Peer-reviewed article
Child Labour in Conflict Situations: Deciphering the Approach of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
Robert Doya Nanima, Gift Gawanani Mauluka ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This academic article examines how the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child addresses child labour in conflict situations. Using doctrinal research methods, the authors analyse normative guidance and legal documents to understand the Committee's approach to protecting children's rights. The study finds that the Committee can use Article 46 of the African Charter to fill protection gaps by drawing on international human rights and humanitarian law. The article provides recommendations for better implementation of protections against child labour.
Key points
- The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child can use Article 46 to bridge protection gaps in child labour cases
- The approach draws on both International Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law to clarify child labour issues in conflict situations
- Child labour remains a complex and pressing issue across Africa in various contexts
- The article provides recommendations for strengthening implementation and effectiveness of Article 15 of the African Charter
Limitations
This is a doctrinal legal analysis examining normative frameworks and jurisprudence rather than empirical research on child outcomes or intervention effectiveness. It cannot tell us about the actual impact of the Committee's approach on reducing child labour or protecting children's well-being in practice.
Abstract
Child labour is a complex and pressing issue across the globe. Africa has not been immune to this challenge, and it continues to deal with it in various spaces. This article argues that the approach of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Committee or African Children’s Committee) is crucial in protecting the rights of children in conflict situations. Using a doctrinal research methodology, the authors analyse written documents through a process of identifying, selecting, retrieving, and interpreting various documents, both physical and electronic, to gain new insights. As such, following the introduction, they adopt working definitions of ‘child labour’ and ‘armed conflict’. This is followed by an evaluation of the normative guidance on Article 15 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in the context of other relevant articles and a focus on the Committee’s use of Article 46 as a tool for developing persuasive jurisprudence. With insights on child labour statistics, the article provides an overview of the magnitude of the problem on a global scale. This is followed by an evaluation of the institutional positioning of the Committee and finally, an analysis of selected jurisprudential developments. The key finding is that the Committee may use Article 46 to bridge protection gaps, drawing on International Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law to clarify child labour issues. The article provides recommendations for strengthening the implementation and effectiveness of Article 15.