DECISION ON THE ACTIVITY REPORT OF THE AFRICAN COMMITTEE OF
EXPERTS ON THE RIGHTS AND WELFARE OF THE CHILD (ACERWC)
The Executive Council,
1. TAKES NOTES of the Report of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;
2. ADOPTS the Report and commends the Committee for the work done in monitoring the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;
3. URGES Member States which have not yet ratified the African Children’s Charter to expedite the ratification of the Charter; and ENCOURAGES State Parties that have entered reservation on the provisions of the African Children’s Charter to consider withdrawing the same;
4. CONGRATULATES State Parties which have submitted their reports on the implementation of the African Children’s Charter, and URGES State Parties, which have not yet reported to the Committee to comply with their reporting obligations;
5. ENCOURAGES the concerned State Parties to fully comply with the Concluding Observations and Recommendations of the ACERWC;
6. REITERATES the importance of the Communications procedure of the ACERWC established pursuant to Article 44 of the African Children’s Charter, and call on the concerned Member States to comply with their obligations under the Charter by responding to the Committee’s requests and implementing the Committee’s decisions;
7. APPRECIATES Member States for the measures they have undertaken in commemorating the Day of the African Child for the Year 2021 on the theme- ‘30 years after the adoption of the Charter: accelerate implementation of Agenda 2040 for an Africa fit for children’, and Encourage Member States to effectively commemorate the Day of the African Child for the Year 2022 as adopted by the Executive Council of the African Union, on Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice since 2013’;
8. WELCOMES the ACERWC’s report on the assessment of the impact of COVID- 19 on the rights and welfare of children in Africa, and ENCOURAGES Member States to implement the recommendations of the ACERWC as indicated in the report;
9. ADOPTS the theme for the Day of the African Child for the year 2023 to be The Rights of the Child in the Digital Environment’ and CALLS UPON Member States to Commemorate this day and report to the ACERWC on the theme;
10. WELCOMES the development and adoption of the ACERWC’s Guidelines on Child Participation, and ENCOURAGES Member States to make use of the content of the Guidelines in ensuring child participation and comply with their obligations under the African Children’s Charter;
11. ALSO WELCOMES the ACERWC’s General Comment No 7 on Article 27 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child on sexual violence against children, and ALSO ENCOURAGES Member States to make use of the principles provided within the General Comment;
12. FURTHER WELCOMES the decision of the ACERWC and the ACHPR to develop the Joint General Comment on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and encourages Member States to cooperate with the two organs in providing information for the successful finalization of the General Comment;
13. CONGRATULATES the newly elected Members of the Bureau of the ACERWC for the period between November 2021-November 2023; and ENCOURAGES Member States to cooperate with the Members in discharging their responsibilities;
14. ALSO CONGRATULATES the Kingdom of Lesotho and the AUC for finalising the relocation of the Secretariat of the ACERWC; ENCOURAGES the host country to continue providing the required pursuant to the host agreement; and CALLS ON the AUC to finalise the recruitment of staff and transfer of resources for the smooth operation of the newly established Office in Maseru, the Kingdom of Lesotho.