ACERWC African Committee of Experts on the Rights & Welfare of the Child right to nationality at birth.116 Article 19 provides for the child’s right to parental care and protection and prohibits the separation of a child from his or her parents against his or her will, except as determined by a judicial authority in accordance with law and in the best interest of the child.117 A child who is separated shall have the right to maintain regular contact with his or her parents, right to information on the whereabouts of their family members and the responsibility of the State to notify the parent(s) of a child who has been apprehended by the State and or its agents.118 Article 22 obligates the State to prevent children being engaged in armed conflict and to respect and ensure the respect for the rules of international humanitarian law, which affect the child. Article 23 also protects the rights of refugee children, providing among others for the State to put in place measures to assist children to obtain refugee status, whether accompanied or unaccompanied, to cooperate with other international organisations to assist the child trace his or her parents or relatives. Where the child’s relations cannot be traced, the State has to ensure that the child is accorded the same protection as any other child temporarily or permanently deprived of a family environment. A progressive element of Article 23 is the provision that the rights and obligations due to refugee children apply mutatis mutandis to internally-displaced children, the displacement having been caused by ‘natural disasters, internal armed conflicts, civil strife, breakdown of economic and social order’ or by any other means.119 Article 24 guarantees the right of children temporarily or permanently deprived of a family environment to special protection and assistance. Finally, Articles 27, 28 and 29 protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation, drug abuse (including use by children and the use of children in the production and trafficking of drugs) and the abduction, sale and trafficking of children for any purpose respectively. The ACRWC in many respects is founded on the ACHPR, the continent’s foundational human rights instrument.120 The ACHPR guarantees the right to freedom of movement in Article 12, which includes the right to leave and return to one’s country, to seek and obtain asylum in instances of persecution and the prohibition of expulsion of non-nationals, either individually or en masse. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has held that the violation of rights such as freedom from discrimination of migrant communities has a consequent effect their freedom of movement.121 The rights of refugee children are also protected under the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1969 OAU Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. The UN Refugee Covention under Article 3 requires states to protect the rights of refugees as provided for under the Convention without discrimination based on race, religion or country of origin. The 1969 OAU Convention under Article 4 places an obligation to apply the provision of the Convention without diccrimination on the basis of ‘race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular group or political opinions.’ In addition, the Revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa and Plan of Action (2018-2027) states that refugee protection is ‘a central aspect of international, regional, and national efforts to protect persons fleeing persecution.’122 The 1951 UN Convention Article 33 provides for non-refoulment principle, which prohibits 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 IHRDA and OSJI v Kenya (n 80 above) para 42. Art 19(2) of the ACRWC. Arts 19(3) and (4) of the ACRWC. Art 23(4) of the ACRWC. See para 1 of the Preamble of the ACRWC. Communication 317/06 The Nubian Community in Kenya vs The Republic of Kenya para 167 and 168. Available at <http://caselaw.ihrda.org/doc/317.06/view/en/#2513599>. (Last accessed on 4 April 2018). Revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa and Plan of Action (2018-2027) Para 6.1. 36