The African Children’s Charter’s Position on the Socio-economic Rights of Children with Mental Disability

Abstract

This article discusses the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Charter) with the aim to determine its sufficiency in protecting the socio-economic rights of children with mental disabilities in Africa. It has been over thirty-one years since the African Union (AU) adopted the African Children’s Charter. As such, it is imperative to assess some of its contributions so far in protecting the rights of children with mental disabilities in the continent. Additionally, it is of essence to identify and analyse key issues that may have arisen in the implementation of the socio-economic rights of these children. This article also identifies emerging concerns or opportunities for future consideration in relation to the socio-economic rights of children with mental disability. Furthermore, the article makes several recommendations on the duties of relevant stakeholders. The recommendations in this article do not lay emphasis on creating new duties; however, they aim to strengthen existing state party duties under the African Children’s Charter.