CERWC Tribune A The bi-annual Publication of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child - ACERWC Vol 1: Issue 002 - December 2014 “ An Africa Fit for Children” www.acerwc.org For an improved protection and immediate response to the plight of children in armed conflicts Interview with... Dr. Fatima-Zohra Delladj Sebaa AU Special Rapporteur on Child Marriage Page 3 5. Celebrating the 25 th Anniversary of the Charter 7. General Comments 11. Children in armed conflicts: a need for better protection 15. Day of the African Child 25 th Commemoration In this issue: IDP Camp in Juban South Sudan /ACERWC Advocacy Mission
Transcript
CERWCTribuneA
The bi-annual Publication of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child - ACERWC Vol 1: Issue 002 - December 2014“
An
Afr
ica
Fit f
or C
hild
ren”
www.acerwc.org
For an improved protection and immediate response to the plight of children in armed conflicts
Interview with...
Dr. Fatima-Zohra Delladj Sebaa
AU Special Rapporteur on Child Marriage
Page 3
5. Celebrating the 25thAnniversary of the Charter
7. General Comments
11. Children in armed conflicts: a need for better protection
15. Day of the African Child 25th Commemoration
In this issue:
IDP Camp in Juban South Sudan /ACERWC Advocacy Mission
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Early this year, precisely on 30 January 2014, the Committee launched a con-tinental campaign for the ratification
of and reporting on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, alongside the 22nd Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union which was held in Addis Ababa. For the realization of the vision captured in its slogan “An Africa Fit for Children”, the Com-mittee advocates for accession to the Charter by all African countries to give effect to the prin-ciples and protections of children’s rights under the Charter. The campaign also calls for with-drawal of reservations by State Parties. Howev-er, some African countries are slow to offer this perspective as 7 countries have not officially ratified the Charter 4 State Parties have made reservations on some of the provisions of the Charter. The campaign will come to an end in 2015, dur-ing the commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the adoption of the Charter. Before it comes to an end, the Campaign aims, among other things, at the ratification of the Charter by all
African countries and the withdrawal of reservations made by States Parties. The Committee’s efforts in achieving these goals are certainly bearing fruit now. The recent advocacy mission of the Committee in South Sudan (03-09 August 2014), has empha-sized, inter alia, on the need for the ratification of the Charter by the youngest African nation. The delegation of the Committee, for this pur-pose, held a dialogue with the Standing Com-mittee of the Parliament in charge of gender, children, social welfare, religious affairs and youth and sports. The recent ratification of the Charter by the Legislative Assembly on the 1st October this year, is certainly the result of an active advocacy that the Committee conducted during its mission in the country. Pending the promulgation by the Head of State and the sub-mission of the ratification document to the Afri-can Union, we hope to welcome South Sudan as the 48th State Party to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Deputy- Publishing Director: Prof. Benyam Dawit Mezmur
Editorial Team: Prof. Julia Sloth-NielsenJustice Alfas Chitakunye Dr. Clément MashambaDr. Félicité Muhimpundu Mrs. Amal Al-HenguaryDr. Azza Ashmawy Dr. Fatéma-Zohra Sebaa-Delladj
1. What is your role as Special Rapporteur of the AU on child marriage?
The role of the Special Rapporteur is to conduct missions to investigate allegations of violations of the right of children not to be married by force. It is essential to seek the cooperation of State parties and their commitment to protect individuals, organi-zations or institutions cooperating with the Special Rapporteur. This will ensure a constructive dialogue with States, NGOs, international organizations, etc. We will also try to look for information on progress in the eradication of child marriage on the part of the various actors mentioned above. The Special Rapporteur should submit annual reports to the Af-rican Committee of Experts on the Rights and Wel-fare of the Child (ACERWC) on activities related to its mandate for publication and wide dissemination.
2. Of the 20 countries with the highest child marriage rates in the world, 15 are found in Africa. What are the cultural and religious particularities in Africa contributing to the development of child marriage on the continent?
Among the important causes, we can mention the Non-enrollment of girls in school or inadequate school provision (location, times, programs ...), poverty that drives families to sent away any additional mouth to feed, or to obtain dowry, some traditions that entails that child marriage and especially of girls, is a pallia-tive to dishonor or prostitution, and the pernicious idea that early marriage is a “lesser evil” than child labor.
3. Research shows that in 2010, 13.5 million girls were married before the age of 18. If nothing is done, 15.4 million girls will be married every year by 2030. What should African countries do to avoid this? What is the role of CSOs in the process?
States must act effectively and at many levels and primarily on legislative and attitudes. They will need to have a legal framework prohibiting child marriage (18 years old). This also avoids many other related
problems such as the health of these young mothers and their children born to young mothers “ psycholog-ically” . Civil society is a bulwark in raising awareness and consciousness . It will put an emphasis on the need to act against it.
4- What support do the AU and its Organs can provide to this campaign to end child marriage?
The AU by placing this issue at the center of its con-cerns contributes significantly to preserving and pro-moting the rights of children. By its unifying role and through its organs, it can encourage the 10 Member States listed as the most affected by this phenome-non to act urgently to stop it
5- What is your message to communities in Africa that give their daughters as wives?
Before the community, my message to the father and the mother of this child forced to marry is that they must consider other solutions to the problems they face with their children, especially their daughters. Do not break the future of your child.To the the communities, they should realize that the world is changing, not always for the better, it is true, but this change also brings optimism: Preserve the children and ask them what is best for them, they will probably say, playing, going to school and be well in their communities.
Interview with...
Interview conducted by Kameni Ngankam
Dr. Fatima-Zohra SEBAA-DELLADJ, African Union Special Rapporteur on Child Marriage
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25thAnniversary of the Charter
The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC/the African children’s Charter) is the only region focused child right instru-ment in the world. It was in 1990, shortly after the es-tablishment of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), that the OAU Assembly has adopted the Children’s Charter. Currently, it is ratified by 41 Afri-can Countries. Though the adoption of this Charter has been influenced by its predecessor regional child rights instruments, it has revealed itself with some form of pe-culiarities to advance the protection of children in Africa. The African Children’s Charter is crafted in a manner it can be able to address the problems of African children.
The exclusion or marginalization of African countries in the drafting process of the UN CRC is the major factor which led to the establishment of a region specif-ic instrument. Due to such underrepresentation, most of the concerns of African Children were neglected.
Moreover, some specific omissions from the CRC, such as the situation of children living under apartheid, factors disadvantaging the female child, socio-eco-nomic conditions of African children, and a compulso-ry minimum age for military service have necessitated the adoption of this regional instrument.This is clearly envisaged in the document itself. The Preamble of the African Children’s Charter states that the Charter is es-tablished to recognize the situation of African children which ‘remains critical due to the unique factors of their socio-economic, cultural, traditional and developmen-tal circumstances, natural disasters, armed conflicts, exploitation and hunger’ (Para 4 of the Preamble).
The African Children’s Charter encompasses a wide range of rights and obligations for a better advancement of children’s rights in Africa. The four ‘pillars’ of the CRC, namely, the principles of non-discrimination, the best interest of the child, life survival and development, and participation, are also incorporated with the same sta-
Celebrating the 25th year Anniversary of the African Children’s Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child : Much remains to be done to create an Africa fit for children by Ayalew Getachew, Legal Researcher, ACERWC Secretariat
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tus in the African Children’s Charter. In addition, it also consists of provisions which are articulated in an inno-vative and progressive manner for the advancement of children’s rights in Africa. This enables the Charter to ac-cord a greater degree of protection for African Children.
The first point which should be noted with regard to the progressive nature of the African Children’s Charter re-lates toits non-qualified definition of a child. Article 2 defines a child as all human beings below the age of 18, without attaching any claw-back clause that allows a situation where a child below the age of 18 could attain majority earlier under applicable law. This may give countries a lee way to take actions which con-travenes the interest of children. For instance, coun-tries might employ such qualification to justify acts such as of recruiting child soldiers during armed con-flict and allowing early marriages.
In addition, African Children’s Charter has also granted a higher degree of protection to children in Africa through its position on so-cial, economic and cultural rights. The Charter avoids the traditional separate treatment of human rights as civil and political rights on the one hand and economic, social and cultural rights on the other hand. The current view of human rights treats all rights as interdependent, and the charter seems in line with this contemporary understanding of human rights. Moreover, the concept of progressive realization of rights, which is part of the CRC, does not appear in the African Children’s Charter.
Another innovative articulation of the African Children’s Charter has also been echoed in article 4(1) of the Charter, which sets that the best interest of the child is ‘the’ primary consideration in all actions concerning the child and is paramount over the other three principles. The same principle has been embodied in article 3(1) of CRC, but different from the African Children’s Char-ter it states that in all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be ‘a’ primary consider-ation. The article ‘a’ in the CRC shows that in determin-ing on issues which consist of the child’s interest, the
best interest principle may not be the only principle to be consulted. The Convention allows other principles and considerations to be taken in this regard. However, the African Children’s Charter takes a different stance and uses the article ‘the’, which basically means, the best interest of the child is the only principle to be consulted in matters containing the child’s interests.
The other added value of the African Children’s Char-ter has been manifested through the inclusion of the concept of children’s duties. Proceeding from the view that a child is part of a community of people, the Afri-can Children’s Charter gives children the responsibility to work for the cohesion of the family, to respect their parents, superiors and elders at all times and to assist them in case of need. This unique feature of the Char-ter contributes towards the provision of a forum of par-
ticipation for the African children. It allows children to be involved in matters which might affect their in-terests and experience adulthood in advance and hence secures the realization of ‘a true’ participation.
Moreover, the Charter include the child’s rights to participation, which includes the right to be giv-en for an opportunity for the child’s views to be held in all judicial or administrative proceedings af-fecting his/her interests and those
views must be taken into consideration. The Charter has also guarantees the right of participation of the child in artistic and cultural life and in administrative justice. Considering the child as an autonomous individual, these provisions are of great importance to a place like Africa, where children are considered to be the prop-erty of both their parents and the community at large.
Trying to address the plight of the girl child in Afri-ca, article 11(3)(e) of the African Children’s Char-ter obliges member States to take affirmative action and measures with regard to female, disadvantaged and gifted children. This in turn addresses social im-balances, which can be corrected by states actions.
Generally, the Charter imposes an obligation
“the African Children’s Charter has also granted a higher degree of protection to children in Africa through its position on social , economic and cultural
rights”
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upon member states to take special measures with regard to children with disabilities, complete-ly prohibits use and recruitment of children in armed groups, and provides a provision for State Par-ties to take all appropriate measures to eliminate harmful social and cultural practices prejudicial to the welfare, dignity and development of the child.
To monitor the implementation of this instrument, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Wel-fare of the Child was established in 2001in accordance with article 32 of the African Children’s Charter, The Committee comprises of 11 independent experts who are elected by the Assembly of the African Union. Each member is elected for a non-renewable term of five years. According to articles 33-37 of the Africa Chil-dren’s Charter, members must be nationals of a State Party to the Children’s Charter. They must also be in-dividuals of high moral standing, integrity, impartiality and competence in matters of the rights and welfare of the child. Drawing its mandate from article 42 of the African Children’s Charter, the Committee undertakes a number of activities with a view of promoting and protecting the rights and welfare of the child in Africa.
In the year 2015, the ACRWC celebrates the 25th year anniversary of the adoption of the African Children’s Charter. In view of that the ACERWC has launched a Campaign on the Universal Ratification of and Reporting on the Implementation of the ACRWC. The Campaign is planned to be conducted within a two-year period culminating in November 2015 during the commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the adoption of the ACRWC and events in 2014 celebrating 15 years since its entry into force (1999). The Campaign aims at achieving universal ratification and States Parties’ fulfillment of their reporting obligations by November 2015 and promoting the effective implementation of the
ACRWC and advocating for the withdrawal of reserva-tions.
As part of the commemoration activities, the ACER-WC will organize a workshop to assess the status of children’s rights in the past 25 years in Africa. This assessment, inter alia, identifies the challenges and success of the endeavors employed to promote and protect the rights of the child. Looking at the com-ing 25 years, while the ACRWC celebrates its 50 years of anniversary, the assessment will also help to develop an Agenda on children’s rights in Africa.
There is much to celebrate as we mark the 25th an-niversary of the African children’s Charter. Up to date (November 2014), 47 Member States of the African Union have ratified the Charter and there is an en-couraging pace with regard to State Party’s compli-ance on their reporting obligation on the implemen-tation of the Charter. State Parties to this instrument are taking legal and practical measures to harmonize their national laws and policies on children with inter-national and regional standards, the Constitutions of many African countries cover the rights of the child in considerable detail, which evidently help to ensure the full realisation of the rights and well-being of chil-dren in Africa. Moreover, tangible progress has been witnessed towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the fulfillment of chil-dren’s rights to survival, development and protection.
However, with all the progress towards the protection of children’s rights, grave child rights violations remain an urgent and serious concern in many African countries. While many children in Africa are able to grow, learn and thrive as part of loving families and communities, others suffer due to issues like poverty, conflict, natural disasters, and harmful practices such as early marriage. Many children in Africa are still affected by different types of abuse, including economic and sexual exploita-tion, gender discrimination in education, child labour, child marriage, and their association in armed conflictTherefore, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Af-rican Children’s Charter is an urgent reminder that we have still a long way to go and MUCH REMAINS TO BE DONE TO CREATE AN AFRICA FIT FOR CHILDREN.
Put a smile
on A
frica
n child
ren’s faces
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Committee’s Work
Children of imprisoned parents are often described as the
forgotten victims of imprisonment. When a mother or
father goes to prison, their children are affected adversely.
Yet these effects are rarely considered in criminal justice
processes, which instead focus on determining individual
guilt or innocence and punishing lawbreakers. The failure
to consider or consult children of imprisoned parents at
all stages of the criminal justice process – from arrest
to trial to imprisonment to release to rehabilitation into
the community – can result in their rights, needs and
best interests being overlooked or actively damaged.
Reports and researches show that incarceration may
also damage parents’ perception of themselves as parents.
The psychological repercussions can be analogous to those
resulting from other forms of loss, such as death or divorce.
Unfortunately, these impacts are largely unacknowledged
in criminal justice systems worldwide, many of which
fail to record information about prisoners’ children.
The African Committee of Experts on the Rights
and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), recognizing the
importance and invisibility of the issue of children
affected by the incarceration of their parents/ primary
caregivers, decided to prepare its first General
C o m m e n t o n t h i s t h e m e .
The overall purpose of the General Comment, therefore,
is to support States Parties, and other stakeholders, in
the effective implementation of article 30 of the African
Children’s Charter. Article 30 lays out a number of
provisions ensuring ‘special treatment’ for pregnant
women and mothers who are accused or convicted
of criminal offences. Under this Article, States Parties
must ensure that non-custodial sentences are always
considered first for pregnant women and
mothers of young children and they must
establish alternatives to detention for them.
Article 30(1)(f) also states: ‘the essential
aim of the penitentiary system will be the
reformation, the integration of the mother
to the family and social rehabilitation.’
The ACERWC, in this General Comment, has innovatively
approached some of the important concepts included
in article 30 and lays down principles which advance the
protection of children’s rights in this context. However, the
ACERWC takes the view that article 30 can be extended to
apply to children affected by the incarceration of their sole
or primary caregiver - this may be another family member
such as a grand-parent or a foster parent- and fathers.
Moreover, article 30 applies when primary caregivers
are accused or found guilty of infringing the penal law.
As such, the General Comment states that long-
term incarceration, short-term incarceration, and
sporadic incarceration, with a primary caregivers moving
in and out of prison and the death penalty are within the
scope of article 30. It is also indicated that the General
Comment applies whether the primary caregiver
is in custody or subject to non-custodial measures.
Generally, the General Comment plays a great role
in strengthening the understanding on the meaning
of article 30 and its implications for governments,
stakeholders, NGOs and society at large. It also
elaborates the scope of legislation, policy and practice
necessary to achieve full implementation of article 30;
and highlights positive approaches by Member States.
Formulating and laying out principles under the African Children’s Charter: General Comments by the ACERWC
by Ayalew Getachew, Legal Researcher, ACERWC Secretariat
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As is the case with other human rights, the rights to
birth registration and nationality are interrelated, and the
realization of these rights plays a great role in preventing
statelessness. Birth registration, as an act of recording
a birth of a child
by a governmental
authority with the
effect of granting
the child a legal
personality, establishes
the existence in law
of a child. A child who
is not registered does
not legally exist and
automatically falls
out of the reach of
government’s protection towards the realization of child
rights. It is through birth registration and acquisition of
a birth certificate that the parentage of children, their
age, and their place of birth can be recorded.
These elements plays significant role in according
nationality for children, and hence prevent statelessness.
It is in consideration of this fact that article 6 of the
African Children’s Charter recognizes three interlinked
rights and imposes an obligation on State Parties to take
legislative measures to prevent statelessness among
children. Article 6 (1) establishes the right to a name,
article 6(2) sets the right to birth registration (Art 6
(2)) and the right to a nationality is prescribed under
article 6 (3). Article 6 (4) imposes an obligation on State
Parties to the Charter to ensure that their constitutional
legislation recognize the principles according to which
a child shall acquire the nationality of the State in the
territory of which he/she has been born. In order to clearly
spell out and explain the obligations of State Parties in
implementing the provision, the ACERWC, in April 2013.
Observations deriving from State Party Reports
show that the right to birth registration, unfortunately,
is one of the rights that consistently appear not to be
fully implemented by States. This can be shown by
referring to the Committee’s concluding observations
and recommendations to State Parties that have
submitted their Reports including Kenya, Tanzania,
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Libya, Mali and Uganda.
Also, millions of children go unregistered every
year. According to the UN News Centre, a 2013 UNICEF
Report reveals that 230 million children under the age of
five had not had their birth registered, and the lowest rate
of birth registration globally is in South Asia and in Sub-
Saharan Africa. Without a birth certificate, it is difficult
to establish a child’s parentage and his/her ties with the
territory on which he/she was born. This puts the child in a
precarious position when it comes to claiming a nationality
and exposes him/her to the risk of becoming stateless.
The Committee recognizes the existence of
hundreds of thousands of stateless persons in Africa. The
causes of this situation can be found in Africa’s history, in
the arbitrary creation of the borders of African States, in
problems related to the transition from the colonial era
to independence and more recent creations of states or
transfers of territory, in both historical and contemporary
migration, and in deficiencies in nationality laws and their
implementation. The difficulty of realizing of children’s
right to acquire nationality is ascribed to the lack of an
effective and universal birth registration system. As
stipulated in Article 6(4) of the African Children’s Charter,
the obligation of State Parties to devise an accessible,
free, comprehensive, non-discriminatory, and effective
birth registration system, the Committee believes, is a
sine qua non to acquire nationality and hence prevent
statelessness. Even though the right to birth registration
does not confer nationality by itself, the Committee
notes that it is a proof of the nationality of the parents
or the place of birth which are the grounds of nationality.
The Committee, as in the case with its General
Comment No. 1, has approached the principles included
in article 6 of the Charter in rather innovative manner.
The General Comment, therefore, gives guidance and
explanations on the principles related to name, nationality
and birth registration to all stakeholders including agencies
of States Parties, civil society organizations, academics,
legal practitioners, and civil registry authorities.
The ACERWC is currently developing its third
General Comment on article 31 of the Charter
which provides for the Responsibility of the Child.
This provision is one of the peculiar features of the
African Children’s Charter. Hence, the Committee
believed that the article requires explanation.
General Comment No-2 on article 6 of the African Children’s Charter
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Tales from the field...
As newly appointed Child Protection Advisor to the African Union Peace and Security De-partment (PSD), my first field visit consisted
in accompanying from 3rd to 9th August 2014, the Af-rican Committee of Experts on the Rights and Wel-fare of the Child (ACERWC) in an advocacy mission to South Sudan. I travelled with two members of the Committee – the Vice-Chair, Prof Julia Sloth Nielsen, a South African woman with strong leadership skills and Justice Alfas from Zimbabwe, calm and knowl-edgeable on child rights issues. Three young mem-bers of the Secretariat were also part of the delegation. We arrived in Juba amidst growing protection con-cerns resulting from attacks against civilians and the deep human rights crisis ravaging the coun-try after the resumption of the conflict in Decem-ber 2013. Our role was to assess the impact of the conflict on children and to advocate for ac-tion and responses with the national authorities and obtain their commitment to protect children. Despite being in Africa’s newest nation with its in-dependence gained in July 2011, I found South Su-dan trapped in a spiral of violence which is destroy-ing the social fabric and threatening to undermine trust among communities for generations to come.It was a reminder that our visit is taking place against the backdrop of South Sudan having gained inde-pendence from Sudan as the outcome of a 2005 peace deal that ended Africa’s longest-running civil war. I witnessed communities pitted against one another. The impact of the conflict on chil-dren has been dramatic with unprecedented scale of human rights and humanitarian challenges.
We received reports of children, even babies be-ing wantonly killed. The killings have left uncounted
numbers of children parentless, orphans and having to take to the streets. We witnessed massive disrup-tion of people’s and children’s lives first hand, with huge displacement of peoples, including children with or without their families, continuing to occur. We visited the Tomping Camp where over 15,000 IDPS were fled and had overstretched the facilities. IDPs themselves confirmed that there is serious sexual vi-olence against children within and outside the Pro-tection of Civilians (PoC) Sites.Girls cannot use la-trines after 7 PM for fear of sexual violence. We were informed of incidents of rape of both girls and boys.
We were deeply concerned by reports of an upsurge in the recruitment of children into forces associat-ed with the armed conflict. In the meantime, we ob-served the existence of visible involvement of chil-dren in the conflict, including girls in military uniform. We were told that more than 900 children have been abducted in Jonglei state since December 2013.
UNICEF estimated that 840,000 children under-fives and 328,000 pregnant and lactating women of an estimated 11.6 million total population were ex-posed to unacceptably high levels of food insecurity. 1200 schools were closed down in conflict af¬fect-ed States: Upper Nile, Jonglei and Western Equa-torial. More than 75 schools are still occupied by armed forces. In many places, the education situa-tion has deteriorated to the point where most children are not accessing education. This is the case not only in the crisis States, but throughout the country. The conflict has completely disrupted the basic
by Jean Francois BASSE, Child Protection AdviserAU Peace and Security Department
Embedded to the African Committee of Experts
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health services available to children in the conflict affected areas. There had been 5 times more attacks on hospitals in the last 3 months preceding our visit than the whole of 2013, leaving an already fragile social infrastructure and basic services in complete disarray.
On a positive note, I appreciated the meet-ing we had with the SPLA Child Protection Unit. Our delegation commended the fact that SPLA has committed to be a Child Free Force and has a Child Protection cell that has been working closely with UNMISS on child protection issues. I also appreciated the fact that Child Centered Ser-vices are being offered in IDP camps and these in-clude: Identification, Registration and Documenta-tion and Individual Case management for Family tracing and Reunification of Unaccompanied, Sepa-rated, and Missing children; monitoring of grave vi-olations against children; Data Management and referral for SGBV cases; and strengthening Com-munity Based Child Protection Networks (CBCPN).
I cannot conclude without commending the hard work of humanitarian agencies in extremely difficult circumstances and the real dedication of staff com-ing from all over the world. I think we need to document the strategic and cross-sectoral coordination of humanitarian programs on how UN agencies and non-governmental actors are providing essential
humanitarian supplies to IDPs and affected populations.
Now that the mission over, it’s time for advocacy. The report of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child will be submitted to the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) and disseminated during the next Summit of the Heads of States. This report will come out almost at the same time as the one from the African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan (AUCISS) whose members we met in the field.
The African leadership has to confront the situation and spare no efforts to provide adequate resources to scale up the response with robust, immedi-ate and urgent actions as well as sustain pressure over the parties in conflict to find a rapid and last-ing peace. In the meantime, a stronger signal needs to be sent to perpetrators of the atrocious crimes documented in order for all of them to be held to account. This is essential to deter further violence and start to re-establish trust among communities. This crisis has been looming for almost a year and we have run out of time to prevent the vio-lence from escalating. It is my hope the AfricanUnion and the international community will work to end the crisis South Sudan, protect civilians and accompany the country towards lasting stabilization.
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by Abigeya Getachew , ACERWC Secretariat
Engage with the ACERWC
T he African Committee of Experts on
the Rights and Welfare of the Child
(ACERWC), within its mandate to
monitor the implementation of the African
Children’s Charter, receives and considers
communications against a State Party on
violation of children’s rights enshrined under the
Charter. In addition to Article 44 of the Charter
which provides for locus standi and criteria’s,
the ACERWC adopted a detailed Guideline
for the Consideration of Communications.
Accordingly, any individual or group of natural
or legal person including children; or a State
Party to the African Children’s Charter; or
any intergovernmental or non-governmental
organization legally recognized in either one or
more of the Member States of the African Union,
a State Party to the African Children’s Charter or
the United Nations; or any specialized organ or
agency of the African Union and United Nations
can bring a Communication before the Committee
on their own behalf or on behalf of third parties.
The Committee considers communications that
fulfill the form and content requirements provided
under the Guidelines. As to the form requirement a
Communication to be submitted to the Committee
should be submitted in one of the working
languages of the Committee which is the official
languages of the African Union; should not be
anonymous; should be made against a State Party
to the Charter; and it should be duly signed by the
complainants or their representatives.However,
in exceptional cases the Committee may receive
a Communication from non- signatory State
Party when the best interest of the child requires.
The content of a Communication should have a
clear particular as to the identity of the parties,
identity of the victim/s, the rights alleged to
be violated, the act of the State Party that
results in violation of the rights of children, the
remedies exhausted in the local system or in
the absence of exhaustion of local remedies
the reason for it, and the remedy sought from
the Committee. Further, the content should
specify the interest of the complainants to be
anonymous to the State Party against whom
the Communication is made. It should also
indicate if the Communication is pending before
another international settlement procedure.
Before a Communication reaches the Committee,
the Secretariat of the ACERWC will conduct a
preliminary review on the fulfillment of the form and
content requirements, process the registration
and upon fulfillment of the requirements
transfer the Communication to the Committee.
At the initial stage of considering the
Communication, the Committee may recommend
a State party to adopt a provisional measure.
A serious and massive violation of children
rights, or a situation of urgency that would result
irreparable damage, and failure on part of the
State Party to take the necessary measure are the
grounds for recommending provisional measures.
However, prior to adoption of provisional
measures, the Committee may undertake
on-site investigation or request clarification
from the State Party in order to verify facts.
Seize the ACERWC: Conditions and Procedures for Communications
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Prior to considering the merit of the
Communication the Committee should declare its
admissibility. In the admissibility procedure the
Committee examines if the Communication is in
line with the African Union Constitutive Act and
the African Children’s Charter. It also examines
if it is manifestly ill founded, exhausted available
local remedies, and is submitted in a reasonable
period of time after exhausting local remedies.
The State Party in question will also be invited to give its response on the admissibility of the Communication within 60 days. In exceptional situations where the life or personal integrity of a child or children is in danger, the State might be required to response in a short period of time.
Once the Committee renders a decision on the admissibility, it will deliberate on the merit. Here again the concerned State Party will be given the opportunity to submit its argument and evidence within 60 days. Moreover, when the Committee finds it to be appropriate, it may adjourn a day to hear the oral submission of the parties. Further depending on the nature of the complaint and the need, the Committee may call independent experts and witnesses. It may also undertake on-site investigations.
Upon conclusion of its deliberation on the merit the Committee will adopt a decision within 90 days. If a State Party is found to be in violation of the alleged rights, the Committee will recommend the State Party on actions it should carry in order to remedy the violation. The State Party that is found to be in violation of the Charter is required to submit its report to the Committee on the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee within 180 days of receipt.
At any stage of the Communication procedure the parties may resort to amicable settlement
or may withdraw their complaint. Nevertheless the Committee may proceed in its consideration of the Communication having regard to its mandate under the Charter and if the withdrawal or the amicable settlement is to be prejudicial to the best interest of the child.
So far, the Committee has received 3
communications against State Parties. The
first was filed in 2005 about the situation of
children in Northern Uganda by the Centre
for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria
against the government of Uganda. The
second is related to the child’s right to nationali-
ty. It was filed in April 2009, by the Institute for
Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA)
and the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI)
on behalf of children of Nubian Descendance
in Kenya against the Government of Kenya.
The third Communication was recently
considered by the Committee during its 23rd
Ordinary Session. It was filed by the Centre for
Human Rights of the University of Pretoria and
La Rencontre Africaine des Droits de l’Homme (RADHO) in 2012 against the government of Senegal on the situation of talibés children.
Decisions reached provide guidance
t o s t a t e s a n d c i v i l s o c i e t y a s t o t h e
interpretation and application of treaty
provisions. The Committee handed down
a finding in its first communication in March
2011 – on the Nubian Children case.
Decisions on communications
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It is mandatory to the ACERWC to seat twice a year to consider State Parties reports and undertake other activities related to its man-
date. The year 2014 was a busy one for the Commit-tee’s members who had exceptionally convened an Extra-Ordinary Session due to the increasing mag-nitude of its work. The Secretariat of the Committee has witnessed an unusual flow of submission of State
Parties Reports, 11 since the launching in January 2014 of the Campaign for the “Universal Ratification of and Reporting on the African Children’s Charter” (URRC).During the 23rd Session in April 2014, the Committee considered CSO reports from four countries and Libe-ria’s Initial State Party Report. The Committee further discussed the situation of children in South Sudan and Central African Republic and concurred to undertake an advocacy missions to these countries to assess the situation of children and advocate for better protection of their rights. It was on the basis of this decision that the Committee carried out an advocacy mission to South Sudan ( 3-9 August, 2014) and in Central Afri-ca Republic (15-20 December, 2014). The Committee, in addition, considered the Communication submitted by Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
and la Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO) against the government of Senegal. The Committee heard the oral arguments of both parties and rendered decision. The Commit-tee will soon give the written decision to the Parties. Other activities of the 23rd Session were the launching of the Committee’s Logo and adoption of the theme for the 2015 Day of African Child which is: 25 years after
the adoption of the African Children’s Charter: Accelerat-
ing our collective efforts to end child marriage in Africa.
The First Extra Ordinary Session of the Committee was held in October, 2014. The main activity of the Ex-tra Ordinary was consideration of State Party Reports. The Committee considered State Party Reports from Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique and South Af-rica. The Committee then discussed the elements of the Concluding Observations and Recommendations which will be handed to these countries. The Extra Or-dinary Session was a fruitful Session in terms of ex-pediting the State Party Reporting Process. During the Extra Ordinary Session, the Committee further
Sessions Overview
by Adiam Zemenfes, ACERWC Secretariat
ACERWC 1st Extra-Ordinary Session
23rd Ordinary Session
Participants view of the ACERWC 23rdOrdinary Session
3 Sessions in a Year
Decisions on communications
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discussed and adopted the Revised Guidelines for Consideration of Communications. It was in this Session that the Committee appointed one of its Members, Dr. Fatima Sebaa to be the African Union Commission Special Rapporteur on Child Marriage.
The 24th Session of the ACERWC was held from 01-06 December, 2014 in Addis Ababa. Besides the consideration of CSO reports, the main item on the agenda was the adoption of the ACERWC 2015-2019 Strategic Plan. Coming to an end this year, the previous Strategic Plan has to be reviewed and updated taking into account the current strategic ori-entations of the Committee. It is grounded in a situa-tional analysis and identification of priority areas for action by the Committee which were used to develop Strategic Results.As such, the Session was preceded by a two days workshop (28-29 November, 2014) involving all the stakeholders to mobilize the needed resources in the implementation of the Strategic Plan. The cur-rent Strategic Plan is based on the requirements of
the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) that defines the scope of work and the mandate of the Committee. The plan has been prepared bearing in mind the framework of Agenda 2063, which attempts to develop a 50-year vision for Africa and the African Union Human Rights Strategy for Africa published in 2011. Building on the learn-ing from the past programs, the current Strategic Plan moves ACERWC away from a project and ac-tivity-focused toward a more strategic programming approach that places children at the center of State Member-driven transformational development ef-forts that the Committee can influence.
Another major moment of this Session was the renewal of the bureau of the Committee according to its Rules of Procedure. The new bureau is com-posed as follow:
-Chairperson: Mrs. Sidikou Aissatou Alassane-Vice-Chaiperson: Prof. Benyam Dawit Mezmur-2nd Vice-President: Mr. Joseph Ndayisenga-3rd Vice-President: Mrs. Amal Al-Hengari-Rapporteur: Dr. Clement Mashamba
24th Ordinary Session
Participants view of the ACERWC 24thOrdinary Session
15
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Day of the African Child
A nnually, The Day of the African Child is Celebrated on June 16th to commemorate the Soweto
uprising in which children were massacred. This year it was celebrated with the theme “A
Child friendly, quality, free and compulsory
education for all Children in Africa”. The theme was even more significant this year in light of the fact that the Soweto uprising was a protest from children for an appropriate education.Organized by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), the 2014 DAC aimed to call the attention of African Governments to their responsibilities in respect of ensuring children’s right to education in accordance with the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). Further, the theme of 2014 DAC was
suggested by children through consultations with them in various regions of Africa conducted with the help of Partners to the ACERWC. What made the 2014 DAC Unique was that it was celebrated for two consecutive days. June 15th 2014 Children’s 4km race was organized by one of the ACERWC partner Plan International in collaboration with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the African Union, World at school and Wings, Education and Media. 1000 children from schools based in Addis Ababa, AU staff Children, Children and youth from all parts of Africa and Europe took part in the race. The run was organized as a call to action by children themselves ‘to get all children in to school and learning in order to change the future and to educate children in
Celebrating the African Child and advocate for Education for All!
by Eden Matiyas, Plan International Pan African Office
Mini Marathon DAC 2014 Celebration at the AUC
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Africa’. The event entitled #timeisrunningout# marked the beginning of #10daystoactintiative within the global campaign of Plan International entitled Because I Am A Girl Campaign. The event was also the official launch of 10 Days To Act - 10 days of campaigning up to 26 June, when all governments around the world were asked to pledge their commitment to education at the Global Partnership for Education pledging conference in Brussels.
The Director for the Department of Social Affairs, African Union Commission Dr. Olawale Maiyegun in his opening speech stated that “Every Child has the right to education. Education is fundamental to all other development and should be free, quality and compulsory for all Children in Africa”. He also declared the run open. The Children and Young people from across Africa and Europe ran for education on Sunday June 15th 2014 and they called to their Governments and the African Union to deliver on their commitments to education
and increase their investment in education.
On the next day, June 16th ACERWC,alongside the African Union, UN agencies, Plan International, Save the Children, African Child Policy Forum, Child Fund and other partners commemorated the 24th DAC and called upon member states to take necessary and urgent measures to ensure implementation of the right to education for children. Child Fund, Plan International, Save the Children and ACPF had supported Youth from Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Egypt, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, Norway, Liberia, Kenya, and Germany. They took part in the DAC celebrations and called on their Governments and others to deliver their commitments to education by raising their spending to 20% of national budgets.
The day was concluded with Children talent performance from Adama city and AUC staff children and a closing remark from Plan International CEO.
Children performing during the DAC 2014 Celebration at the AUC
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AgendaUpcoming activities and events
ACCP Mid-Term Review Workshop13-16 January 2015, Nairobi
25th ACERWC Ordinary Session20-25 April 2015, Addis Ababa
Join Session with the AU Peace and Security Council on children in armedconflictsMay 2015, Addis Ababa
Launching of General Comment 2Ministerial Conference of Social Development April 2015, Addis Ababa
High Level Conference on the situation of children in armed conflictsNovember 2015, Addis Ababa
Launching of the Universal Ratification of and Reporting Campaignin ECCASMarch, Libreville
Celebration DAC 2015Theme: “25 years after the adoption of the African Children’s Charter: Accelerating our collective efforts to end child marriage in Africa”.16 June 2015, Addis Ababa.
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the adoption of the CharterNovember 2015, Addis Ababa.
