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[ADDIS ABABA, 11 March 2010] - The 3rd forum on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child got underway this morning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last week.
Read the full agenda here
The forum, which is now held prior to every session of the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, supports and the Committee's work and provides a strong platform for networking and advocacy.
The three-day meeting attracted more than one hundred participants from civil society organisations, as well as several members of the African Committee, from 31 African countries. Many of the participants – from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Somalia - said this was the first time they had the opportunity to network with child rights advocates across the continent.
Participants discussed how to engage with the Committee and other key regional human rights mechanisms. The 3rd forum also served to plan child rights advocacy opportunities in the region in 2010, including: budgeting for child rights (the theme of this year's Day of the African Child), maternal, infant and child health and development (the theme of the African Union Summit in July), and the role of children’s rights in maintaining peace in Africa (2010 has been declared the Year of Peace and Security by the African Union).
Talking to CRIN about the forum's impact, Chikezie Anyanwu from Save the Children said “the forum has given us the opportunity to organise ourselves and to approach the Committee with one voice.”
“We have been able to get the Committee members to recognise us and work with us, basically because they need us as much as we need them – we share information and resources.”
“Civil society organisations also played a strong role in pushing for the first Concluding Observations and contributing to the Committee's new plan of action. We are now also involved in the nomination process for Committee members. As a result of all this, child rights are also becoming more recognised within the African Union more generally.”
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Forum opens: “We cannot use poverty as an excuse for inaction”
Opening the forum, David Mugawe, Co-Director of the African Child Policy Forum, spoke of the progress made on economic growth and recognising children's rights, particularly in addressing undernutrition, HIV and AIDs and promoting gender equality. He also spoke of a changing culture in the way that children are perceived in the region – that they are at last being recognised as full human beings with rights.
However, much remains to be done to address the problems of mass poverty, neglect, abuse and discrimination against girls, he said: “We cannot use poverty as an excuse for inaction. The fulfilment of rights cannot be seen to be related to economics.”
Concluding his address, he highlighted this year's Day of the African Child, which will be on budgetary allocations for the rights and welfare of the child, as an opportunity to develop child-specific budget allocations to ensure that efforts to realise children's rights are backed up with adequate resources.
Achievements so far
Susan Mbugua, also representing the African Child Policy Forum, introduced the forum as a platform for advocacy, networking, a space for discussion prior to the Committee sessions, to help develop regional legal and policy frameworks, and to further understanding of how other regional mechanisms, such as the Peace and Security Council, affect children.
She spoke of the Forums key achievements so far, which she said have been to make recommendations to the Committee and get these taken into account, facilitate the presentation of alternative reports, summarise and translate the reports, raise the profile of the Committee, and further understanding of the regional mechanism among civil society organisations.
The forum, was set up by civil society organisations to support the Committee's work. It meets prior to every Committee session and provides an opportunity for CSOs and the Committee to exchange information and further understanding about the Committee's work.
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The African Children's Charter: Stumbling forward?
Drawing comparisons between the African Charter and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Dr Benyam Mezmur, University of Western Cape, Community Law Centre, explained that the African Charter was created for two reasons: firstly because the participation of African countries in the drafting of the CRC was minimal, and those who did participate came on board late. Secondly, that article 18.3 of African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights which mentions children's rights is very basic and there was a need to expand on its provisions.
Read Dr Mezmur's analysis of rights contained in the African Charter in comparison with the CRC. Read the full details here.
State parties can submit a report similar to the report to the UN Committee, highlighting the specificities of the African Charter. However, he expressed frustration that many States have reported to CRC, but not to the African Committee, saying the African Charter is not as widely known.
He explained how civil society organisations can support the monitoring process by providing technical assistance to States, commenting on draft reports, submitting alternative reports, and monitoring State compliance with concluding observations.
He also revealed that talks were underway to amend article 37 to provide for re-election of Committee members - who currently serve five years and whose term may not be renewed - to give continuity to the Committee's work.
He stressed that the African Committee is currently the only mechanism in the world which has a specific complaints mechanism for children, although it is hoped the UN will also adopt an Optional Protocol establishing such a mechanism soon.
Complaints must meet six criteria of admissibility. They must:
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The communication must be compatible with the provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union or with the Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;
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It must not be exclusively based on information circulated by the media;
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The same issue has not been considered according to another investigation, procedure or international regulation;
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The author has exhausted all the available appeal channels at the national level or when the author of the Communication is not satisfied with the solution provided;
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The Communication is presented within a reasonable period after appeal channels at the national level have been exhausted.
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The wording of the Communication shall not be offensive,
Whereas other regional mechanisms issue provisional measures to States to avoid immediate or irreparable harm to the child, the African Committee can issue such measures if it damages the child in any way – the harm does not have to be irreparable. A situation in which a child is removed from school for six months for whatever reason, for example, would qualify and the State must ensure the child receives education.
Responding to a question from the floor that article 31 on children's responsibilities can be misused by governments to abuse children's rights, Mezmur said the clear provision of article 31 was to protect child rights and take into account their evolving capacities. Article 31 must not take precedence over any of the other articles.
Mme Cisse, Secretary of the Committee, highlighted the reservations to the Charter that some States retain: Botswana on the definition of a child, Egypt on the Committee's authority to undertake investigations, Mauritania on the right to freedom of religion and Sudan on private life of the child and marriage of children.
There is currently no article saying that reservations are not accepted.
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The African Committee: 2010 Factfile
The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child monitors State compliance with the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Three members of the Committee - Agnes Kabore, Adrianirainy Rasamoely and Cyprien Adebayo Yanclo - gave an update on their work at the 3rd Forum on the Rights and Welfare of the Child held in Ethiopia from 11-13 March 2010. To read more about the Committee, go here.
What is the Committee currently working on?
Committee members have reviewed a number of State party reports on the African Charter. It has issued Concluding Observations to two States and is due to finalise other recommendations during the upcoming 15th session. The Committee has also revised criteria for granting observer status to civil society organisations and a draft action plan for 2010-2014, both of which will be discussed at the 15th session.
Another issue on the agenda this year is the election of new Committee members as the mandate of six of the current members will end in July 2010. The African Union Legal Affairs Department is now accepting nominations for new members. For more information on the elections, go here.
How many organisations have applied for observer status?
Four organisations have requested observer status: Save the Children Sweden, the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Banjul, the Centre for Human Rights in Botswana and the African Child Policy Forum. None of these organisations have so far have been granted observer status because the selection criteria were still under review.
Which States have submitted their initial report on the African Charter?
Eleven States: Nigeria, Egypt, Mali, Togo, Niger, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Mauritius and Tanzania. The report of Niger has been postponed three times. The report of Uganda is under review during the 15th session.
How many shadow reports have been submitted?
Six reports have been submitted from Mali, Uganda, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Niger, Tanzania and Uganda.
To how many States has the Committee issued concluding observations?
Two: Nigeria and Egypt.
How many communications have been examined?
Two communications have been received but have yet to be examined. The reason given for this was that some of the documents have yet to be translated and made available in both English and French. The communications have been submitted by the Centre for Human Rights in Pretoria, South Africa and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Banjul and the Open Society Initiative, Kenya.
What are the latest developments in terms of cooperation between the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the African Committee?
A working group of three people has been established to coordinate with the CRC.
What are some examples of progress achieved by the Committee?
In addition to those already mentioned, the Committee continues its efforts to encourage ratification by all 53 Member States. Recent ratifications by Sao Tome and Principe and the Democratic Republic of Congo bring the total to 47.
Committee Experts have undertaken a number of country visits, including to Namibia and Sudan. Investigation missions have been carried out in Sudan and Uganda.
What challenges does the Committee face?
- A need to better understand the Charter and Committee
- To encourage ratification of the Charter by all 53 Member States and better implementation by those who have ratified, particularly to prohibit corporal punishment, improve social security and the situation of girls.
- To obtain specific headquarters for the Committee separate from the African Union, as well as a separate, autonomous budget to build the capacity of the Committee's secretariat.
- Other challenges include increasing the number of missions conducted, improving collaboration with the UN, getting more States to submit reports, encouraging CSOs to send reports, ensuring publication of all the Committee's reports.
What is the theme of the next Day of the African Child?
Budgeting for the rights and welfare of child
How is the theme of the Day of the African Child decided?
The theme is decided at the Committee's March session based on proposals. Each Member State decides activities in its country for that Day. In response to a comment that the process should be more participatory, Mme Cisse, the Committee's secretary, said the forum can also propose topics.
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Progress report on civil society follow up actions
Read a progress report on follow-up actions by civil society organisations. The report is based on a questionnaire sent to participants of two previous fora on the African Charter.
The results are based on 22 responses received from 11 countries and are therefore just a taster of developments. It is hoped more organisations will submit information to future questionnaires.
- About the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
- African Committee: Elections 2010 – Information for NGOs
- African Charter: Guidelines for the consideration of communications provided for in Article 44
- African Committee: Guidelines for Initial State Party Reports
- African Committee: Critieria for Granting Observer Status
- African Committee: Guidelines on the Conduct of Investigations by the African Committee
- African Committee: Procedures for the Consideration of State Party Reports