Holding South Africa Accountable : A Critique of the Reports Submitted to Treaty Bodies Pertaining to the Rights of Children with Disabilities

Abstract

South Africa recently submitted reports to three treaty bodies regarding steps taken over the past two decades to implement the rights of children with disabilities. This study is focused on critically analysing the South African reports submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter referred to as the CRC Committee), the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (hereinafter referred to as the ACERWC) and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereinafter referred to as the CRPD Committee) regarding the implementation of the CRC, ACRWC and the CRPD in South Africa. In doing so, the study focuses on all matters pertaining to children with disabilities as well as focusing on particular groups of children with disabilities. This will be done to determine whether or not the State meets the international law obligation of implementing the CRC, ACRWC and the CRPD in South Africa.