General comment No. 25 on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment: Implications for children’s right to privacy and data protection in Africa

he UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has published its much-awaited General Comment No. 25 on children’s rights in the digital environment in 2021. Much of the conversations since its adoption have centred on how General Comment No. 25 influences State behaviours in the western world or globally. Little attention has been given as to what General Comment No. 25 means for children’s right to privacy in Africa. This article seeks to explore the role of General Comment No. 25 in clarifying States’ obligations in respect of children’s rights to privacy and data protection in the digital era on the African continent. In doing so, this article first contextualises General Comment No. 25 in the broader context of the United Nations human rights system and analyses its recommendations on children’s right to privacy. Second, the article examines children’s right to privacy in Africa and analyses the specific features of the African human rights system that influence the understanding of this right. Finally, the article illuminates certain child-specific privacy and data protection measures that are being or have been included or discussed in the law-making processes and policy debates in a selection of African countries and links them to both General Comment No. 25 and the socio-cultural context of the continent.

The Right to Identity and Access to Information on Genetic Origin and Parentage

Do donor-conceived children have a right to know the identity of their sperm or egg donor or should donors have a choice to remain anonymous? What does relinquishing donor anonymity mean for establishing parentage? Should laws regulating access to donor information have a retroactive effect? What are the experiences of children conceived with donor sperm? How can we prepare prospective parents for raising a donor-conceived child? Finally, how can we facilitate contact between children and their donors? These are some of the questions that are discussed in this book, which is the result of a multidisciplinary seminar on the right to identity and access to information about genetic origins and parentage, organised by RETHINKIN_, a Scientific Research Network (WOG) 2015– 2024 of the Research Foundation Flanders. The Right to Identity and Access to Information on Genetic Origin and Parentage explores the right to identity from an international human rights perspective and compares the national regulations of states that have waived donor anonymity. It describes different legal paths to discover or establish one’ s genetic origins. In addition to legal analyses, the book includes findings from psychological research on the experiences of (intending) parents, donor-conceived people and donors. Moreover, this book not only delves into the theoretical framework, but, additionally, assesses the practices of counselling, registration and providing information, and DNA databases.