I.
PROCEDURE OF CONSIDERATION OF THE COMMUNICATION
1. The Secretariat of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of
the Child (the Committee/ACERWC) received a Communication dated 19 August
2015 pursuant to Article 44(1) of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of
the Child (the Charter/ACRWC). The Communication is submitted by the African
Centre of Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) and People's Legal Aid Centre
(PLACE) (hereinafter "the Complainants") against the Government of the Sudan.
According to Section IX (2) (I) of the Revised Guidelines on Consideration of
Communications by the ACERWC (the Revised Communications Guidelines), the
Committee transmitted a copy of the Communication to the respondent State Party.
Upon receipt of the Communication, the State Party submitted its response on 09
November 2015. In accordance with Section IX (2) (vi) of Revised Communications
Guidelines, the Committee forwarded the responses of the Respondent State to the
Complainants who also submitted additional clarifications within the time limit.
Following the deliberation on the required elements on admissibility, the Committee
ruled that the Communication is admissible and forwarded its ruling to the parties
on 16 January 2017.
2. The Committee, pursuant to Section XI of the Revised Guidelines on
communications, deems it necessary to conduct a hearing on the Communication
where the parties are invited to make oral submissions before it. Accordingly, the
Committee conducted a hearing on the merits of the Communication on 11-12
December 2017 during its 30th Ordinary Session held in Khartoum, the Sudan, in
the presence of the representatives of the Complainants and the Respondent State.
3. During the hearing on 11 December 2017, the Respondent State submitted a
request for the matter to be settled amicably pursuant to Section XIII of the Revised
Guidelines on Consideration of Communication. The Committee notes that,
pursuant to provisions of the Revised Communications Guidelines, any of the
parties, preceding the clear consent from the other party in the communication, can
propose for the matter be settled through an amicable settlement. Following the
request by the Respondent State, the Committee, guided by the provisions of the
Charter, the Revised Communications Guidelines and the principle of the best
interests of the child, availed its good offices to facilitate discussion for settlement
between the Parties.
4. After consultations, the parties in the Communication informed the Committee that
they could not reach an agreeable level of consensus which would help them settle
the matter amicably. The Committee was specifically informed that the
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