I. Submission of 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 31 March 2016 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 Sohaib Emad represented by advocate Dalia Lotty and
Samar Emad, sister of the alleged victim Sohaib Emad (hereinafter "the
Complainants"). 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.
2. In a letter dated 6 May 2016, the respondent State expressed its views on
the proceedings stating that the ACERWC does not have a mandate to
proceed with the case because the State party had entered reservations on
articles 44 and 45 of the ACRWC. On 30 January 2017, the ACERWC wrote
to the State party clarifying and stating that the reservations entered by the
state party are not compatible with the purpose and object of the ACRWC.
The ACERWC reasoned that the reservations are incompatible with the
object and purpose of the treaty, and in particular contrary to article 19(c) of
the Vienna Convention, mainly because the provisions subjected to
reservation were among the core rationales for the creation of the treaty.
Furthermore the Committee explained that placing a reservation on
procedural matters of a human rights treaty is generally incompatible with the
purpose and objective of the treaty under international human rights law.
Following the exchange of this dialogue, the Committee continued with the
proceedings of the Communication.
II.
Summary of Alleged Facts
3. Sohaib Emad is an Egyptian born on 12 December 1998 and resides in
Mansoura City. At the time of his arrest, he was aged 15 and was attending
secondary school in AI Terraa Street, in Mansoura City.
4. The Complainants allege that Sohaib took part in demonstrations on the
20141h anniversary of the 2011 January uprising. Consequently on 11
February 2014, Sohaib Emad was arrested at his house without being
informed of any charges and taken to Mansoura Police Station.He remained
in the police station for 40 days. He had no access to a lawyer and family
members for the first four days. He was allegedly subjected to beating
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