146 Mezmur/18th birthday of the African Children’s Rights Charter However, before proceeding on the merits, the Committee was approached by the two parties indicating that they would like to resort to an amicable settlement. Such a process is allowed by the Revised Communications Guidelines,118 provided that the request is made before the Committee makes a decision on the merits of a communication.119 As part of the amicable settlement, the government of Malawi agreed to undertake efforts to amend its constitutional provision with a view to comply with article 2 of the African Children’s Rights Charter by 31 December 2018.120 In the interim, and while the amendment of the constitutional provision is underway, the government also agreed to undertake all possible and administrative measures to ensure that all persons below the age of 18 in the State party enjoy the right in the Charter.121 With a view to ensure follow up, it was also agreed that the Government would submit periodic reports on the developments related to the implementation of the said agreement. Fortunately, in February 2017, the government of Malawi amended its Constitution to raise the age for a definition of a child to 18 years.122 An overwhelming number of parliamentarians – reportedly 131-2 in favour — voted supporting such an amendment.123 Indeed this amicable settlement sets a very positive precedent in that parties to a communication make use of the good offices of the Committee, and implement agreed upon settlement in good faith. While a number of advocacy efforts by stakeholders have contributed to the amendment of the Constitution of Malawi, it is not far-fetched to argue that the amicable settlement agreed upon within the framework of the African Children’s Rights Charter has lend significant positive pressure, and urgency, to convince parliamentarians, and complete the amendment process within a reasonable period of time. In terms of article 45(1) of the Charter, the Committee may use any appropriate method to investigate any matter covered by the Charter, and to investigate measures taken by State parties to implement the 118 Section XIII of the Revised Guidelines on the Consideration of Communications. Therefore, during the 28th Ordinary Session in October 2016, the Committee offered its good offices to facilitate a discussion between the two parties on the terms for an amicable settlement. The amicable settlement was reached under the auspices of the African Children’s Committee, as provided for in sec XIII (2) of the Revised Communication Guidelines. 120 M Yadessa ‘Malawi amends its constitution to comply with article 2 of the Charter’ (April 2017) 1 ACERWC Tribune 11. 121 As above. 122 See, Human Rights Watch ‘Malawi amends Constitution to remove child marriage loophole’ (23 February 2017) available at https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/02/23/ malawi-amends-constitution-remove-child-marriage-loophole (accessed 14 October 2017); UN Women ‘Malawi parliament adopts amendment to end child marriage’ (22 February 2017) available at http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/2/ news-malawi-parliament-adopts-amendment-to-end-child-marriage (accessed 13 October 2017); The Nation ‘Constitutional amendment on cards’ (by F Namangale) 27 November 2016 available at http://mwnation.com/constitutional-amendment-oncards/ (accessed 13 October 2017). 123 Yadessa (n 120 above). Such an amendment of the Constitution is reported to be the second since 1995. 119