Committee of Experts on the Rights of the Child in Africa

Committee of Experts on the Rights of the Child in Africa
Name	Committee of Experts on the Rights of the Child in Africa
Formation	2001
Type	Advisory body
Headquarters	Addis Ababa
Region served	Africa
Parent organization	African Union

Committee of Experts on the Rights of the Child in Africa is an expert body established under the auspices of the African Union to interpret, monitor, and promote the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, working alongside continental institutions such as the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and regional bodies like the East African Community and the Economic Community of West African States. The committee engages with member states including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and Morocco, and liaises with international organizations such as the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

History and Establishment

The committee was created following discussions at the Organisation of African Unity transition to the African Union and deliberations around the adoption of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in 1990s forums including conferences in Addis Ababa and Dakar, with formal mechanisms instituted after the African Union Summit decisions and endorsements by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government. Early advocacy involved civil society actors such as Save the Children, Plan International, and the African Child Policy Forum, and influential legal figures from South Africa, Senegal, Uganda, and Tunisia shaped the committee’s mandate through engagement with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Pan-African Parliament.

Mandate and Legal Framework

The committee’s mandate derives from the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and mandates issued by the African Union Executive Council and the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, aligning with norms from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, decisions of the International Criminal Court, and jurisprudence from regional tribunals such as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. Its functions are defined in protocols and resolutions adopted at the African Union Summit and intersect with norms from instruments like the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and frameworks advanced by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child precursor initiatives.

Membership and Structure

Members are independent experts nominated by Member States of the African Union and elected through procedures administered by the African Union Commission and ratified at sessions of the Assembly of the African Union, with professional backgrounds drawn from international law, child rights advocacy groups such as Child Rights International Network, academia from institutions like the University of Cape Town and the University of Nairobi, and practitioners from ministries in Ethiopia and Ghana. The committee operates in sessions convened in locations including Addis Ababa, Dakar, and Pretoria, supported by a secretariat that collaborates with entities such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, national human rights institutions like the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, and regional courts.

Roles and Functions

The committee reviews state reports under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, issues general comments and recommendations informed by comparative jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and conducts country visits similar to practices of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. It provides technical assistance to ministries of Justice and agencies in Botswana and Rwanda, engages with non-governmental organizations such as AIDS Healthcare Foundation on issues of children affected by HIV/AIDS pandemic, and advises on legislative reforms aligned with decisions from the African Peer Review Mechanism.

Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms

States submit periodic reports and the committee prepares concluding observations and recommendations drawing on reports from civil society organizations including Terre des Hommes and Child Rights Information Network, comparative data from the World Health Organization, and statistics from the United Nations Children's Fund. The committee’s monitoring employs country visits, thematic studies on issues like child soldiers in contexts such as Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo, and collaboration with the International Criminal Court where violations overlap with atrocity crimes, transmitting findings to the African Union Peace and Security Council when relevant.

Key Findings and Recommendations

Across reviews, the committee has highlighted gaps in implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in areas including birth registration in Nigeria, access to justice in Cameroon, social protection in Mauritius, and protection of children in armed conflict in Somalia and Central African Republic. Recommendations have urged harmonization of national legislation with regional obligations, strengthening of national institutions such as Ministry of Women and Child Development bodies, enhanced cooperation with UNICEF and World Bank funded programs, and adoption of measures consistent with rulings from the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Challenges and Criticism

The committee faces critiques over state non-compliance exemplified by delayed reports from countries including Algeria and Sudan, limited enforcement capacity compared with entities like the International Criminal Court, resource constraints tied to budget lines of the African Union Commission, and tensions between regional standards and domestic legal pluralism in contexts such as Mauritania and Nigeria. Scholars and advocates from institutions like the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria have called for strengthened transparency, broader civil society participation as practiced in Ethiopia and Ghana, and firmer integration with mechanisms of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights to enhance accountability.

Category:African Union Category:Child rights