The Centre for Human Rights (CHR) attended the 22nd meeting of the CSO Forum for the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, held from 26 - 27 April 2023, in Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho. The meeting was organised ahead of the 41st Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child meeting from 28th April to 6 May 2023, in Maseru, Kingdom of Lesotho.
During the Forum, the Centre hosted a discussion on the sexual and reproductive rights of children, with a particular focus on the implications of the Resolution of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Resolution ACHPR/Res.552 (LXXIV) 2023) on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Intersex Persons in Africa. The Resolution was informed by a Study on the Human Rights Situation of Intersex Persons in Africa undertaken by CHR and partner organisations
In relation to children’s rights, the Resolution refers to Article 21 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which calls for the protection of children from harmful social and cultural practices. In this way, the Commission acknowledged that the vast majority of violations of children’s rights occur in childhood, and violate multiple rights of the child, protected in the African Children’s Charter.
The Centre, in its presentation to the CSO Forum, emphasised the importance of the Resolution as an advocacy tool for civil society organisations to further promote and ensure the protection and promotion of children's rights in Africa. The Centre called on the members of the CSO Forum to take an interest in the Resolution and in advancing the rights of intersex children in particular, at the Regional, Sub-regional and National levels.
For more information, please contact:
Centre for Human Rights
Tel: +27 (0)12 420 4684
Fax: +27 0) 86 580 5743
Nkatha.Murungi@up.ac.za
Children's Rights Unit
Tel +27 (0) 12 420 3587
Fax +27 (0)86 580 5743
elvis.fokala@up.ac.za
