Universal-Womens-accesss-to-justice-Publications-Practitioners-Guide-Series-2016-ENG

294 PRACTITIONERS GUIDE No. 12
are not representatives of the victims. Indeed, for the African
Commission, “the African Charter does not call for the
identification of the victims of a Communication. According to
the terms of Article 56(1), only the identification of the author
or authors of the Communication is required.” 727 This position is
an established principle of the African Commission’s
jurisprudence. 728
The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
(ACRWC) has established an African Committee of Experts on
the Rights and Welfare of the Child to monitor its
implementation by State Parties. 729 Article 44 ACRWC provides
that the Committee “may receive communication, from any
person, group or non-governmental organization recognized by
the Organization of African Unity, by a Member State, or the
United Nations relating to any matter covered by this
Charter.” 730 The Committee is therefore competent to hear both
individual and collective complaints.
v) Mechanisms of indirect access
Individuals cannot directly bring a complaint to the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights or the African Court on
Human and Peoples’ Rights. They generally take cases brought
by a lower human rights mechanism (IACHR or ACHPR) or by a
State.
727
FIDH, National Human Rights Organisation (ONDH) and Rencontre
Africaine pour la Defense des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO) v.
Senegal, ACommHPR, Communication No. 304/2005, 40 th Ordinary,
15-29 November 2006, para. 40.
728
See, as reference, Malawi African Association and Others v.
Mauritania, ACommHPR, op. cit., fn. 1006. See also, Mgwanga Gunme
et al. v. Cameroon, ACommHPR, Communication No. 266/2003, 45 th
Ordinary Session, 13 – 27 May 2009, para. 67.
729
Article 32 ACRWC.
730
Article 44.1 ACRWC.