Downloads & Resources
Free legal tools, policy instruments, guides, templates, and data for practitioners, advocates, policymakers, and communities working on early childhood justice.
African Regional Instruments
African Union treaties, charters, protocols, and conventions establishing human rights protections relevant to early childhood across the continent.
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
The primary African Union treaty on children's rights, establishing comprehensive protections and welfare principles for children across the continent.
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
The foundational African human rights treaty, establishing civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights across Africa.
Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa
The Maputo Protocol guaranteeing comprehensive rights to women in Africa, with direct implications for maternal and early childhood protection.
African Youth Charter
African Union charter addressing the rights, freedoms, and duties of young people across the continent.
African Convention on Refugee Problems in Africa
The 1969 OAU Convention governing specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa, relevant to children in displacement contexts.
African Union Convention on Internally Displaced Persons
The Kampala Convention for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons in Africa.
Africa's Agenda for Children 2040
The African Union's strategic framework for children's rights and wellbeing across the continent to 2040, setting out priorities for law, policy, and investment to realise children's rights in line with Agenda 2063.
International Instruments
UN treaties, covenants, conventions, and declarations forming the core of international human rights law relevant to early childhood.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The foundational UN declaration establishing universal human rights standards that underpin all international human rights law.
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
The most widely ratified human rights treaty, establishing comprehensive civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights for every child.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Core UN treaty establishing civil and political rights including those relevant to family, education, and protection of children.
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Core UN treaty establishing rights to education, health, social security, and an adequate standard of living, central to early childhood justice.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
Core UN treaty eliminating discrimination against women, with significant implications for maternal health, caregiving, and children's wellbeing.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
UN convention establishing comprehensive rights for persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities and inclusive early childhood services.
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
UN treaty eliminating racial discrimination, relevant to equitable access to early childhood services for marginalised communities.
Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families
UN convention protecting the rights of migrant workers and their families, including children in migration and cross-border contexts.
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951)
The foundational international refugee law treaty, essential for understanding the rights of refugee and asylum-seeking children.
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons
The Palermo Protocol supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, addressing trafficking of children.
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007)
UN declaration establishing the rights of indigenous peoples, including children's rights to culture, education, and identity.
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to Minorities
UN declaration protecting the rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities.
UN Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training
UN declaration on human rights education, relevant to rights-based approaches in early childhood education and community awareness.
International Instruments on the Right to Education (2014)
A compiled reference document of international legal instruments relevant to the right to education, including early learning.
Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development
The WHO, UNICEF and World Bank Group global framework for action on early childhood development, setting out the evidence base and policy agenda for nurturing care — encompassing good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, security and safety, and early learning.
CECJ Legal & Policy Instruments
Model legislation, draft regulations, and policy frameworks produced by CECJ for use by governments, law reformers, and advocates.
CECJ Model Early Childhood Legislation
A rights-grounded model legislative framework for comprehensive early childhood laws, with drafting commentary.
CECJ Model ECD Service Regulations
Draft regulatory provisions covering quality standards, licensing, inspection, and enforcement for early childhood services.
National Instruments
National policies, legislation, and regulatory frameworks from Uganda and other African countries governing early childhood development and children's rights.
Uganda Early Childhood Care and Education Policy (2025)
The signed, final national policy governing early childhood care and education in Uganda, establishing standards, responsibilities, and commitments for the sector.
Uganda National Child Policy (2020)
The national policy framework for the care, protection, and development of children in Uganda, providing the overarching policy context for early childhood governance.
Toolkits & Guides
Practical toolkits and step-by-step guides for legal professionals, policymakers, advocates, and civil society working on early childhood.
Early Childhood Legal Audit Toolkit
A structured toolkit for assessing the adequacy of national legal and regulatory frameworks for early childhood, including scoring rubrics and worksheets.
Early Childhood Budget Tracking Guide
A step-by-step guide enabling civil society and advocates to track, analyse, and challenge public budget allocations for early childhood services.
Regulatory Design Guide for ECD Services
A practical guide for government officials and regulatory bodies on designing effective quality assurance and licensing systems.
Legal Advocacy Toolkit for Early Childhood Rights
A comprehensive toolkit equipping advocates and civil society with legal arguments, messaging frameworks, and strategy tools.
Templates & Tools
Ready-to-use templates, checklists, and working documents for legal drafters, policy analysts, and programme managers.
ECD Legislation Review Checklist
A structured checklist for reviewing existing or proposed early childhood legislation against international rights standards.
Public Finance Analysis Template
An Excel-compatible template for mapping and analysing public expenditure on early childhood across budget lines and ministries.
Stakeholder Mapping Template
A working document for mapping institutional actors, mandates, and relationships in a national early childhood governance landscape.
Grievance Mechanism Design Template
A template framework for designing accessible complaints and redress mechanisms for early childhood rights violations.
Child-Friendly Resources
Plain-language and visual materials that explain children's rights and legal protections in accessible formats for children, families, and community workers.
Your Rights as a Young Child: A Simple Guide
A plain-language illustrated guide explaining what rights young children have and what adults and governments are obligated to do.
What the Law Says About Your Child: A Guide for Caregivers
A family-facing guide explaining legal protections for young children and how to seek support when rights are not being met.
Early Childhood Rights Poster (A2)
A printable community poster summarising key rights of young children and obligations of governments, suitable for health centres and schools.
Community Health and ECD Worker Legal Reference Card
A compact quick-reference card summarising legal protections, reporting obligations, and key contacts for frontline ECD workers.
Multimedia Library
Videos, audio resources, presentations, and visual media on early childhood law, rights, and governance.
Introduction to Early Childhood Justice (Video)
A short explainer video introducing the concept of early childhood justice and CECJ's legal mandate.
The CRC at 35: Keynote Presentation Slides
Slides from the CECJ keynote address at the CRC at 35 conference, covering progress and gaps in African early childhood implementation.
Podcast: Closing the Early Childhood Legal Gap
A recorded conversation between CECJ researchers and government officials on what it takes to close legal gaps for young children.
Infographic: The State of Early Childhood Law in Africa
A visual overview of key legal statistics, gaps, and opportunities across African jurisdictions.
Data & Statistics
Datasets, statistical summaries, and legal indicator reports on early childhood governance, financing, and rights across Africa.
Early Childhood Legal Mapping Dataset (East Africa)
A structured dataset scoring the legal and regulatory frameworks of five East African countries across 40 indicators.
Public Finance for ECD: Annual Tracking Report
Annual data on public expenditure on early childhood across selected African countries, benchmarked against legal obligations.
Early Childhood Rights Indicators Framework
A framework of structural, process, and outcome indicators for monitoring state compliance with early childhood rights obligations.
Survey of ECD Regulatory Systems in Africa
A comparative survey of regulatory systems for early childhood services across 20 African countries, with scored profiles.
Need a resource that is not listed here?
If you are looking for specific legal instruments, data, or tools not in our library, contact us and we will do our best to assist or point you in the right direction.
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