TREC/002/10/2011: Recommendations on Children’s Rights
We, the participants to the NGO Forum in the 50th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and 24th African Human Rights Book Fair held from 19th – 21st October, 2011 in Banjul, The Gambia
Recognising the child’s unique and privileged position in the African society as reiterated in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Charter) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter)
Noting with grave concern that children’s rights have seldom featured in the work of the Commission in the past thirty years since the adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; and
Deeply concerned that despite ACHPR Resolution 144 in 2009 calling for greater collaboration between the African Commission and the ACERWC, this has not been effectively implemented to yield results for the children on the African continent
Hereby recommend to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to:
- Reinforce its linkage and collaboration with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) by calling for a Special Rapporteur on Children. The mechanism can be from within or outside the Commission but still reports to the Commission; and
- Mainstream child rights in the work of the Commission. To this end we call for the commission to develop guidelines on the child rights mainstreaming in all its activities.
Done in Banjul – 21st October, 2011
