ACERWC Issues Decision on Tanzania's Policy of Expulsion of Pregnant Girls [1]
On September 15, 2022, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC or the Committee) issued [3] its decision in the above case brought by the Legal and Human Rights Centre for Reproductive Rights (the Centre) against Tanzania on behalf of Tanzanian girls. The Committee’s mandate is derived from the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child [4], adopted on July 11, 1990, and in force on November 29, 1999. As reported by JURIST [5], the Centre’s suit against Tanzania centered on the state’s policy of expelling pregnant girls from school. To implement this policy, certain practices were mandated, such as the detention of pregnant girls and mandatory pregnancy testing. The ACERWC found that this policy violated rights under the Charter to (1) freedom from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; (2) education; equality and non-discrimination; (3) protection from harmful social practices and stereotypes; (4) health (including access to information about sexual health and reproductive health services; (5) privacy; and (6) dignity. The Committee also found that the policy violated the principle of the best interests of the child. Moreover, the Committee specifically found that the practice of mandatory pregnancy testing violated the girls’ rights to freedom from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and freedom from torture and abuse. According to the Committee, none of the practices under this policy could be justified under the Charter. The Committee issued Tanzania with 14 recommendations, including the immediate cessation of mandatory pregnancy testing; reviewing the law on which the policy is based; investigating cases of detention of pregnant girls; considering the readmission of girls who were expelled based on this policy; and providing access to reproductive health information. ACERWC decisions are not legally binding, which makes implementation of its decisions uncertain. In recognition of that, in 2020, the Committee established [6] a Working Group [7] on Implementation of Decisions and Recommendations which has called upon state parties to establish national monitoring and reporting mechanisms on implementation of the Committee’s decisions and recommendations.