The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) has released General Comment No. 10, offering authoritative guidance on the interpretation and implementation of Article 25 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). This document sets out a comprehensive framework for ensuring the rights, protection, and well-being of children without parental care (CWPC) across the African continent.
General Comment No. 10 responds to the significant number of children in Africa who are either deprived of parental care or at risk of losing it. It highlights systemic gaps—such as limited data, overreliance on institutional care, and insufficient support for families—and outlines clear expectations for governments and stakeholders to strengthen child-protection and care systems.
Key Focus Areas
-
Clarifying Definitions and Scope: The General Comment outlines who qualifies as a child without parental care, including children in institutions, kinship care, foster care, child-headed households, street situations, unaccompanied and separated children, trafficked children, and those affected by conflict, displacement, or child marriage.
-
Preventing Unnecessary Family Separation: States are urged to prioritize family strengthening and social protection interventions that address root causes such as poverty, disability, violence, and displacement.
-
Promoting Quality Alternative Care: When separation is unavoidable, governments must ensure rights-based, family- and community-based alternatives—including kinship care, foster care, and kafalah—over large-scale institutional care.
-
Supporting Reintegration and Aftercare: The General Comment emphasizes the importance of family tracing, safe reintegration, and post-care support for care-leavers, including those transitioning to independent adulthood.
-
Driving Systemic Care Reform: ACERWC calls for national care reform strategies, improved data systems, stronger regulation and oversight of all care settings, and capacity-building for the workforce and community actors.
-
Clarifying Stakeholder Roles: While States bear primary responsibility, the General Comment outlines the vital contributions of civil society, community actors, faith-based organizations, and international partners in advancing care reform and upholding children’s rights.
