AFRICAN COMMITTEE: 2010 Factfile

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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.

Organisation: 
Child Rights International Network

Countries

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