ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 2, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) would like to inform the media and the general public, that its 23rd Ordinary Session will take place from 07 – 16 April, 2014, at the African Union Commission New Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Examination of State Party and Civil society complementary reports on the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) will be at the heart of this Session. Reporting under the African children Charter is crucial to the Committee of Experts as it enable the effective monitoring of the implementation of the Charter, and the Committee of Experts can then issue recommendations to State Parties on legislative and other measures to be adopted for the full realization of children rights and welfare in Africa. Moreover, reporting under the Charter is mandatory for State parties. Communications received against State Parties as well as investigation requests will also be considered by the Committee during this Session. In addition, a Day of General Discussion will be held on 11 April, 2014 will specifically address the issue of child marriage.
Interpretation of the provisions of the Charter being one of its mandate, a General Comment on article 6 (Name and Nationality) of the ACRWC will be adopted and State parties as well as other relevant stakeholders are called upon to assist in its operationalization on the ground. The right to birth registration is provided for under Article 6 (2) of the African Children’s Charter. Despite its heading, Article 6 recognizes three interlinked rights namely the right to a name (Art 6 (1)), the right to birth registration (Art 6 (2)) and the right to a nationality (Art 6 (3)). This General Comment will give the meaning and scope of these rights and explain the corresponding obligations of the States parties to the Charter for their implementation. The development of a General Comment in collaboration with the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACmHPR) will equally be discussed during this Session. This synergizing of work between ACERWC and other AU Organs with Human Rights mandate, has been recently furthered by a collaboration meeting with the AU Peace and Security.
The ACERWC was established in virtue of article 32 of the ACRWC with a mandate to promote and protect the rights enshrined in the Charter. The African Children’s Charter was adopted by the Head of States of the former Organization of African Unity (OAU), on July 1st, 1990, and came into force on November 29, 1999.
Media are invited to attend this event.
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