African Human Rights CLA 2.0

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 2