Maseru, Apr. 23 — The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) has recommended that the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) should develop guidelines to assist states in ensuring that their counter-terrorism measures fully respect and protect children’s rights.
This, the ACPF made during the 47th Ordinary Session of the ACERWC held in Maseru, where it said the development of such guidelines should be preceded by undertaking a comprehensive continental study on the issue.
Presenting the key takeaways Girma Gadisa Tufa, Senior Technical Officer on why counter-terrorism must put children first, said prevailing counter-terrorism responses in many African states have largely failed to distinguish between children and adult combatants, often criminalizing children and subjecting them to adult-centric punitive justice systems.
He said African states, while obligated and entitled to protect their security, have a parallel duty to ensure that counter-terrorism frameworks are not implemented at the expense of children’s rights.
He said most counter-terrorism frameworks lack age-specific provisions or procedures for processing children within the justice system, resulting in children being processed under adult criminal justice procedures.
He emphasized that six of the 10 countries most affected by terrorism globally are in Africa namely Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia and Cameroon.
The 47th African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACEWRC) Session which started on Friday last week (April 17) will end on April 25, it touches on promoting and protecting children’s rights in Africa. Other key purposes include reviewing state reports, engaging in regional human rights mechanisms and addressing child welfare issues such as menstrual hygiene, to ensure youth-driven frameworks and compliance with the African Children’s Charter.
Ends/AT/tl
