On 29th November, representatives of child rights organisations in 18 African countries met in Dakar, Senegal for a four-day workshop on the procedures of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The meeting was convened by the West African office of Save the Children (Sweden) and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA – based in the Gambia), and supported by Save the Children (Sweden) and the Ford Foundation. Its primary purpose was to inform African child rights networks about the role and functioning of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), and to build capacity to engage with this important body. I was fortunate enough to attend in my capacity as Chairperson of the ChildrenNOW Network (www.nscn.org.za [5]).

The Workshop was a combination of expert inputs and work in small groups. Inputs from various experts included:

· the history of international child rights conventions and the UN system;
· a comparison of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC);
· the role and work of the Committee of Experts to date;
· communication procedures;
· reporting procedures;
· strategies for the ratification of the ACRWC, and implementation at national level;
· the actions that African NGOs can take to support ratification and implementation.

The Workshop came to the conclusion that a network of African NGOs to support the implementation of the ACRWC should be established. It was further agreed that we need to ensure visibility for the network, that networks at country level are very important and should be the basis of a regional network, and that some conceptualisation work needs to be done, such as a feasibility study. The IHRDA was asked to undertake preliminary activities towards setting up such a network.

Concrete activities that the Institute was asked to perform in the next 6 to 12 months, in conjunction with the Save the Children (Sweden) network, include a review of existing networks and to plan to meet again within the next twelve months. It is hoped that this meeting will take place in Addis Ababa in May 2005.

For further information, and a full report on the Workshop, contact Carol Bower ([email protected] [6]) or consult the web site of the African Union (www.africa-union.org/child/home.htn [7])

** Carol Bower is Executive Director of Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) and National Chair of the South African Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.