected by the Assembly of Heads of State of the African Union.
Members are elected for a term of five years and serve voluntarily in their individual capacity. They may not be re-elected.
The Committee of Experts meets twice each year, usually in May and November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The exact dates depend on other items on the AU agenda around these times. They are empowered to receive and examine the country ("state") reports on the measures they have adopted to implement the provisions of the Children's Charter as well as the progress achieved regarding how the rights are being protected. The final protective function of the Committee of Experts is related to the investigations procedure. They are empowered to resort to any appropriate method of investigation in respect of any issue covered in the Children's Charter.
Members of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
The current members of the ACERWC are (name, country, position):
Functional secretariat: K.F. Malindi Jr, Founder of The Rights Club and a human and child rights activist notes that the Committee of Experts have yet to establish a fully functional secretariat which means that it cannot carry out its activities or deal with communications as well as country reports. It suffers from a serious lack of resources
Attitude of member states: Many member states are unenthusiastic about the Children's Charter and are often unwilling to nominate suitable people to sit on the Committee of Experts. Often, the committee members resign midway through their term
Non-state reporting: A look at states’ reporting history to the Committee of Experts also shows non-commitment by countries to fulfil their treaty obligations in respect of the Children's Charter. The responsibility for preparing and submitting country reports differ from country to country, which makes it difficult for the Committee of Experts to follow up with defaulting states
The rule of pendency & appropriate bodies: Cases cannot be tried or investigated at the same time in two or more human rights bodies. Thus once a case has been brought before the Committee of Experts, it has to remain there until the legal process has been exhausted. The problem is that it takes an average of two and a half years for cases to be decided by the Committee of Experts
Other problems: Other important setback identified are the constant lack of legal counsel present at sessions of the Committee to give legal guidance on decisions being taken by the Committee; lack of coordinated cooperation and communication between the African Commission and the Committee and the non- prioritising by the AU of the work of the Committee resulting in delays and cancellation of sessions.
State party reporting
Countries which have ratified the Children's Charter must submit initial reports within two years of ratification or the entry into force of the Charter and every three years thereafter. In 2008, the Committee of Experts started the process of reviewing the first four state reports that had been received from Egypt, Mauritius, Nigeria and Rwanda in May 2008.
The state party report must contain specific information pertaining to children in their country. This includes political, legal, administrative issues that are linked to the requirements of the structure supplied by the Committee of Experts.
Ideally it should be a comprehensive report that includes input from the state, civil society and other recognised bodies at the regional, continental, international levels. But usually, the state report doesn't include much information from civil society. So civil society organisations can submit a second or "alternative" report that contains the information that they have gathered.
Until very recently, this "alternative" report could only be accepted after the state had submitted their report. But now a process has been put into place whereby the state is given 18 months to submit their report, failing that, the "alternative," civil society report will be accepted as that state's report.
Once received, the report then becomes available as a public document and it undergoes a process of:
Elaboration: The elaboration process is the first process that occurs. The Committee of Experts determines the report's completeness, representativeness, its conformity to the guidelines, etc. and specific information is extracted regarding the children's rights
Consideration: The consideration process examines the reports to determine if the information supplied reflects the true situation in the country as a kind "photocopy" or "clear picture" at that point in time. This includes determining if there are any gaps or inconsistencies in the information supplied in both the official and the alternative reports
Follow-up: The follow-up process is where the state and civil society are contacted again to explain and complete any discrepancies or missing information. Further information and interviews may be required before the Committee is satisfied
Once the State Party and Alternative reports have been finalised, they are submitted to AU Secretariat for translation into the other working languages (English, French, Portuguese and Arabic). Then different Committee of Expert members review the report in a pre-sessional working group in order to identify issues for further discussion with the state and request for any other information that may help when considering the report. Other organisations, civil society organisations, UN groups, who have contributed alternative reports or who are considered relevant may be invited to attend the session on an informal basis. This is where civil society organisations can bring information to the process. A pre-sessional report is produced after this meeting.
After the pre-sessional report has been produced, the members who have been appointed to review the State Party / Alternative Report meet to discuss an in-depth review of the report. Their findings are submitted to the respective state concerned and discussed with high level government representatives. There is no non-governmental organisation or civil society input at this level.
As a result of the in depth discussion, the Committee of Experts will identify problems, progress and differences in implementation of the Children's Charter by the State Party. These recommendations are called "concluding observations" and may include the following:
The steps that need to be taken
Agree on recommendations
Suggest unique decisions suitable for each country
Changes in the country since the report was prepared
Follow-ups by the Committee of Experts to obtain more information or clarity.
After the initial State Party / Alternative report has been accepted, the state will then have to submit additional reports every 3 years. These reports are called "periodic reports." This will allow for comparison with the previous report to determine whether there has been progress or if the situation has worsened.
There may also be follow-ups and country visits. The State Party / Alternative Report and recommendations are sent to the Summit of the Heads of States and Government. Civil society is also able to intervene every 3 years to encourage the state to make improvements ahead of the preparation of additional reports.
Observer status for civil society organisations
Civil society organisations and international institutions have played a significant role in the work of the Committee of Experts and they have served as the backbone of the committee's work since inception. International non-governmental organizations have been particularly involved in the work of the committee, providing different kinds of expertise and financial support to most of the work.
Although civil society organisation involvement was minimal in the beginning, over the intervening years they have since taken a pivotal role in ensuring that the committee fulfills its mandate and in providing the necessary support needed to facilitate its work. The adoption of the guidelines for granting observer status will now also ensure that more civil society organisations are able to formally participate and contribute in the process.
According to the proposed guidelines for observer status, some of the ways civil society organisations and associations will be allowed to participate will include:
Attending opening and closing ceremonies of the Committee of Experts sessions
Participating in the committee's meetings
Accessing documents that are not confidential and do not deal with issues concerning the observers
Being invited to participate in closed sessions dealing with issues that concern them
Making statements on issues that concern them, provided the statement has been sent to the committee in advance
Responding to questions they may be asked in meetings.
The guidelines encourage the formation of coalitions by civil society organisations with similar objectives. The following are the requirements for the participation of civil society organisations for observer status are:
They must be registered in a member state with the mandate to carry out regional and international activities
Must have been registered for a minimum of three years
Must have done work in the defence of children's rights
They must have a recognised headquarters, democratically adopted statutes and a representative structure
They must submit a list of documentation to aid their application at least three months before a session of the Committee of Experts.
Once the organisation has obtained observer status, it may request the Committee of Experts to include issues of interest on their agenda and to make oral statements at the sessions. They are entitled to receive information on the time, location and agenda of the sessions of the committee. The committee can invite a civil society organisation to participate in the deliberations of the meetings of the committee without a voting right.
The civil society organisations are also under an obligation to establish close relations with the committee and to hold regular consultations on all issues of common interest. Civil society organisations are required to submit reports on their activities every two years. When civil society organisations default on their obligations, the committee may suspend or withdraw the observer status.
Communications to the Committee of Experts
A communication is a complaint submitted to the Committee of Experts regarding a violation of the rights of children under the Children's Charter. The following are some guidelines for those wanting to submit a communication to the Committee of Experts:
A communication may be submitted by individuals, groups, associations, non-governmental organizations, etc.
These individuals or groups MUST be recognised by the state, AU or international body
The state is excluded from the complaints process
Any violation of child rights may be considered
The country where the violation has occurred must be a signatory of the Children's Charter.
Specific requirements of a communication
A communication must meet the following criteria:
It cannot not be anonymous
It must be written
It must be submitted within a reasonable deadline or timeframe, depending on the nature of the complaint
It must be written in a reasonable and non-defamatory tone
It must be compatible with the AU rules and laws or the Children's Charter
It must not be exclusively based on information in the media
Issues must not have been already decided by another investigation, procedure or international regulation
It must only be submitted when all local / domestic remedies have been exhausted or when the author of the communication is not satisfied with the solution provided at the local / domestic level
The Committee of Experts can also review its own decision in a communication where the complainant can provide additional information to support his/her case
The Committee of Experts can receive a communication from a non-State Party (e.g. civil society organisation, individual, group of people) if it is in the best interest of the child.
If the communication meets the above requirements, then it may be considered by the Committee of Experts. When a complaint reaches the committee, a group will be assigned to work on it to decide if it is acceptable. If it is acceptable then they will give feedback both to the country where the problem is located. If there are gaps, then the committee will ask the country to take measures to protect the complainant while it is being investigated further.
The work on the complaint is confidential and is held in closed session debates. Once a decision has been taken, a communication is sent to the country's state department. A member on the Committee of Experts is designated to follow up and coordinate the process. Once the process has been completed, a report is sent to the Committee of the Heads of State and Government.
Children who are the authors or who are the victims in the communication process now have an opportunity to express their opinions to the Committee of Experts. This provision guarantees the cardinal principle of child participation in issues concerning them.
Investigations
Investigations may be initiated because the Committee of Experts has received a communication indicating a serious violation. Investigation missions can be initiated either by a state referring a matter to the Committee of Experts, or the committee can undertake its own investigations, although the Committee may only visit a State Party if invited to do so by the government.
To ensure the investigative mission team has background knowledge of the situation, a preliminary report according to certain guidelines and based on available information is prepared before each investigation. The mission will meet with available state and non-state organisations and people in the country where they will be investigating.
Once the mission has finished its investigation, it has to release a preliminary result to the government and the media in the country of investigation. A final report is then prepared which incorporates the mission's recommendations. This mission report must be attached to the progress report of the Committee to the African Heads of State and Government.
The country that has been investigated has up to 6 months after the adoption of a decision by the Committee of Experts to submit a written reply on what they have done regarding the requirements or measures in the mission report.
The country's response should also include information on any measures in reaction to the recommendations made by the Committee after the mission. Civil society organisations and ‘specialised institutions’ like children's civil society organisations could also be requested to provide information on the situation of children in that state.
Download Booklet Much of the information on this page is from the booklet "The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: A Practical Guide for CSOs" prepared for Save the Children Sweden in Pretoria in October 2009.
African Child Information Hub A platform for the exchange and dissemination of information and networking among organisations, experts and advocates for the rights and welfare of the child. Documents such as the minutes of the Committee of Experts meetings can be found under the "events" section.
Human rights are moral principles or norms for certain standards of human behaviour and are regularly protected in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable, fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being" and which are "inherent in all human beings", regardless of their age, ethnic origin, location, language, religion, ethnicity, or any other status. They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They are regarded as requiring empathy and the rule of law and imposing an obligation on persons to respect the human rights of others, and it is generally considered that they should not be taken away except as a result of due process based on specific circumstances.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The convention defines a child as any human being under the age of eighteen, unless the age of majority is attained earlier under national legislation.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per year to consider the periodic reports submitted by the 173 States parties to the ICCPR on their compliance with the treaty, and any individual petitions concerning the 116 States parties to the ICCPR's First Optional Protocol. The Committee is one of ten UN human rights treaty bodies, each responsible for overseeing the implementation of a particular treaty.
International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, agreements between sovereign states intended to have binding legal effect between the parties that have agreed to them; and customary international law. Other international human rights instruments, while not legally binding, contribute to the implementation, understanding and development of international human rights law and have been recognized as a source of political obligation.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples') rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and considering individual complaints of violations of the Charter. This includes investigating human rights violations, creating and approving programs of action towards encouraging human rights, and set up effect communication between them and states to get first hand information on violations of human rights. Although the ACHPR is under a regional government facility, they don't have any actual power and enforcement over laws. This ends up in them drafting up proposals to send up the chain of command to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government and they will act accordingly.
The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights is an international human rights instrument that is intended to promote and protect human rights and basic freedoms in the African continent.
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, also known simply as the African Court, is an international court established by member states of the African Union (AU) to implement provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. Seated in Arusha, Tanzania, it is the judicial arm of the AU and one of three regional human rights courts.
The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by the member states of the African Union (AU) as a self-monitoring mechanism. It was founded in 2003.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a body of experts that monitor and report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Contributing to the establishment of human rights system in Africa are the United Nations, international law and the African Union which have positively influenced the betterment of the human rights situation in the continent. However, extensive human rights abuses still occur in many sections of the continent. Most of the violations can be attributed to political instability, racial discrimination, corruption, post-colonialism, economic scarcity, ignorance, illness, religious bigotry, debt and bad financial management, monopoly of power, lack/absence of judicial and press autonomy, and border conflicts. Many of the provisions contained in regional, national, continental, and global agreements remained unaccomplished.
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is the pan-European political assembly representing local and regional authorities from the forty-six member states of the Council of Europe. Its role is to promote local and regional democracy, improve local and regional governance and strengthen authorities' self-government, according to the principles laid down in the European Charter of Local Self-Government. It is made up of two chambers, the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions and holds its plenary sessions twice a year at the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg, where its permanent Secretariat is located.
Human rights in Somalia throughout the late 20th-century and early 21st-century were considered dire, but have gradually improved over the following years. Human rights are guaranteed in the Federal Constitution, which was adopted in August 2012. They fall under the Ministry of Human Rights established in August 2013. The central authorities concurrently inaugurated a National Human Rights Day, endorsed an official Human Rights Roadmap, and completed Somalia's first National Gender Policy.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy full equality under the law. The Convention serves as a major catalyst in the global disability rights movement enabling a shift from viewing persons with disabilities as objects of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing them as full and equal members of society, with human rights. The convention was the first U.N. human rights treaty of the twenty-first century.
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, better known as the Maputo Protocol, is an international human rights instrument established by the African Union that went into effect in 2005. It guarantees comprehensive rights to women including the right to take part in the political process, to social and political equality with men, improved autonomy in their reproductive health decisions, and an end to female genital mutilation. It was adopted by the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique, in 2003 in the form of a protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) was formed in July 2001, one and half years after the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child came into force. The Committee became operational in 2003.
Labour standards in the World Trade Organization are binding rules, which form a part of the jurisprudence and principles applied within the rule making institutions of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Labour standards play an implicit, but not an overt role within the WTO, however it forms a prominent issue facing the WTO today, and has generated a wealth of academic debate.
The Islamic Republic of Iran signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991 and ratified it in 1994. Upon ratification, Iran made the following reservation: "If the text of the Convention is or becomes incompatible with the domestic laws and Islamic standards at any time or in any case, the Government of the Islamic Republic shall not abide by it."
Child Marriage in Sudan. In 2017 in Sudan, 34% of girls are married off before the 18 years old. 12% are married before they turn 15. Sudan is the 29th highest nation in the world for child marriage.
Child marriage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the eighteenth highest in the world. In a child marriage, one or both parties are under the age of eighteen years old. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 37% of girls are married before they turn eighteen, and 10% of girls are married before age fifteen. Though significantly less than the rate of child marriage for girls, 6% of boys in the DRC are married before age eighteen.
Portugal is generally considered as successful in upholding the civil liberties and protecting the human rights of its citizens. Portugal has proved to be determined in promoting and respecting human rights at an international and national level. The country's minister of Justice as of September 2018, Francisca Van Dunem, said that Portugal has had "a good track record" on human rights but violations still do persist.
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Selected structures within the AU relating to the Children's Charter.
This graph shows the slow progress of both the signing and ratification process of the Children's Charter since it was adopted in 1991.
Map of Africa showing the current status as at August 2008 of the Children's Charter.
