78. Madagascar has ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child on 17 January 2005. 79. Regarding the applicability of the Charter, the Constitution in Article 137 paragraph 4 thereof provides that all treaties or agreements duly ratified or approved shall, upon publication, have higher authority than laws. 80. This initial report of Madagascar on the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child could not be submitted because Madagascar has been suspended by the African Union since the political crisis of 2009. 81. It was developed in pursuance of Article 43 paragraph 1 of the Charter, which requires States parties to submit to "the Committee reports on the measures they have adopted which give effect to the provisions of the Charter and on the progress made in the exercise of these rights. " b. Report preparation process 82. This report was prepared by the Committee in charge of Drafting initial and periodic reports under Human Rights International Instruments (CRRIPDH), which was created by inter-ministerial order No. 18600 of 30 October 2003 on the initiative of the Ministries of Justice and of Foreign Affairs. 83. The CRRIPDH is composed of: - State Representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs, Economy and Planning, National Education, Homeland Security, Public Health, Population, Social Protection and promotion of Women, Youth and Sports, Public Service, Labour and Social Laws, Interior and Decentralization, National Defence; - And representatives of Civil Society Organisations working in the field of Human Rights. 16