Advancing Children's Rights: A Guide for Civil Society Organisations on How to Engage with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

Advancing Children's Rights is a guide by Plan and Save the Children Sweden which looks at how civil society organisations (CSOs) can best engage with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (hereafter, "the committee"), the body responsible for monitoring the implementation and ensuring the protection of the rights laid out in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). According to the publishers, since its inception in 2001, the committee has collaborated with CSOs working with and for children in Africa.

This guide is intended to be a comprehensive resource for finding out more about the charter and the committee. It is designed to provide practical information for organisations wishing to engage with the committee but also offers background information in an effort to ensure that this engagement is put into context. As such, it is designed to be used by organisations that already use and know the charter but want specific information about how to engage with the Committee by, for example, finding out about the procedure for submitting a communication. It can also be used by organisations new to the charter and the committee and by readers who are interested in its history and background.

The guide is organised into 6 parts:

• Part One is an introduction.
• Part Two gives an overview of the history and content of the ACRWC and looks at how it relates to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). It also considers the committee's mandate, its members, and its achievements so far.
• Part Three examines how civil society can access and use the committee to advance children's rights in Africa.
• Part Four looks at how the committee fits into the structures of the African Union (AU).
• Part Five provides sources of further information.
• Part Six consists of 9 annexes, including a ratification table for the Children's Charter, biographies of current committee members, the full text of the charter, and 6 of the committee's working documents.