Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) on 6 December 2024 launched its second of a series of commentaries on African human rights treaties, The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: A Commentary.
Brought together under the joint editorship of Professors Julia Sloth-Nielsen and Elvis Fokala and Dr Godfrey Odongo, leading African scholars on children’s rights, this Commentary is a landmark publication comprising article-by-article analytical discussions of the provisions of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Charter).
The launch coincided with the 25 year mark since the entry into force of the African Children’s Charter, on 29 November 1999. To date, 51 out of 55 African Union member states have ratified the African Children’s Charter, which demonstrates a growing commitment to respect, protect and promote the rights of children.
In 2023, PULP launched the first in this series, with the publication of The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa: A Commentary.
During the hybrid launch, the co-editors and a number of contributing authors gave a background to the publication, and highlighted key insights from their work. Professor Sloth-Nielsen emphasised the need for a commentary, particularly in the light of the lack of a comprehensive drafting history to shed light on the provisions of the African Children’s Charter.
Ayalew Gatachew, the acting Executive Secretary of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare if the Child (Committee), and also one of the contributing authors, during the launch spoke about the importance of the publication to the work of the Committee. Ayalew pleaded for a simplified (child-friendly) version of the Commentary, to reach and be more accessible to children. Others emphasised the potential role of the Commentary in litigation (before national court and the Committee) and in teaching, especially at an advanced level such as Master’s programmes.
These commentaries stand as landmark of knowledge-generation on and by Africans. They aim to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for anyone interested in protecting and promoting women’s and children’s rights in Africa, such as researchers, teachers, students, practitioners, policy-makers and activists. Plans are in place for future commentaries on other African human rights treaties.
For more information, please contact:
Professor of International Human Rights Law
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3228
frans.viljoen@up.ac.za
Pretoria University Law Press
Tel: +27 (0) 72 346 3818
lizette.hermann@up.ac.za
