The African Civil Society Forum (CSO Forum) is a group of Civil Society Organizations from the five African regions, namely, East, Southern, North, West and Central, through their regional child networks. The Forum exists to speak with one voice in pursuit of the common interest of the rights and welfare of African children as articulated in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

The Forum meets at least twice a year, before the sessions of the ACERWC, to take stock of progress, challenges, and priorities of children in Africa and prepare submissions for the ACERWC sessions. The CSO Forum has a standing slot at the ACERWC Sessions, where it presents statements covering key issues agreed on during the CSO Forum Sessions, which precede the ACERWC Sessions. 

The CSO Forum sessions bring together CSOs and Pan African Human Rights Institutions working on the rights and welfare of children across Africa, key child rights experts, development partners, academics and researchers, to take stock and deliberate on various child rights thematic areas thus coming up with recommendations for strategic interventions by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC).

The 24th Ordinary session of the CSO Forum is scheduled to take place from 13th – 14th April 2024, before the ACERWC sessions, scheduled for 15th – 25th April 2024, in Maseru, Lesotho. There is also a planned children’s side event preceding the CSO Forum, which will be held virtually on April 6, 2024. The theme of the forum sessions will focus on children’s right to education. This is in line with the African Union Summit theme for 2024, which is “Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa.”