Training Manual on Strategic Litigation and Individual Complaints Mechanisms for Children in Africa

The aim of this manual is to enhance the knowledge and skills of civil society organisations (CSOs) and legal practitioners in using strategic litigation to obtain remedies for violations of children’s rights and in leveraging international and regional human rights law instruments and mechanisms to this end. This is a desirable combination because strategic litigation is most effective when accompanied by social mobilisation. The manual thus emphasises the roles of CSOs and legal practitioners while highlighting aspects of their work that are best done collaboratively and the overall interconnectedness of different areas of activity.  While the goal of the manual is to enhance the capacity of its users in utilising the communications procedures of the ACERWC and CRC committee; it has to be stressed that the rules of these two treaty bodies require an exhaustion of domestic remedies. It is therefore hence essential for CSOs and legal practitioners to understand that litigation must start at the national level before it is able to proceed to the international level.