acerwc 3rd cso forum session report

8/7/2019 ACERWC 3rd CSO Forum Session Report

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Progress Report:What have we, as civil society, done?March 11, 2010

Sophie Joy Mosko

Save the Children

3rd Forum on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child


2/23

This progress report is based on

information collected from the organizingcommittee, the questionnaires received

and anecdotes.

We received

22questionnaires

Questionnaires were received from

individuals in 11 countries


Progress report


3/23

3 Forums have been organized

1st in April 2009- 63 people attended2nd in November 2009- 146 people attended

3rd in March 2010- 142 people registered

In this Forum we have participants from 31 Africancountries and 2 European countries.


Organization of the Forums


4/23

- Recommendations have been shared with the

ACERWC at 2 consecutive meetings. Main

recommendations were recorded in the 14th

Session report and one was acted uponacknowledging it was recommended by the

Forum.

- Civil society has fed in comments to the Draft

Plan of Action of the ACERWC for 2010- 2014


Feeding information to ACERWC


5/23

- A fact sheet was developed and circulated to more

than 750 people on how CSOs can influence the

nomination process of ACERWC candidates

- In at least 13 African countries, we know the fact sheet

was disseminated to other NGOs and coalitions

- In Kenya, Senegal (regional workshop), The Gambia,we know it was discussed in meetings or specific

meetings were set up to follow the process

Any more???


CSO influencing the nomination of candidates for the ACERWC


6/23

We know that CSOs and/or individuals have

made effort to nominate candidates in:

Senegal Malawi Ethiopia

Zambia Botswana Kenya

The Gambia South Africa Chad

Guinea-Bissau Somalia Mali

Tanzania Cte dIvoireIn Kenya and The Gambia a small committee has been established to

nominate candidates.

Any more????


CSO influencing the nomination of candidates for the ACERWC


7/23

The AU Legal Affairs Department has finally

sent out the Note Verbale to countries about theelection.

The official deadline for the AU Department of

Legal Affairs to receive nominations is stillunclear.


Update on the nominations


8/23

We know lobbying is being done in:Senegal to be submitted end of Feb. 2010

Togo- submitted

Cote dIvoireThe Gambia- consultant identified to do the

initial report

Somalia

Rwanda to submit updated initial reportSudan due in 2010How? Lobbying, breakfast meetings, media briefings, workshops,etc.

Anywhere else???


Lobbying to submit initial report


9/23

Civil society have most recently been involve in

lobbying for ratification in:

Guinea-Bissau (done is 2008, but realized now)

Zambia

Swaziland

Anywhere else?


Ratification of the ACRWC


10/23

Information about and from the CSO Forum has been

shared widely. Questionnaires show that information about

CSO Forum was disseminated in at least 9 countries.Some examples:

The Gambia- documents shared with 64 member

organizations, 15 media houses and all staff members of

coalition

Niger and Burkina Faso- they did a workshop for network

members on what they learned at the CSO Forum


Information sharing


11/23

Senegal- Some of the recommendations from the CSO Forum were integrated

into their 2010 Plan of Action; they shared information to member

organizations, journalists, and government programs involved in child

protection

Zambia- Presented at two networks and the Zambian Parliamentary Caucus-

reach: 28 organizations, 55 individuals

Kenya- Held sensitization workshops on the Forum for children; at Regional

Juvenile Justice and Pro-Bono Lawyers Conference; att the Kenya NationalChamber of Commerce and Industry

Any more???


Information sharing


12/23

Organizations in:

Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau and Kenya

have contacted Committee members

but MOST responded that they had NOT been in touch

with ACERWC members


In contact with ACERWC members


13/23

A lot of training has been carried out in:


Training on the ACRWC

Kenya (5 organizations) Ethiopia (1 organization)

Senegal (2 organizations) Zambia (1 organization)

The Gambia (1 organization) Uganda (A Kenyan organization)

Tanzania (A Kenyan organization) Somaliland (2 organizations)

Burkina Faso (2 organizations) Mali (1 organization)

Guinea-Bissau (1 oranization) Zanzibar(1 organisation)

Rwanda (1 organisation) Sudan (2 organisations)

Togo (1 organisation)


14/23

Numbers: hard to estimate- 8,838 people(according to the questionnaires)

Targeting: children, child rights club leaders, areadevelopment committee members, Ministry of EducationDistrict Resource Center Coordinators, local authorities,hospital staff, area advisory councils, child protection

committees, teachers, NGO staff, journalists, training oftrainers, parliamentarians, Childrens Departments incountries, traditional elders, religious leaders, primaryschool teachers, national coalitions, academicinstitutions


Training on the ACRWC


15/23

Awareness raising is done in almost all countries.

How?

Public forums, Day of the African Child, radio, publicgatherings (chiefs meetings, church congregations,funerals), ACRWC printed and shared, talking to otherNGOs, publications, public campaigns, toParliamentarians, national childrens conference, child-

friendly IEC materials, community dialogue, throughmedia, etc.


Awareness raising on the ACRWC


16/23

Most organizations said they did input into

the Plan of Action, either at other Forumsor through e-mail.


Commenting on the ACERWC draft Plan of Action


17/23

Guinea-Bissau

Niger

Kenya (contradictory information)

Burkina Faso

Any more?


Joint monitoring mechanisms in place in country


18/23

Zambia

Guinea- bissau

Niger

Kenya

Any more?


Those of us involved in national-level law reform


19/23


20/23

Provide joint trainings on the ACRWC

This has been done somewhat, as questionnaires show.

To identify a platform in which African CSOs can express their concerns andexperiences working on child rights

The regular organizing of the Forum should enable this.

Share the contact of all the participants

Shared in the last Forum report to all participants.

To draft a letter to all donor countries, including foreign missions in AddisAbaba on the importance of including ACERWC in their support to the AU

Not done.


Action points from the last Forum


21/23

To liaise with ECOSOCC to put child rights on their agenda and to inviteECOSOCC to the next CSO Forum

We have been discussing with the Social Affairs cluster of ECOSOCC, civil

society invited to ECOSOCC Peace and Security Cluster meeting andpresented child rights, ECOSOCC has asked Save the Children and Oxfamto train cluster leads on engagement with the various AU organs andinstitutions.

ECOSOCC was not, however, invited to the CSO Forum.

To draft recommendations on behalf of the forum to the 14th Session of the

ACERWCRecommendations have been presented at the 14th session and they were

included in the official report of the session

Invite the AU Parliament to the next CSO Forum

Done




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Ensure that the issue of child budgeting is explored in subsequent Forums (andnationally in relation to the Day of the African Child)

Done- it will be explored at this Forum

Ensure corporal punishment as well as other forms of violence against childrenis an issue to be explored in one of the subsequent CSO Forums.

Because we want to devote sufficient time, this issue was postponed for thenext Forum- but will be on the agenda for the next one.

Ensure that harmful social and cultural norms and traditions are explored insubsequent CSO Forums

This will be explored in the next Forum as well.

Develop formal structures to link CSOs nationally, building on the coalitions andnetworks that already exist, to the CSO Forum

This will be done in the liaison unit of which the draft by-laws are beingpresented.




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Thank you


Thank you!

acerwc 3rd cso forum session report

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