INERELA+ participation at the 28th Ordinary Session of the Civil Society Organization Forum in Maseru, Lesotho from the 13th to the 16th of April 2026 and the 47th Ordinary Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) from the 17th to the 25th of April 2026.
The discussions at the CSO Forum under the theme “Inclusion, for Every Child: Building Equitable Futures Across Africa” underscored that many children are still excluded due to poverty, disability, gender inequality, and other structural barriers. The forum which was held on the sidelines of the 47TH ACERWC Ordinary Session.This high-level regional space brought together technical and diverse stakeholders working to safeguard the protection of children’s rights in various settings. The CSO Forum speaks with one voice in pursuit of the common interests enshrined in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
INERELA+ Executive Director Munya Mandipaza highlighted the experience of INERELA+ as a one of the development partners under the CSO Forum by indicating that many children in Africa face inequalities based on their gender, location, social class, emerging crises like climate change, social protection issues, technological advancement and violence. Continued exclusion of children across Africa is also due to funding gaps, geographical barriers, poverty, disability, gender, displacement, discrimination religious practices, cultural norms and values. Munya emphasized that achieving equitable futures requires dismantling systemic barriers and recognizing reproductive rights as fundamental human rights. Further she called for meaningful participation of adolescents, especially those most marginalized.
CSO FORUM RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ACERWC:
- To continue strengthening its accountability mechanisms, pushing more rigorous State party reporting on child-responsive budgeting, school re-entry, FGM, Children Affected By Armed Conflict and other emerging issues.
- To integrate technical expertise and practical experiences from practitioners on the ground by including CSO representatives in the Committee’s Working Groups, primarily enhance and enrich information exchange between the Committee’s thematic work and child rights practitioners at the domestic level
- To urge States to establish domestic frameworks for mandatory child protection systems, including inter-country coordination mechanisms, and standardized child helplines under number 116, ensuring all children have access to protection, rapid response, and assistance and regularly engage States on the existence, accessibility, and resourcing of such systems through the State Reporting Process.
- To Finalize and publicize the African Jurisprudence Database and continue leveraging existing information systems to enhance transparency, accessibility, and monitoring of State compliance.
- To enhance monitoring of the implementation of provisions on harmful practices, and take targeted steps, including state visits, in regions where practices such as FGM and child marriage persist, particularly in conflict-affected contexts.
- To strengthen monitoring and enforcement on sexual and reproductive health and rights by requiring explicit state reporting on SRHR, addressing policy barriers, and issuing clear, time-bound recommendations with follow-up mechanisms.
- To popularize the communications and procedures of the Committee through accessible, child-friendly, disability-inclusive, and multilingual resources.