The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child is a unique regional instrument for the protection of children's rights which was established in 1990 by the then Organization of African Unity. It provides for the establishment of a dedicated monitoring body to oversee the implementation of its provisions in the African context, namely the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). This volume draws together a group of leading, mostly African, scholars to assess the achievements and effectiveness of the Charter, the Committee and the children's rights. The book is both backward and forward looking, a reflection on successes and achievements of the past, as well as setting an agenda for the future. The authors adopt a socio-legal approach, so ensuring that the book will be of value to disciplines outside of the legal field.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, marked a turning point in the perception of children in international law and policy. Although it was hoped that the Convention would have a significant and positive impact on the lives of all children, this has not happened in many parts of the world. This edited volume, based on empirical research and Non-Governmental Organisation project data, explores the progress of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to a lesser extent, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, in nine African countries in the 25 years since it was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The book considers the implementation of the Convention both in terms of policy and practice, and its impact on the lived experiences of children in societies across the continent, focusing on specific themes such as HIV/AIDS, education and disability, child labour, witchcraft stigmatisation, street children, parent-child relationships and child participation. The book breaks new ground in blending legal and social perspectives of the experiences of children, and identifies concrete ways forward for the better implementation of the CRC treaty in the various political contexts that exist in Africa.

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: A socio-legal perspectiveby Thoko Kaime2009ISBN: 978-0-9814420-4-4Pages: xii 247Print version: AvailableElectronic version: Free PDF available.

At the African regional level, the African Children's Charter marks 34 years in July 2024 since it was adopted and 25 years in November 2024 since it came into force. This book therefore is a recognition of these milestones as it spotlights selected Social, Economic and Cultural Rights of Children protected in the African Children's Charter.