About the Litigants Group for ACERWC
The Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law consistently works to support the mandates of the human rights treaty bodies of the African Union (AU), acting as an academic and civil society instigator for a rigorous African jurisprudence coming from these bodies. As part of this continued commitment and arising out of recommendations from various stakeholders in the child’s rights sector, the Centre for Human Rights in April 2026, established the Litigants Group for the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). The establishment of this group follows various engagements that the Centre has held focusing on litigation, implementation and the impact of the decisions of the ACERWC. In these engagements, recommendations were made for a core group of CSO litigants to be established in order to facilitate ongoing dialogue among child rights litigants and experts, provide peer support for litigation before ACERWC, coordinate activities tailored for organisations that litigate or have the potential to litigate before the ACERWC, and sustain the conversation on the implementation of the decisions of the ACERWC. The purpose of the group is three-fold — to address the issue of low levels of litigation of child rights violations in Africa, to support organisations currently in the litigation process before ACERWC, and to enhance the domestic implementation of decisions of the ACERWC.
Although the continent is made up of a young population, and human rights violations that occur across the region have unique effects on children, these issues are not being litigated, which hinders children’s access to justice. Where litigation is brought, the remedies sought at times do not fully exploit the potential available under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), and there is a lack of comprehensive data on the extent to which resultant decisions of the Committee have been implemented. From 2026, the group will convene through events coordinated by the Centre, and through meetings held on the margins of the Ordinary Sessions of ACERWC, to reach targeted stakeholders working on children’s issues and foster collaboration towards enhanced impact of the ACRWC.
Targeted categories of participants in the group:
Group A:This includes those organisations or individuals that have litigated already before the Committee and received decisions on merits, and who will be supported in issues of post-decision implementation measures and to consistently engage the Committee on their Communications, for example through implementation hearings and submitting complementary reports and other information that the Committee should be made aware of. The group will also include organisations that are currently litigating before the Committee or who have imminent cases to be brought to the Committee, for peer support and sharing of knowledge to ensure that the submissions provided take full advantage of the opportunity to appear before the Committee, both for children in the State Party and as far as possible for all children in Africa.
Group B: These are organisations or individuals who have conducted child rights litigation work at the domestic level or before other international human rights bodies other than the Committee. These organisations can benefit from engaging with the Committee, whether by bringing litigation or spotlighting their cases when the Committee engages relevant States, among other ways of support.
Group C:These are non-litigating institutions or persons that conduct work on children’s rights issues on the domestic level and regional level, placing them at the best place to provide current information on issues and to contribute their expertise as organisations and individuals, to broader litigation. These can be academic bodies or NGOs.
Overall, the group will work to support the protective mandate of the ACERWC, fostering continent-wide collaboration for the advancement of the African Children’s Charter, and promoting the development of a rigorous and Africa-based jurisprudence on children’s rights. The group will also foster a coordinated move towards comprehensive implementation of ACERWC decisions, with a focus on data-led implementation monitoring.
The activities for 2026:
- 10 September2026: A webinar for the collective group, to welcome all members of the group and touch base on the status of implementation of ACERWC decisions and on emerging themes for litigation
- 11 September 2026: A closed webinar hosted for Group A, to touch base on the outcomes of the 2025 CSO capacity building workshop and follow up on the measures taken by litigants to measure implementation of their cases following the workshop.
- 12 October 2026: Meeting of the Litigants Group in Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho, on the sidelines of the 29th Sitting of the CSO Forum of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Further events of the Group will be added here. The events coordinated for the Group are determined on an evolving basis and following the needs of members. Keep an eye on this page to see future updates and events taking place. The particularly affected members of the Group will receive individual invitations when an event for their category has been scheduled.
Join the Litigants Group:
Child rights practitioners, CSO’s that work on children’s rights and litigants who have not yet joined the Litigants Group for ACERWC are invited to complete the form in the link below.
For more information, please contact:
Childrens Rights Unit
Tel +27 (0)12 420 6209
rotondwa.mashige@up.ac.za
Tel +27 (0) 12 420 3587
ntokozo.sibanyoni@up.ac.za