From Lofty Jargon to Durable Solutions : Unaccompanied Refugee Children and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

Due to the factors such as the absence of an older guardian or their young age, unaccompanied refugee children face a myriad of risks over and above those faced by other refugee children. Due to their heightened vulnerability, it has always been accepted that unaccompanied refugee minors require a raised level of protection and assistance in order to find durable solutions for their particularly tragic situation. The entry into force of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (`the African Children`s Charter` or `the Charter`) brought fundamental and profound changes in the protection of unaccompanied refugee minors. Although the African Children`s Charter`s provisions relating to protection of unaccompanied refugee children is substantially similar to that of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, its strength lies in the extension of protection to internally displaced children