ACERWC African Committee of Experts on the Rights & Welfare of the Child and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The data as presented in the study was therefore inevitably shaped by the type of data available and its structure (e.g. gender and age disaggregation). The study also relied on information emerging from interviews with children as collected by the IOM and the UNHCR. Due to time and resources constrains as well as respect for the ethics code in relation to the conduct of interviews with children, the research did not seek to collect additional primary data from individual member states nor through direct interviews of children. 1.4.2 Research Tools The study adopted a mixed method approach to data collection. This includes collection of both primary and secondary data through desktop research and interviews with key informants. The research tools employed an interview guide for key informants at the regional level – primarily during the ordinary sessions of the ACERWC - and a desk review of the relevant legislation, policies, programmes and other interventions for children on the move by AU Member States in Africa. The choice of these tools is informed by the resources available as well as the fact that the study is primarily qualitative, given the specialised nature of the subject being studied, children on the move, and therefore requires collection of data from experts on the subject. 1.4.3 Interview with Key Informants The research team interviewed key informants to elicit necessary information to address the research questions and to meet the objectives of the study. The aim is to obtain expert information on the causal factors for movements of children, patterns of movement, challenges and instances of violations of the rights of children on the move, national institutional and normative frameworks for protecting children on the move and recommendations for improving the protection of children on the move. The key informants for the study were principally drawn from the regional, sub-regional and national levels and include the following persons. The sampling method was purposive, in view of the technical nature of the study. a. b. c. d. e. f. Members of the ACERWC; Staff of the Secretariat of the ACERWC; Staff of the RECs Secretariat; Staff of UN Agencies at sub-regional and national levels; Staff of national agencies responsible for migrants and refugees; Civil Society Organisations and INGOs working with children on the move and child protection in general; and g. Children on the Move where possible and appropriate. 1.4.4 Desktop Research The desktop research gathered information on regional, sub-regional and national standards (treaties, laws, policies, programmes and other interventions) for children on the move as well as other standards addressing migration in general. Other research on migration in Africa and children on the move on the continent was also collected and analysed and the relevant information incorporated in this study. 14