Conference on the Level of Child Rights Mainstreaming in National Action Plans (NAPs) on Human Rights and Business in Africa.

As business activity rapidly expands across Africa, shaping economies, communities, and daily life, one group remains consistently under-protected within national policy responses: children. From extractive industries and agriculture to manufacturing and the digital economy, corporate activities increasingly affect children’s health, development, education, and safety. Yet, across much of the continent, children’s rights remain marginal within the very frameworks designed to regulate business conduct.

In November 2025, IHRDA launched a Continental Study on Child Rights Mainstreaming in National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights in Africa, exposing the depth of this gap. Reviewing laws, policies, and National Action Plans (NAPs) across all 55 African States, the study finds that the integration of children’s rights into business and human rights frameworks is minimal, inconsistent, and often implicit. Even in countries that have adopted NAPs on Business and Human Rights, children’s rights are frequently treated as peripheral concerns rather than cross-cutting priorities. Where references are made to children’s rights, they are often not accompanied by clear obligations, institutional responsibilities, indicators, or enforcement mechanisms.

To launch and disseminate this study, a high-level continental conference was convened in Maseru, Lesotho from 20 – 21 November 2025. It brought together government representatives, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), civil society organisations, regional human rights bodies, academics, and child-rights advocates. A defining feature of the conference was its strong emphasis on implementation. In working groups, participants developed concrete strategies to engage States, businesses, development finance institutions, and accountability bodies.

Key priorities that emerged included strengthening child-sensitive laws and budgets, building judicial and NHRI capacity on business and child rights, mandating human rights impact assessments, expanding child-friendly grievance mechanisms, and leveraging the influence of development finance institutions to make child-rights compliance a funding condition. Participants also called for greater support to community-based monitoring and the development of regional mechanisms to prevent companies from evading accountability across borders.

African States have made binding commitments to protect children’s rights by signing and ratifying key treaties, including the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These commitments must now be translated into concrete laws, policies, and practices that regulate business conduct and place children at the centre of economic development. Africa’s development trajectory must not be built at the expense of its children. Through this study, IHRDA calls on States, businesses, NHRIs, regional mechanisms, and civil society to act decisively.