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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Uganda (RATIFICATION: 2001)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 3(a) and 7(2)(b) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and effective and time-bound measures to provide the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Abductions and the exaction of forced labour and compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The Committee previously noted that, according to the report of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Uganda of 7 May 2007 (S/2007/260, paragraph 5), Uganda was among the countries where parties to armed conflicts – the Ugandan People Defence Force (UPDF), the local defence units and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) – recruited or used children and were responsible for other grave violations. The Committee further noted that, in its concluding observations for the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict of 17 October 2008, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern over continued abductions of children living in border regions by the LRA, to be used as child soldiers, sex slaves, spies and to carry goods and weapons (CRC/C/OPAC/UGA/CO/1, paragraph 24).

However, the Committee noted that, according to the report of the Secretary General on children and armed conflict in Uganda of 15 September 2009 (S/2009/462) (Secretary-General’s report of 2009), the LRA has not knowingly operated in Ugandan territory since the cessation of hostilities in August 2006. The Committee further noted that a number of measures had been taken in order to rehabilitate children affected by conflict. The Committee also noted that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2009, the action plan regarding children associated with armed forces in Uganda signed by the Government of Uganda and the Uganda Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (UTF) on 16 January 2009 covered different areas of activities, including preventing the recruitment of children under 18 years for use in armed conflict and releasing and reintegrating under age recruits.

The Committee notes that, according to the report of 25 May 2012 of the Secretary-General on the situation of children and armed conflict affected by the LRA (S/2012/365), there does not appear to remain any cases of abduction, exaction of forced labour, or compulsory recruitment of children by the LRA on Ugandan territory. Moreover, the Committee notes with interest that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2012 (paragraph 46), during the reporting period, 106 Ugandan children (47 girls and 59 boys) were separated from the LRA and were received in reception centres in northern Uganda as part of the repatriation and reunification process for LRA-affected children, managed by non-governmental organization (NGO) partners with United Nations support. All children were provided with interim care, counselling, family tracing and reunification assistance, as well as, in some cases, age-appropriate vocational training. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts and take effective and time bound measures to remove children from armed conflict and ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. In this regard, it requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children under 18 years of age who have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into their communities through these measures.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. Orphans and vulnerable children. The Committee previously noted the Government’s information that a range of factors has contributed to the problem of child labour, such as orphanhood arising from the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The Committee notes that orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Uganda are recognized in both the Policy on Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children and the National Strategic Plan on OVCs. The Committee also notes that the policies and activities of the National Action Plan on Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Uganda include orphans and HIV/AIDS affected persons in its target groups. However, the Committee notes with concern that, according to UNAIDS estimates for 2012, there are approximately 1 million orphans due to HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Moreover, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12, about half (51.1 per cent) of the children in Uganda who lost both parents were involved in employment and, as a result of their plight, found themselves in child labour. The survey also reveals that, overall, orphans were less likely to attend school compared to non-orphans. Recalling that children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children are at particular risk of becoming involved in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to intensify its efforts to protect these children from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government once again to provide information on specific measures taken in this respect, particularly in the framework of the Policy on Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children and the National Strategic Plan on OVCs, and the results achieved.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.