Towards effective implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in Egypt

Abstract

The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989 marked an important step towards the ‘legal recognition and protection of the rights of children’. The inadequacies of the CRC regarding some issues peculiar to the African child, however, led to the adoption of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC or African Children’s Charter) in 1990, to complement the CRC and provide protection to children in peculiar African realities. The desired effects of the Charter will, however, only be achieved if its provisions are diligently implemented. Based on desk research and semi-structured interviews, this article discusses the implementation of the ACRWC in Egypt, highlighting the legislative and other measures adopted by Egypt to implement the provisions of the ACRWC. It also considers the role of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Committee) in ensuring implementation of the ACRWC in Egypt through the state reporting and complaint mechanisms and considers the measures adopted by Egypt towards the implementation of concluding observations of the African Children’s Committee. It concludes with recommendations on how Egypt can better implement the provisions of the ACRWC.