The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) was formed in July 2001, one and half years after the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child came into force. The Committee became operational in 2003.
Mission
The ACERWC draws its mandate from articles 32–46 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), which was adopted by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Heads of State and Government on 11 July 1990 and came into force on 29 November 1999. As of July 2024, 51 AU Member States had ratified the Charter and five were still to ratify: Morocco, Somalia, South Sudan and Tunisia. (See https://au.int/treaties for the full list, including reservations by four ratifying states.)
ACERWC committee members–experts
The Committee is made of eleven members who are elected by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union. They serve in their personal capacities. They are elected by secret ballot from a list of people nominated by State Parties to the Charter (ACRWC Charter, article 34). Members were traditionally elected by the Executive Council and appointed by the Assembly. In February 2020, the Assembly decided to delegate its authority to the Executive Council to appoint members (Assembly/AU/Dec.760(XXXIII)).
Candidates are required to be of high moral standing, integrity, impartiality and competence in matters of the rights and welfare of children. Under the Charter, terms are for five years, but to avoid the departure of all 11 members after the first term, article 37 provided for the terms of two members to expire after two years and six after four years, as determined in a draw of lots by the AU Assembly Chairperson immediately after the first election. Article 37 originally stated that members could not be re-elected. In January 2015, the AU Assembly adopted an amendment to article 37(1) to provide for members to be re-elected once for a five-year term (Assembly/AU/Dec.548(XXIV)). The amendment entered into force on its adoption.
Bureau members are elected from within the Committee for two-year terms (article 38).
The criteria for the selection of members are: Members must be nationals of a State Party to the Children's Charter (i.e. a country that is a signatory); They must be individuals of high moral standing, integrity, impartiality and competence in matters of the rights and welfare of the child; Members are nominated by signatory countries and elected by the Assembly of Heads of State of the African Union; Members are elected for a term of five years and serve voluntarily in their individual capacity. They can be re-elected for one term following an amendment to article 37(1).
Statutory meetings
The Committee holds ordinary sessions twice a year, and an extraordinary session when necessary. Proceedings of the Committee’s sessions are available at www.acerwc.africa/sessions. Ordinary Session is the venue where States parties reports, CSOs complementary reports, communications, request for investigation and other requests submitted before the Committee are being examined. Some activities during the sessions are open while others are restricted.
The Committee may also convene various meetings, seminars and workshops in line with its promotional mandate.
Current Committee members
The committee are elected and appointed by the Executive Council for five-year terms.
The current members of the ACERWC are (name, country, position):
Wilson Almeida Adão, Angola, Chairperson Aver Gavar, Nigeria, Vice Chairperson Anne Musiwa, Zimbabwe Poloko Nuggert Ntshwarang, Botswana Aboubekrine El Jera, Mauritania Ghislain Roch Etsan, Republic of the Congo Hermine Kembo Takam Gatsing, Cameroon Sabrina Gahar, Algeria Robert Doya Nanima, Uganda Karoonawtee Chooramun, Mauritius
Former Committee members
West Africa
Dirius Dialé Dore (Guinea) 2001–2003 Dior Fall Sow (Senegal) 2001–2005 Jean-Baptiste Zoungrana (Burkina Faso) 2003–2008 Peter Ebigbo (Nigeria) 2003–2008 Nakpa Polo (Togo) 2003–2008 Seynabou Ndiaye Diakhaté (Senegal) 2003–2008 Marie Chantal Koffi Appoh (Cote d'Ivoire) Moussa Sissoko (Mali) 2005–2010 Cyprien Adébayo Yanclo (Benin; First Vice Chair) 2007–2013 Agnès Kabore Ouattara (Burkina Faso; Chair) 2007–2013 Maryam Uwais (Nigeria) 2007–2013 Aho Assouma Suzanne (Togo) 2013–2018 Sidikou Aissatou Alassane Moulaye Nanike Nkewe
North Africa
Dawlat Hassan (Egypt) 2006–2011 Mme Fatima Delladj-Sebba (Algeria) 2010–2015 Mme Amal Muhammad al-Hengari (Libya) 2010–2015 Azza El Ashmawy (Egypt) 2013–2018 Moushira Khattab
East Africa
Benyam Dawit Mezmur Joyce Aluoch (Kenya) 20012005 Rebecca MirembeNyanyintono (Uganda) 2001–2003 Stratton Nsanzabaanwa (Rwanda) 2002005 Assefa Bequele (Ethiopia) 2003–2008 Martha Koome (Kenya) 2005–2010 Felicité Muhimpundu (Rwanda) 2010–2015
Central Africa
Rudolph Soh (Cameroon) 2001–2005 Nanitom Motoyam (Chad) 2001–2005 Joseph Ndayisenga
Southern Africa
Julia Sloth-Nielsen (South Africa) 2011–2016 Karabo Karabo Mohau (Lesotho) 2001–2003 Louis Pierre Robert Ahnee (Mauritius) 20012005 Lulu Tshiwula (South Africa) 2001–2005 Mamosebi T. Pholo (Lesotho) 2005–2010 Boipelo Lucia Seithlamo (Botswana) 2005–2010 Andrianirainy Rasamoely (Madagascar) 2007–2012 Justice Alfas M. Chitakunye (Zimbabwe) 2010–2015
The secretariat
The secretariat of the Committee is located in Maseru, in the Kingdom of Lesotho since December 2020.
The acting Executive Secretary is Ayalew Getachew Assefa.
The Day of the African Child
The Day of the African Child (DAC) was instituted in 1991 by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU in memory of the 16th June 1976 student uprising in Soweto, South Africa. At that time, students marched protesting the poor-quality education they received and demanding to be taught in their languages. During the protest hundreds of school children were killed. The Day of the African Child is celebrated to commemorate these children and the brave action they took to defend their rights. The Day of the African Child also serves to celebrate children of Africa as well as inspire a sober reflection and action towards addressing the challenges that children in Africa face on a daily basis.
The Day of the African Child is celebrated every year on June 16 with a theme identified by the Committee based on children’s views collected from various consultations with children themselves. The Committee also developed Concept Note on the theme of the Day of the African Child to guide the commemoration of the Day in Member States of the African Union.
Observances On June 16 of every year, the Committee, African governments, representatives of children, child and youth-led organisations, NGOs, CSOs, international organisations and other stakeholders gather to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the full realisation of the rights of children in Africa. The Day of the African Child is celebrated at national and continental level. At national level, Member States are required to commemorate the day based on the guidance provided by the Committee through consultations with children and other stakeholders. Moreover, Member States are encouraged to take concrete action including legislative and other measures in relation to the theme of the respective year. At Continental level, the Day of the African Child is celebrated by consultations among children and training for children on the Charter followed by an inter-generational dialogue on 16 June. The Committee and the Participants of the Day of the African Child adopt an outcome statement on the theme following the Continental Celebration on 16 June.
Member States of the African Union submit report to the Committee on the national celebration of the Day of the African Child highlighting the activities of the event as well as the measures that have been undertaken concerning the theme in the commemoration of the Day of the African Child.
Importance The Committee recognizes the importance of the Day of the African Child as an advocacy tool for enhancing the visibility of the Charter as well as promoting children’s rights and welfare in Africa. The Day of the African Child is one of the standing promotional activities of the Committee. During the celebration, The Committee promotes children’s rights and takes stock of the efforts being made to protect and promote children’s rights and welfare across the continent. The Day of the African Child thus calls for serious introspection and commitment toward addressing the numerous challenges faced by children across the continent focusing on the theme of the year.
Violation reports: communications A communication is a complaint that can be submitted before the Committee regarding an alleged violation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Charter) against a State Party. Article 44 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child provides that the "Committee may receive communications, from any person, group or non-governmental organization recognized by the Organization of African Unity, by a Member State, or the United Nations relating to any matter covered by this Charter." The Committee has adopted Guidelines for Consideration of Communications and Monitoring Implementation of Decisions (Guidelines) to set out the procedures and rules to be followed in dealing with Communications.
According to the article 44 of the Charter and Section I of the Guidelines, any interested person including victims, any group of persons, CSOs, intergovernmental organizations and agencies, and State Parties can submit a Communication before the Committee. A Communication could be submitted without obtaining the consent of the victims if the submission is made in the best interest of the child.
Once the Committee receives a Communication, it will conduct a preliminary review to determine whether the communication meets the form and content requirements which are set out in Section II of the Guidelines. The Committee will then consider the admissibility of the Communication based on the requirements for admissibility as provided in Section IX of the Guidelines. If a communication is declared admissible, the Committee will then consider the merits of the case which deals with the alleged violations. In the merits decision, the Committee can consider whether the State Party concerned has violated the rights in the Charter and can call for that State to remedy the situation. Where a right has been violated, the State Party concerned is required to report on the implementation of the measures being taken to implement the decisions of the Committee.
The Committee undertakes various follow-up activities to monitor the implementation of its decisions on Communications. These include, follow-up country visits, implementation hearings as provided under the Guidelines, report to the Executive Council of the African Union, among others. See Section XXII of the Guidelines for further details on implementation of decisions. The Committee has also set up a Working Group on Implementation of Decisions which is tasked to mainly to monitor the implementation of decisions of the Committee.
State reports and concluding observations