Concepts and terminologies play a critical forming the narrative on a matter in the human rights landscape. The African Union is not a stranger to this problem, as it struggles in this area. Conversely, under the African children’s rights system, it is imperative to note that concepts are either internally evident within the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Charter) or external to it. The problematisation of these concepts is critical to deconstructing the historical, cultural and societal narrative. With the aid of a document analysis research approach, this contribution sets the scene for where the agency lies in the determination of who a child is. This is followed by a contextualisation of decoloniality and a subsequent discussion of four terminologies, both within and outside the African Children’s Charter. It is argued that a problematisation of these concepts is critical to shedding insights into the application of decoloniality by the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Committee). A clarion call to deconstruct these concepts and terms by the African Children’s Charter follows suit. An evaluation of the impact of these terminologies on equity and accountability is done, followed by a conclusion and recommendations.
