What are the guidelines for implementation of decisions on communications

These guidelines are intended to regulate the procedure to be followed in ensuring implementation of decisions on Communications submitted to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child pursuant to Article 44 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. It is applicable for decisions in which the Committee finds a State Party in violation of any of the provisions of the Charter and gives recommendations to be implemented by the State.

The Guidelines provide for an implementation hearing, the purpose of which is to guide a State Party to a Communication in implementing the recommendations of the Committee and to take the necessary action in instances of failure to implement the decision of the Committee.

In the absence of provisions in these Guidelines or in case of doubt as to their interpretation, the Committee shall decide.

What is a communication

A communication refers to a ‘complaint’ brought before a treaty body alleging the violation of a right contained in the treaty. Communications are important because through the adjudication process, tangible meaning is given to the provisions of the treaty, which may otherwise remain theoretical and abstract.

Article 44 is the basis for individual complaints/communications under the ACRWC. Article 44 of the ACRWC 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.” Thus, individual communications can be presented by a larger number of physical persons and moral entities. It is also interesting to note that “[a] communication may be presented on behalf of a victim without his agreement on condition that the author is able to prove that his action is taken in the supreme interest of the child”. 

This is intended to address situations in which the “best interest of the child” principle under the African Children’s Charter would override other circumstances. Consequently, the Committee may admit a communication from a non-signatory state to the Charter in the overall best interest of the child. 

The issue of admissibility of communications by the Committee is addressed by the “Guidelines for Communications” as opposed to the Charter’s provisions. Accordingly, the Guidelines provide that  in order to take a decision on the admissibility of a communication, the Committee shall ensure that the communication is compatible with the provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union or with the ACRWC; the communication is not exclusively based on information circulated by the media;  the complainant must show that the same issue has not been considered according to another investigation, procedure or international regulation;  the author has exhausted all the available appeal channels at the national level or when the author of the communication is not satisfied with the solution provided;  the communication is presented within a reasonable period after appeal channels at the national level have been exhausted  and, that the wording of the communication shall not be offensive.

Besides, submitting communications before the Committee, Civil Society organizations become very important in a situation where a State concerned in a communication refuses to respond to the compliant leveled against it. In such a case, CSOs become an avenue through which the Committee can obtain additional information relevant to the admissibility and determination of the communication.

Acerwc grants an affiliate status to nhris

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) play a critical role in monitoring the protection of human rights by their respective governments. Given their broad mandate as prescribed under the Paris Principles, the Committee notes that NHRIs, as independent organs which enhance the protection of human rights and process of building constitutionalism, can assume a primary role in taking measures to ensure that States fulfill their various obligations under the African Children’s Charter. The Committee notes that NHRIs can actively engage in lobbying States to ratify and report on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, participate in the preparation of the State Party Report, assist in following up the implementation of the recommendations and decisions of the Committee, and facilitate its country visits. The Committee also notes that building on their tremendous role in the protection and promotion of children’s rights in their respective countries, NHRIs can carry out strategic advocacy in mobilizing the required level of political and social acceptance of protection of children’s rights. Against this backdrop and based on the fact that the Committee’s relationship with NHRIs can support the execution of its mandate in the monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the Charter, the Committee decided to formalize its relationship with NHRIs and adopted Guidelines on Granting Affiliate Status to NHRIs.
The Guidelines for Granting Affiliate/Associate Status to NHRIs are available here.

State party reporting procedure & guidelines

REPORTING PROCEDURE

1. Every State Party to the present Charter shall undertake to submit to the Committee through the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, reports on the measures they have adopted which give effect to the provisions of this Charter and on the progress made in the enjoyment of these rights:
(a) within two years of the entry into force of the Charter for the State Party concerned: and
(b) and thereafter, every three years.

2. Every report made under this Article shall:
(a) contain sufficient information on the implementation of the present Charter to provide the Committee with comprehensive understanding of the implementation of the Charter in the relevant country; and
(b) shall indicate factors and difficulties, if any, affecting the fulfillment of the obligations contained in the Charter.

3. A State Party which has submitted a comprehensive first report to the Committee need not, in its subsequent reports submitted in accordance with paragraph I (a) of this Article, repeat the basic information previously provided.

COMMUNICATIONS
1. The Committee may receive communication, from any person, group or nongovernmental organization recognized by the Organization of African Unity, by a Member State, or the United Nations relating to any matter covered by this Charter.
2. Every communication to the Committee shall contain the name and address of the author and shall be treated in confidence.

INVESTIGATIONS BY THE COMMITTEE
1. The Committee may, resort to any appropriate method of investigating any matter falling within the ambit of the present Charter, request from the States Parties any information relevant to the implementation of the Charter and may also resort to any appropriate method of investigating the measures the State Party has adopted to implement the Charter.
2. The Committee shall submit to each Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government every two years, a report on its activities and on any communication made under Article [44] of this Charter.
3. The Committee shall publish its report after it has been considered by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
4. States Parties shall make the Committee’s reports widely available to the public in theirown countries.

What is a state report?

Every State Party to the present Charter shall undertake to submit to the Committee through the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, reports on the measures they have adopted which give effect to the provisions of this Charter and on the progress made in the enjoyment of these rights: