Addis Ababa, 15 March, 2019. -The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child will hold its statutory Ordinary Session, at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa from 18-28 March, 2019.
The session will be attended by Representatives from the Member States of the African Union, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Representatives from the United Nation Organizations; International Non-Governmental Organisations, Civil Society Organizations; and the Media. During this Session, the Committee will consider States Parties reports on the implementation of the African Children’s Charter from Benin, Eswatini, Rwanda, Nigeria and Senegal. The Committee will also consider complementary reports from Civil Society Organizations of Guinea Bissau and Mauritania.
At the core of Session, on 18 March 2019, the Committee will launch the findings of its study on "Mapping children on the move in Africa". In reviewing State Parties report on the implementation of the Charter, the Committee has identified children on the move as an emerging child protection issue in African, and therefore commissioned a study in view of making recommendations to tackle the problem in Member States. The study presents key drivers of the children on the move, migration routes, challenges faced by children on the move, policy and institutionalized content protecting children on the move and finally the way forward.
The other main activity of this will be the Day of General Discussion on Online Child Sexual Exploitation in Africa (OCSE). At the time when the Charter was drafted, the phenomenon of OCSE was largely unknown and hence, guidance to State Parties and to the Committee on this topic is limited . Due to a lack of reporting systems the extent of OCSE in Africa is largely unknown. The Day of General Discussion aims to provide guidance to State Parties on how to protect children from online child sexual exploitation through policies, legislation, law enforcement and programmes. Following this Discussion, the ACERWC will discuss and consider various options within its mandate by which it can strengthen its role, give opinion and provide guidance to State Parties and other Stakeholders on Ending Child Sexual Exploitation.
A Panel discussion on ‘African Union’s Response to Matters of Children Affected by Armed Conflict’ will also take place during this Session. The Panel will be chaired by the Committee’s Special Rapporteur on Children and Armed Conflict, with the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the AU and UNECA, the Peace and Security Department of the AU, and representative from Save the Children International. The panel discussion will attempt to assist the Committee to ensure that its undertakings and decisions capture the necessary issues with regards to children affected by armed conflict in line with the various initiatives in the AU.
Other activities of the Session include the Launch of the Report on the impact of Corruption on children by the Child Focused Agencies. The Committee will also follow-up on the implementation of its decisions on communications received against States Parties.
Notes to the editor:
The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) draws its mandate from articles 32-46 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the then OAU on 11th July 1990, and which entered into force on November 29, 1999.
The functions of the Committee are provided in article 42: to promote and protect the rights and welfare of the child; to monitor the implementation and ensure the protection of the rights in the ACRWC; to interpret the provisions of the Charter through General Comments.
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For further information, please contact:
Mr. Kameni Ngankam
Email: KameniY@africa-union.org
Phone: +251 941 129 072
Communication Officer
ACERWC Secretariat
