The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: Simple Copy or Contextualized Supplement to the Convention on the Rights of the Child? The Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted in 1989 devotes all States community’s attention to children; thus, translating the rights of the Child into legal terms. And since the Child occupies an important place in the cultural context of a given region, the rights should reflect this assertion. In Africa, an African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child has come to meet this requirement.
The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: Simple Copy or Contextualized Supplement to the Convention on the Rights of the Child?
Author:
Thierno Souleymane BARRY
L.DD., Laval University – Sherbrooke University, Canada, Professor, Général Lansana Conté de Sonfonia University-Conakry, Conakry, Guinea.
Abstract:
The Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted in 1989 devotes all States community’s attention to children; thus, translating the rights of the Child into legal terms. And since the Child occupies an important place in the cultural context of a given region, the rights should reflect this assertion. In Africa, an African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child has come to meet this requirement. This article examines whether or not the African Charter is a mere copy of the Convention. In addition to being a continuation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child constitutes an adapted instrument, an adequate response for the effective protection of the rights of the Child. The article attempts to demonstrate the originality of the African framework to protect children’s rights and possible improvements to make the framework more effective.
Keywords:
Rights of the Child, Convention on the Rights of the Child, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Universality, African Context.
Bibliography:
Geraldine Van Bueren, The International Law on the Rights of the Child, (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1998).
Danwood Chirwa, ‘The Merits and Demerits of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child’, The International Journal of Children’s Rights 10(2002): 157-77.
Habib Gherari, ‘La Charte Africaine Des Droits Et Du Bien-Être De L’enfant’, Études internationales 22(1991): 735-51.
François Bugnion, ‘Les Enfants Soldats, Le Droit International Humanitaire et la Charte Africaine des Droits et du Bien-Entre de L’enfant’, African Journal of International and Comparative Law 12, no. 2 (2002): 262-75.
Ibid.
Carmen Lavallée, ‘La Convention Internationale Relative Aux Droits De L’enfant Et Son Application Au Canada’, Revue internationale de droit comparé 48(1996): 605-30.
Joe Oloka-Onyango, ‘Beyond the Rhetoric: Reinvigorating the Struggle for Economic and Social Rights in Africa’, California Western International Law Journal 26, no. 1 (1995).
Danwood Chirwa, ‘The Merits and Demerits of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child’, The International Journal of Children’s Rights 10(2002): 157-77.
Thierno Souleymane Barry, ‘La Protection des Droits de l’Enfant Face au Travail : La Nécessité d’un Changement de Perspective par l’Extension du Concept de Travail Décent et l’Application de l’Approche Basée sur les Droits de la Personne’, (Canada: Laval University, 2015).
Guillemette Meunier, L’application de la Convention des Nations Unies Relative Aux Droits De L’enfant dans le Droit Interne des États Parties, (2002).
Mutoy Mubiala, Le Système Régional Africain De Protection Des Droits De L’homme, (2005).
Nicolas Argenti and Alex De Waal, Young Africa: Realizing the Rights of Children and Youth, (African Research and Publications World Press, 2002).
Pierre Erny, L’enfant Dans La Pensée Traditionnelle De L’afrique Noire, (1968).
Dominique Youf, Penser Les Droits De L’enfant, (2002).
Moussa Thioye, ‘Part Respective De La Tradition Et De La Modernité dans les Droits de la Famille des Pays d’Afrique Noire Francophone’, Revue internationale de droit comparé 57(2005): 345-97.
A. Bame Nsamenang, Cultures of Human Development and Education: Challenge to Growing up African, (New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2004).
Savitri Goonesekere, ‘Human Rights as a Foundation for Family Law Reform’, The International Journal of Children’s Rights 8(2000): 83-99.
Mamadou M. Dieng, ‘Les Difficultés D’application Des Conventions En Matière De Droits De L’homme En Afrique: Le Cas De La Convention Sur Les Droits De L’enfant Au Bénin. ‘, Actualité et Droit International (2001).
Natasha Parassram Concepcion, ‘The Convention on the Rights of the Child after Ten Years: Success or Failure?’, Human Rights Brief 7, no. 1 (2000).
Remy Bernard Ngombe, ‘Les Normes Juridiques Internationales Relatives à la Protection des Droits de la Femme et de l’Enfant en Afrique: Le Cas du Sénégal.’, (Normandie University, 2019).