The National Human Rights Commission, has secured affiliate status to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC).
ACERWC, granted affiliate status to the NHRC during the 40th ordinary session of the committee held in November 2022.
The committee is the African Union human rights treaty body with the mandate to promote and protect the rights and welfare of children pursuant to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which was adopted by the African Union in 1990 and ratified by The Gambia on 14th December 2000.
“(We are) thrilled to register yet another milestone in the Commission’s engagement with regional and international human rights mechanisms as part of its effort to strengthen the protection and promotion of the rights of children in The Gambia”, said Emmanuel Daniel Joof, chairperson of the NHRC.
According to the NHRC, the affiliate status with the ACERWC provides it with the opportunity to participate in sessions of the committee by presenting statements on the human rights situation of children in The Gambia, provide expert advice and briefings, propose agenda items, and submit shadow or complementary reports for consideration by the Committee.
This affiliate status, the NHRC added, will provide visibility to the work of the committee in the country, enhance NHRC engagement with the Committee and strengthen the commission’s work on the rights of children in The Gambia.
Last year, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) granted the NHRC with “A” Status accreditation testifying to its full compliance with the Paris Principles, after just 3 years of operation.
The NHRC also has affiliate status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).
“The NHRC will continue to enhance its engagement and cooperation with regional and international human rights mechanisms for the effective protection of the rights of children in the country,” Joof added.
