Executive Summary Tanzania ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) in March 2003. This is its initial report on the implementation of the charter submitted to the African Committee of Experts according to Article 43. The report outlines the measures that have been taken since 2003 to effect the provisions of the ACRWC. It also details the progress made in the enjoyment of child rights. Much has been done to ensure implementation of the ACRWC since it was ratified in March 2003. In April 2003, the Government ratified the two Optional Protocols to the CRC on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. Tanzania has been strengthening the legislative framework for children through ongoing consultative processes with the aim of developing a comprehensive Children’s Act and progress has been made towards developing a White Paper. Mechanisms for coordinating the implementation of the Charter have begun through a process to establish a national coordinating body. Dissemination of the Charter has been carried out by the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children (MCDGC) in Tanzania Mainland and Ministry of Labour, Youth, Women and Children Development in Zanzibar (MLYWCD) and NGOs. Other progress includes: the integration of children’s concerns and vulnerabilities as central issues within the broader national development frameworks that guide national policy development and programmes; the development of a number of national policies, cross-sectoral strategies, and action plans in critical areas of concern for children (including around HIV/AID and orphans); policy level decisions that have had a significant impact on children’s rights and well-being (such as the abolition of primary school fees, and the enactment of improved legislation such as the Employment and Labour Relations Act of 2004). Policies and strategies involving children’s wellbeing have involved children through their Junior Council of the United Republic of Tanzania. iv