DECISION ON THE ACTIVITY REPORT OF THE AFRICAN COMMITTEE OF
EXPERTS ON THE RIGHTS AND WELFARE OF THE CHILD (ACERWC)
Doc. EX.CL/1209(XXXVI)
The Executive Council,
1. TAKES NOTES of the Report of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;
2. COMMENDS the Committee for the work done in monitoring the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;
3. WELCOMES the initiative of the ACERWC to lead on the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the adoption of the African Children’s Charter in the year 2020; and URGES Member States of the African Union to take concrete steps to commemorate the Anniversary in 2020 and intensify their efforts to ensure the full implementation of the African Children’s Charter;
4. ENCOURAGES Member States who have not yet ratified the African Children’s Charter, to consider ratifying;
5. ALSO ENCOURAGES Member States which have placed reservations on the application of particular provisions of the African Children’s Charter to withdraw their reservations;
6. APPRECIATES States Parties which have submitted their Reports on the implementation of the African Children’s Charter and CALLS UPON States Parties that have not yet submitted their reports to expedite the process;
7. ADOPTS the theme for the Day of the African Child (DAC) 2021: 30 years after the adoption of the Charter: accelerate implementation of Agenda 2040 for “an Africa Fit for Children”, and ENCOURAGES Member States to commemorate the DAC and report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee;
8. CALLS ON Member States to combat Online Child Sexual Exploitation (OCSE), and enhance their efforts to protect children from the potential risks that they are exposed to online, initiate multi-stakeholder country level responses to protect children’s rights in the cyberspaces;
9. ALSO CALLS ON the Commission to finalize the process of appointing the Special Envoy on CAAC by the end of 2020, in the light of the Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.718 (XXXII);
10. RECALLS the Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.737(XXXII) which adopted the Saleema Initiative to End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and invites Member States to mobilize the necessary resources to eliminate FGM, and other harmful social norms and traditional practices, strengthening policy and legislative frameworks for the protection of women and girls against FGM, as well as enhancing the allocation of sustainable financial resources and data for the elimination of this practice;
11. REFERS to Executive Council Decision EX.CL/Dec.977(XXXI) adopting “Africa’s Agenda for Children 2040: Fostering an Africa Fit for Children” as the Union’s document and URGES Member States to work towards the full implementation of the Agenda;
12. CALLS ON RECs to work closely with the ACERWC towards establishing a harmonized child protection mechanism through establishing the required normative and institutional frameworks;
13. EXPRESSES appreciation to the Government of Eritrea for hosting the Regional Workshop on Popularizing Agenda 2040 and the study on “Children on the move” for the North and East Africa Regions;
14. ALSO EXPRESSES appreciation to the Government of Egypt for successfully hosting the 46th Ordinary Session of ACERWC;
15. TAKES NOTE of the current process of relocation of the Secretariat of the ACERWC to the Kingdom of Lesotho, REQUESTS the Commission to take the necessary measures to respond to the human and financial resource needs of the Secretariat of the ACERWC in accordance with the applicable procedures; and pursuant to the Executive Council Decision EX.CL/Dec. 1010 (XXXIII), and CALLS UPON the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho and the AUC to facilitate the relocation of the Secretariat of the ACERWC.