African Charter On The Rights and Welfare of The Child - State Party Reporting

State Party Reporting

Countries which have ratified the Children's Charter must submit initial reports within two years of ratification or the entry into force of the Charter and every three years thereafter. In 2008, the Committee of Experts started the process of reviewing the first four state reports that had been received from Egypt, Mauritius, Nigeria and Rwanda in May 2008.

The state party report must contain specific information pertaining to children in their country. This includes political, legal, administrative issues that are linked to the requirements of the structure supplied by the Committee of Experts.

Ideally it should be a comprehensive report that includes input from the state, civil society and other recognised bodies at the regional, continental, international levels. But usually, the state report doesn’t include much information from civil society. So Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) can submit a second or "alternative" report that contains the information that they have gathered.

Until very recently, this "alternative" report could only be accepted after the state had submitted their report. But now a process has been put into place whereby the state is given 18 months to submit their report, failing that, the "alternative," civil society report will be accepted as that state's report.

Once received, the report then becomes available as a public document and it undergoes a process of:

• Elaboration: The elaboration process is the first process that occurs. The Committee of Experts determines the report's completeness, representivity, its conformity to the guidelines, etc. and specific information is extracted regarding the children's rights;

• Consideration: The consideration process examines the reports to determine if the information supplied reflects the true situation in the country as a kind "photocopy" or "clear picture" at that point in time. This includes determining if there are any gaps or inconsistencies in the information supplied in both the official and the alternative reports;

• Follow-up: The follow-up process is where the state and civil society are contacted again to explain and complete any discrepancies or missing information. Further information and interviews may be required before the Committee is satisfied;

• Submission to the AU.

Once the State Party and Alternative reports have been finalised, they are submitted to AU Secretariat for translation into the other working languages (English, French, Portuguese and Arabic). Then different Committee of Expert members review the report in a pre-sessional working group in order to identify issues for further discussion with the state and request for any other information that may help when considering the report. Other organisations, CSOs, UN groups, who have contributed alternative reports or who are considered relevant may be invited to attend the session on an informal basis. This is where CSOs can bring information to the process. A pre-sessional report is produced after this meeting.

After the pre-sessional report has been produced, the members who have been appointed to review the State Party / Alternative Report meet to discuss an in-depth review of the report. Their findings are submitted to the respective state concerned and discussed with high level government representatives. There is no Non Governmental Organisation (NGO)or civil society input at this level.

As a result of the in depth discussion, the Committee of Experts will identify problems, progress and differences in implementation of the Children's Charter by the State Party. These recommendations are called "concluding observations" and may include the following:

• The steps that need to be taken;

• Agree on recommendations;

• Suggest unique decisions suitable for each country;

• Changes in the country since the report was prepared;

• Follow-ups by the Committee of Experts to obtain more information or clarity.

After the initial State Party / Alternative report has been accepted, the state will then have to submit additional reports every 3 years. These reports are called "periodic reports." This will allow for comparison with the previous report to determine whether there has been progress or if the situation has worsened.

There may also be follow-ups and country visits. The State Party / Alternative Report and recommendations are sent to the Summit of the Heads of States and Government. Civil society is also able to intervene every 3 years to encourage the state to make improvements ahead of the preparation of additional reports.