Today, we commemorate the Day of the African Child 2020 and at the same time deeply miss and mourn one of our own, Honorable Dr Azza El Ashmawy, Former First Vice-Chairperson of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC).

Honorable Dr Azza, who passed away on 16th April, 2020 in Cairo, Egypt, was a dedicated and passionate defender of the Rights and Welfare of the Child both at the Continental and National levels. We pray to God to rest her soul in eternal peace and to continue comforting her loved ones and the people of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The Day of the African Child was first conceptualised by the Heads of State and Governments of the then OAU as a commemoration of the 16th June 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa. At that time, students marched in protest against the apartheid-inspired and the poor quality of education they received, and demanded to be taught in their own languages. The march resulted in the public killing of many unarmed young protesters by the police. Since then, the OAU and its successor, the AU, have used June 16 every year to celebrate children in Africa as well as to inspire a sober reflection and action towards addressing the plights that children in Africa face on a daily basis.

The Day serves to commemorate these children and the brave action they took to claim their right. The Day calls for serious introspection and commitment towards addressing the numerous challenges facing children across the continent. Since its establishment, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child has been mandated to identify the theme annually and leads on the Commemoration of the Day. This year the theme of the Day of the African Child, as recommended by the Committee and adopted by the Executive Council, is ‘Access to Child-friendly Justice in Africa’.

This year’s theme calls on Member States of the African Union to create and enhance a child-friendly justice system which caters for the specific needs of children in their territories. As we all know access to justice is a fundamental right in itself and an essential prerequisite for the protection and promotion of all other human rights; this is especially true in case of children.

Being one of its major areas of focus, the Department of Social Affairs is undertaking activities towards enhancing the protection and promotion of children’s rights on the Continent. Activities, such as the initiatives around combating Harmful Practices like FGM and Child Marriage, the strategic pillars to protect children’s rights in the newly adopted ‘Ten Year Action Plan to Eradicate Child Labour, Forced Labour, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery’; and the strategic responses to Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse that are coordinated through the Department of Social Affairs are our success stories that we all cherish. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, the Department takes the role in coordinating the development and implementation of an ‘African Union Comprehensive Socio-Economic Response to the COVID-19 Health Pandemic’. Building on its role, the Department is working with Member States to ensure that their responses to Covid-19 are tailored with the special vulnerabilities of children, particularly of girls. However, without ensuring access to justice, all our efforts will be futile as child rights commitments will remain only promises on paper that do not serve the interest of children.

As we commemorate the Day, we do recognise the progress that some Member States have achieved in enhancing access to justice for children. Some have taken legislative measures to enhance juvenile justice, while others established a child-friendly courts and dedicated law enforcement units. However, in a majority of countries these trends are only at an early stage, and in some cases, they are lacking entirely.

In most Countries, justice systems often fall short of their obligation to ensure that children are treated with special care in line with their evolving capacities and special rights. Many Countries in Africa still set their minimum age of criminal responsibility below the internationally recommended standard; others are yet to establish Children’s Courts while sentencing children to life imprisonment, in some instances even to death. The justice administration procedures fail to respond to the rights and needs of children as most of our Countries still prioritize detention as opposed to non-custodial solutions such as pre-trial diversion programs.

We have noted that separate detention centers are hardly available in most Countries, as others are facing lack of duly trained staff who can respond to legal, psychological, social, emotional, physical and cognitive needs of children.

These facts are indeed manifestations of our major limitations, and they remind us the amount work which remains to be done to provide children in contact with the law the special treatment they deserve in line with their dignity and human rights.

There is indeed a need for a deliberate and strategic intervention to address the persistent barriers that children are facing against the fulfilment of their rights in the justice system.

Hence, commemorating this day, I call upon Member States and Stakeholders, in extensive consultation with children, to work together towards deliberately establishing, or strengthening, a comprehensive and coherent national policy and strategy for ‘Children in the Justice System’ which shall consider the interrelatedness of the challenges that children in contact with the law are facing.

I particularly call on Member States to re-commit themselves to work towards full implementation of the African Children’s Charter, guided by the principles of Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2040, and create the Africa we want- An Africa Fit for Children!

Media contacts:
Catherine Wanjiru Maina Officer in charge
Email: Mainac@africa-union.org Mobile; +251 912658287 ACERWC Secretatiat
Kameni Ngankam
Communication Officer ACERWC Secretariat Email: KameniY@africa-union.org
Mob: +251 941 129 072
ACERWC Secretatiat