awareness-raising initiatives aimed at combating stigma and discrimination, including against children with disabilities, have been implemented. 45. Considering the submissions of both parties on the alleged violation of Articles 3 and 13 the Committee identifies the issues for determination as follows: (i) whether accusations of witchcraft against children are rooted in discriminatory grounds, including disability; (ii) whether discrimination on various grounds, including on the grounds of disability, leads children to be accused of witchcrafts; (iii) whether child witchcraft accusation is discriminatory, and (iv) whether the Respondent State has taken adequate measures to address the discrimination. 46. Article 3 of the Charter guarantees every child is entitled to enjoy the rights therein irrespective of the status of the child’s or his/her parents’ or legal guardians’ race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status. The Committee recalls its jurisprudence where it elaborated that the right to non-discrimination under Article 3 has three components namely differential treatment, interference, and rights and freedoms within the Charter.16 The Committee further draws inspiration from the Human Rights Committee (HRC) which defines discrimination as ‘any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference which is based on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, and which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by all persons, on an equal footing, of all rights and freedoms’.17 Moreover, the HRC, in guiding States on what information to include in their reports regarding the implementation of the right, explains that information on the types of discrimination faced by children as a result of the practice of public authorities, communities, and private actors should be incorporated in their reports.18 47. The Committee notes that there is no contestation from the Respondent State that witchcraft accusation of children constitutes a discriminatory practice. The Committee from the submissions, the hearing, and the fact-finding mission finds that children are subjected to witchcraft accusation on the basis of various prohibited grounds for differential treatment. The factors that subject to such accusation include poverty, death of parents, disability including albinism, and circumstances of. The Committee considers that such accusation on the basis of any of the grounds target children in situations of vulnerability and constitute differential treatment based on prohibited grounds, thereby amounting to discrimination per se. 48. The Committee further observes that children accused of witchcraft are subjected to grave consequences including killings, abuse and torture, abandonment, and exclusion from society and education services. Such treatment reinforces and exacerbates the discriminatory nature of the practice and results in the denial of 16 ACERWC, Communication no 012/Com/001/2019, Center for Reproductive Rights and Legal and Human Rights Center (on behalf of Tanzanian girls) v Tanzania, Decision no 0012/Com/001/2019, para 53. 17 Human Rights Committee (HRC), General Comment No 18 on Non-Discrimination, para 7. 18 As above, para 9. 13