The ACRWC is Africa's primary regional treaty protecting children's civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, entering into force in 1999.
Key Facts
- Adopted by
- Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
- Year adopted
- 1990
- Year entered into force
- 1999
- Successor organization
- African Union (formerly OAU, from 2001)
- Enforcement body
- African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
By the Numbers
Cause → Event → Consequence
Growing international momentum for children's rights, culminating in the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, prompted African states to develop a regionally specific instrument. African leaders sought a treaty that reflected the continent's particular social, cultural, and developmental context while addressing the full range of children's rights.
In 1990, the Organisation of African Unity adopted the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The charter set out comprehensive rights for children across civil, political, economic, social, and cultural domains, and mandated the creation of an African Committee of Experts to oversee its implementation and interpretation among member states.
The charter entered into force in 1999 and established the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child as a permanent supervisory body. Alongside the UN CRC, it became one of only two international or regional instruments covering the entire spectrum of children's rights, shaping child welfare policy across African Union member states.
Political Outcome
The charter was adopted and entered into force in 1999, creating a binding regional human rights framework for children and establishing the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.