African Charter on the Rights of the Child

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) was adopted by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1990 (in 2001, the OAU legally became the African Union) and entered into force in 1999. Like the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Children’s Charter is a comprehensive instrument that sets out rights and defines universal principles and norms for the status of children. The ACRWC and the CRC are the only international and regional human rights treaties that cover the whole spectrum of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It calls for the creation of an African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Its mission is to promote and protect the rights established by the ACRWC, to practice applying these rights, and to interpret the disposition of the ACRWC as required of party states, AU institutions, or all other institutions recognized by AU or by a member state. As at February 2009, the ACRWC has been ratified by 45 of the 53 countries in the continent.