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Previous comment

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Sale and trafficking of children. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Government has adopted the National Action Plan for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (NAP-TiP) 2019–24, according to which Uganda remains a source, transit and destination country for people, including children, subjected to various forms of exploitation. Ugandan children as young as seven years old are exploited in forced labour in agriculture, fishing, forestry, cattle herding, mining, stone quarrying, brick making, carpentry, steel manufacturing, street vending/begging, working in bars and restaurants, and domestic service. The majority of victims of trafficking in persons are aged 13-24 years. The NAP-TiP also indicates that studies conducted by a number of international organizations and civil society actors reveal that the number of cases of internal trafficking in persons are much higher than what has been registered by the Government authorities, because some of them have not been formally reported to the authorities.
The Committee observes that the Government itself does not provide any information, in its report, on the number of cases of child trafficking identified, nor on investigations and prosecutions of persons who engage in the sale and trafficking of children. In this regard, the strategic objectives of the NAP-TiP include strengthening institutional capacity to effectively respond to human trafficking incidents and strengthening investigation, prosecution and adjudication of human trafficking cases. In addition, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the ILO CAPSA project, funded by USDOL, aims to strengthen the capacity of the Government to address child and forced labour, and to enhance the enforcement of the legal framework and policies pertaining to child and forced labour, including trafficking. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary measures, in the framework of the NAP-TiP and/or the CAPSA project, to ensure that cases of trafficking of children under the age of 18 are detected and that investigations and prosecutions are conducted against persons who engage in child trafficking.It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved, including with regard to the number and nature of convictions and penalties imposed.
Articles 5 and 6. Monitoring mechanisms and plans of action. Sale and trafficking. Regarding the general implementation of the NAP-TiP, as well as the activities of the Coordination Office for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (COPTIP), the Committee refers to its comments under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29).
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that it is taking measures to improve access to education, including through the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) policies. It also notes that UNICEF is collaborating with partners to improve access to and quality education, including by supporting the development of policies and strategies for better efficiency, equity and quality in education; providing out-of-school children and adolescents with relevant second-chance or alternative learning opportunities; and encouraging schools to innovate, and engaging with communities to promote learning, attendance and achievement.
The Committee notes, however, that, according to the UNICEF website and the UNICEF Uganda Annual Report of 2022, Uganda faces major challenges in providing quality and accessible basic education to children and adolescents. The COVID-19 pandemic came at a time when Uganda was already grappling with a serious learning crisis in which many children were not mastering the fundamentals of reading and numeracy even if attending school. With widespread school closures and other disruptions to the education system brought about by COVID-19, a teachers’ strike and the Ebola outbreak, the learning crisis has escalated to new heights. Schools in Uganda finally reopened in 2022 following a detrimental two-year closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, eight out of ten children aged 6 to 12 years attend primary school and more than one in four attend secondary school, but access remains inequitable: the secondary level enrolment of the richest 20 per cent of the population (43.1 per cent) is five times that of the poorest 20 per cent (8.2 per cent). While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests it to strengthen its efforts to improve the functioning and the quality of the education system, as well as to ensure equal access to free basic education for all children, by focusing on increasing school attendance and completion rates. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved, including updated statistical data on school enrolment and completion rates.
Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Refugee children. Following its previous comments, in which the Committee noted that there were over 730,000 refugee children in Uganda and that South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children are subjected to child labour in the country, the Committee takes note of the adoption of the National Child Policy (NCP) in 2020. According to the NCP over 60 per cent of the 1.42 million refugees in Uganda are children and nearly 10 per cent of child refugees are unaccompanied and/or separated. One of the policy objectives of the NCP is to prevent, respond to, and protect refugee children from the range of child protection risks they face during displacement, including exploitation.
Moreover, the Committee notes that, according to a June 2021 UNICEF Education Case Study on refugee learners in Uganda, the number of refugees in the country having increased to 850,900 (419,561 girls), the Ministry of Education and Sports, with the support of UNICEF and other partners, developed in 2018 the Education Response Plan for Refugees and Host Communities (ERP) in Uganda 2018–20 to include refugee learners in the education system and prioritize shared learning services for refugee and host communities. As of 2021, UNICEF continues to support refugee learners, as well as roll out the UPSHIFT programme, in partnership with the ILO, to foster innovation and social entrepreneurship and launch a tailored Life Skills Toolkit supporting the life skills of approximately 45,000 refugee adolescents (22,500 girls). The Committee requests the Government to continue taking effective and time-bound measures to ensure the protection of refugee and unaccompanied children, including through education, from the worst forms of child labour and requests it to provide information on the impact of such measures in practice. The Committee also once again requests the Government to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of refugee and unaccompanied children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration, and to provide information on the results achieved.

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Previous comment

Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and providing the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour, and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Hazardous work in mines. The Committee notes with regret the absence of information in the Government’s report on the situation of children working in mines under particularly hazardous conditions, despite the fact that section 8 of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 prohibits hazardous work, and that the list of hazardous occupations and activities in which the employment of children is not permitted (first schedule of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012) includes mining.
The Committee notes that, according to a 2020 World Bank report on the State of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector, it is estimated that 12,000 children under the age of 14 are engaged in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in Uganda. These children undertake tasks such as digging in deep open pits, carrying stones to and operating grinding machines, and washing the ground ore. The report reveals that the work in ASGM is considered a worst form of child labour due to the harsh working conditions, handling and exposure to toxic chemicals and vulnerability of young women and girls to sexual and gender-based violence. Poverty is one, but not only, driver for child labour in mining: a lack of decent work for adults, and lack of access to quality education are also contributing factors. To tackle these challenges, in 2017, civil society organizations and UNICEF, together with electronic companies, launched a five-year project “Joint Forces to Tackle Child Labour – From Gold Mine to Electronics”, which uses an area-based approach with interventions in the concerned communities and gold mines as a strategy to address the worst forms of child labour. This approach includes the involvement of community stakeholders, investment in education, and the improvement of household income and mine productivity. The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the effective application of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 and of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012, so as to prevent children under 18 years of age from working in mines, and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal and subsequent rehabilitation. It also requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the “Joint Forces to Tackle Child Labour – From Gold Mine to Electronics” project, as well as of any other project or measure aimed at protecting children from hazardous work in the mining sector, and on the results achieved.
Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk.Orphans and children in vulnerable situations (OVCs). Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is taking measures to improve the living conditions and resilience of the most vulnerable parts of the population, including children, by investing in social protection systems and decent work, as well as contributing to the promotion of sustainable and inclusive social economic development. This is done, in particular, through the decent work and social protection project being implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in collaboration with Enabel (the Belgian federal government’s development agency).
The Committee further notes that the protection of OVCs is also included in the policy objectives of the National Child Policy 2020 (NCP), which has replaced the National Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children Policy. According to the document of the NCP, at least 11 per cent of the children under the age 18 years in Uganda have lost one or both parents; about half of them are orphaned as a result of AIDS, and it is estimated that 18.7 per cent of refugees are orphaned children. While taking note of certain measures taken by the Government, the Committee notes with concern that the number of OVCs due to HIV/AIDS in Uganda who are at particular risk of becoming involved in the worst forms of child labour remains estimated at 660,000, according to the UNAIDS estimates of 2022. The Committee therefore urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to protect these children from the worst forms of child labour. In this regard, and in light of the significant number of OVCs in the country, it encourages the Government to take specific measures for the protection of OVCs from the worst forms of child labour, including through the NCP. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved.
Child domestic workers. The Committee observes with regret that, once again, the Government does not provide information on the protection of child domestic workers in Uganda who, despite the legislative prohibition of the engagement of children under 18 in several activities and tasks in the sector of domestic work, are found in large numbers to be engaged in hazardous domestic work. The Committee notes that, according to a document from the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery entitled “Decent Work for Ugandan Domestic Workers: Findings and Recommendations for Funders”, the use of child labour in domestic work in Uganda is pervasive, and there is a need to address the root causes of child labour in domestic work, including targeted poverty reduction interventions for families and targeted interventions to keep vulnerable children enrolled in school. According to this document, there is also a need to improve the legal framework and enforcement of laws applicable to domestic workers. Once again recalling that children in domestic work are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous work, the Committee urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to ensure their protection, including through the enforcement of the applicable legislation. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of child domestic workers engaged in hazardous work who have been identified, withdrawn and rehabilitated and socially integrated as a result of the initiatives taken in this regard.
The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

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The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It expects that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments. The Committee informs the Government that, if it has not supplied replies to the points raised by 1 September 2023, then it may proceed with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal at its next session.
Repetition
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes from the National Action Plan for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons in Uganda (NAP–PTIP), that Uganda is a source, transit and destination point for victims of trafficking in persons, including children. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s Annual Report on the trend of trafficking in persons in Uganda: 2013, 399 children were victims of internal trafficking and 80 children victims of transnational trafficking (paragraph 2.0). It also observes that the Crime Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) is the lead agency in the management of criminal reports related to trafficking in persons. In 2013, a total of 159 criminal cases related to trafficking in persons were registered by the police, including 33 taken to court and two convictions (paragraph 3.0(III)).The Committee requests the Government to continue to intensify its efforts to eliminate the trafficking of children and to take the necessary steps to ensure the thorough investigation and effective prosecution of all persons who engage in the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age and ensure that penalties constituting an effective deterrent are imposed in practice. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations conducted, prosecutions carried out and convictions obtained under the Trafficking in Persons Act.
Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously observed that there was not any legislative provisions specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that a draft bill on child pornography was being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office.
The Committee notes with interest that section 14 of the Anti-Pornography Act of 2014 duly prohibits the use, procuring and offering of a child for the production of pornography. It notes that a person who commits this offence is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 750 “currency points” (one currency point under the law is equivalent to 20,000 Uganda shilling (UGX), which amount to US$5) or imprisonment not exceeding 15 years or both. Moreover, the Committee takes note of section 8(A) prohibiting the use of children in pornographic performances or materials.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act.
The Committee notes, with interest, that the Coordination Office for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons was established in 2013 within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (NAP–PTIP, page 4).The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office, in particular in the framework of the National Plan and with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of child victims of trafficking identified and protected.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013 (SLF–CAS), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 76.5 per cent, and the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is 28.8 per cent. The Committee observed that the enrolment at the primary education level seems to have decreased, while the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level still appear to indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school. In this regard, the Committee noted that one of the implementation strategies of the National Action Plan on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda (NAP) is to increase enrolment and completion of primary level education through several activities. Moreover, the Committee noted that Uganda was implementing, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, the project entitled “Combating child labour through education”, which aims to contribute to the elimination of child labour by enhancing access to education. It noted that, in the framework of this project, the Education and Culture Ministry launched, in July 2013, the 12-year compulsory education programme Universal Secondary Education (USE), to give equal access to education for young persons between 16 and 18 years.
The Committee notes the absence of information in this regard in the Government’s report. The Committee however observes that, according to UNESCO estimates of 2013, there were approximately 470,000 children out of school and that the primary to secondary transition rate was only 53.9 per cent.Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it once again requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the NAP, the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the USE, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates for all children in order to protect them from the worst forms of child labour.
Clause (b). 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. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in the framework of the ILO–IPEC Project of Support for the preparatory phase of the Uganda national Action Plan for the elimination of child labour (ILO–IPEC–SNAP), a total of 8,733 children were effectively prevented and withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour. It noted that, in the framework of the NAP, the fifth implementation strategy concerns the withdrawal, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, including children in commercial sexual exploitation, in the informal economy, and in commercial agriculture.Noting the lack of information received on this matter, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who were effectively removed from the worst forms of child labour, particularly from commercial sexual exploitation and hazardous work in agriculture, and rehabilitated and socially integrated through the implementation of the NAP.

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The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments. The Committee informs the Government that, if it has not supplied replies to the points raised by 1 September 2023, then it may proceed with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal at its next session.
Repetition
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years of age for prostitution is prohibited, to impose criminal responsibility on clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 years of age who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders. The Committee noted that the Director of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions had indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2000 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution.
The Committee notes with satisfaction that section 8A of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 provides that a person shall not engage a child in any work or trade that exposes the child to activities of a sexual nature, whether remunerated or not. It notes that the perpetrator is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred currency points or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Clause (d). Hazardous types of work. Children working in mines. The Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF Situation analysis of 2015, the Karamoja region has a high incidence of child labour in hazardous mining conditions (page 13). The Committee also observes, from the UNICEF Annual Report of 2016, that 344 girls and 720 boys were removed from the worst forms of child labour, such as mining, as a result of the support of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to the strategic plan for the national child helpline. Moreover, the Committee notes that section 8 of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 prohibits hazardous work, and that the list of hazardous occupations and activities in which the employment of children is not permitted (first schedule of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012) includes the prohibition of children working in mining. The Committee notes with concern the situation of children working in mines under particularly hazardous conditions.The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the effective application of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 and of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012, so as to prevent children under 18 years of age from working in mines, and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. 1. 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 noted that orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Uganda were recognized in both the Policy on orphans and other vulnerable children and the National Strategic Plan on OVCs. The Committee also noted that the policies and activities of the National Action Plan on Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Uganda 2013–17 (NAP) include orphans and HIV/AIDS affected persons in its target groups. However, noting with concern the large number of children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS, the Committee urged the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure that such children are protected from the worst forms of child labour.
The Committee notes the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report. The Committee however notes that, according to a report by the Uganda AIDS Commission, entitled: “The Uganda HIV and AIDS country progress report: July 2015–June 2016”, approximately 160,000 OVCs received social support services and a mapping of OVC actors was conducted, among other achievements. The Committee also notes that the Second National Development Plan 2015/16–2019/20 outlines two programmes to support OVCs: the SUNRISE–OVC (Strengthening the Ugandan National Response for Implementation of Services for OVCs), and the SCORE (Strengthening Community OVC Response). While taking due note of the strategic plans developed by the Government and the decrease in the number of OVCs, the Committee notes with concern that there are still approximately 660,000 HIV/AIDS orphans in Uganda, according to UNAIDS estimates for 2015.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 strengthen 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, the National Strategic Plan on OVCs, the SUNRISE–OVC and the SCORE, and the results achieved.
2. Child domestic workers. The Committee previously noted that the list of hazardous occupations and activities prohibits the engagement of children under 18 years of age in several activities and hazardous tasks in the sector of domestic work. However, the Committee noted that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013, approximately 51,063 children, that is 10.07 per cent of the number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in hazardous work in Uganda, are domestic housekeepers, cleaners and helpers. In this regard, the Committee observed that domestic workers form a group targeted by the NAP, and requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers. The Committee notes the absence of information from the Government in this regard.Recalling that children in domestic work are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous work, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers, particularly the number of child domestic workers engaged in hazardous work who have benefited from initiatives taken in this regard.
3. Refugee children. The Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF Uganda situation report of 31 May 2017, there are over 730,000 refugee children in Uganda, among more than 1.2 million refugees. The Committee also observes from the joint Updated regional framework for the protection of South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children (July 2015–June 2017), developed by UNHCR, UNICEF and NGOs, that South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children are subjected to child labour in Uganda (page 5). The Committee finally notes that a Uganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees took place in Kampala in June 2017 to showcase the Uganda model of refugee protection and management, to highlight the emergency and long-term needs of the refugees and to mobilize resources.While acknowledging the difficult refugee situation prevailing in the country and the efforts provided by the Government, the Committee strongly urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures as a matter of urgency to specifically protect refugee children from the worst forms of child labour and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.
The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.
The Committee expects that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.

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The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It expects that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments. The Committee informs the Government that, if it has not supplied replies to the points raised by 1 September 2022, then it may proceed with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal at its next session.
Repetition
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes from the National Action Plan for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons in Uganda (NAP–PTIP), that Uganda is a source, transit and destination point for victims of trafficking in persons, including children. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s Annual Report on the trend of trafficking in persons in Uganda: 2013, 399 children were victims of internal trafficking and 80 children victims of transnational trafficking (paragraph 2.0). It also observes that the Crime Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) is the lead agency in the management of criminal reports related to trafficking in persons. In 2013, a total of 159 criminal cases related to trafficking in persons were registered by the police, including 33 taken to court and two convictions (paragraph 3.0(III)). The Committee requests the Government to continue to intensify its efforts to eliminate the trafficking of children and to take the necessary steps to ensure the thorough investigation and effective prosecution of all persons who engage in the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age and ensure that penalties constituting an effective deterrent are imposed in practice. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations conducted, prosecutions carried out and convictions obtained under the Trafficking in Persons Act.
Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously observed that there was not any legislative provisions specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that a draft bill on child pornography was being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office.
The Committee notes with interest that section 14 of the Anti-Pornography Act of 2014 duly prohibits the use, procuring and offering of a child for the production of pornography. It notes that a person who commits this offence is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 750 “currency points” (one currency point under the law is equivalent to 20,000 Uganda shilling (UGX), which amount to US$5) or imprisonment not exceeding 15 years or both. Moreover, the Committee takes note of section 8(A) prohibiting the use of children in pornographic performances or materials.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act.
The Committee notes, with interest, that the Coordination Office for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons was established in 2013 within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (NAP–PTIP, page 4). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office, in particular in the framework of the National Plan and with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of child victims of trafficking identified and protected.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013 (SLF–CAS), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 76.5 per cent, and the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is 28.8 per cent. The Committee observed that the enrolment at the primary education level seems to have decreased, while the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level still appear to indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school. In this regard, the Committee noted that one of the implementation strategies of the National Action Plan on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda (NAP) is to increase enrolment and completion of primary level education through several activities. Moreover, the Committee noted that Uganda was implementing, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, the project entitled “Combating child labour through education”, which aims to contribute to the elimination of child labour by enhancing access to education. It noted that, in the framework of this project, the Education and Culture Ministry launched, in July 2013, the 12-year compulsory education programme Universal Secondary Education (USE), to give equal access to education for young persons between 16 and 18 years.
The Committee notes the absence of information in this regard in the Government’s report. The Committee however observes that, according to UNESCO estimates of 2013, there were approximately 470,000 children out of school and that the primary to secondary transition rate was only 53.9 per cent. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it once again requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the NAP, the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the USE, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates for all children in order to protect them from the worst forms of child labour.
Clause (b). 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. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in the framework of the ILO–IPEC Project of Support for the preparatory phase of the Uganda national Action Plan for the elimination of child labour (ILO–IPEC–SNAP), a total of 8,733 children were effectively prevented and withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour. It noted that, in the framework of the NAP, the fifth implementation strategy concerns the withdrawal, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, including children in commercial sexual exploitation, in the informal economy, and in commercial agriculture. Noting the lack of information received on this matter, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who were effectively removed from the worst forms of child labour, particularly from commercial sexual exploitation and hazardous work in agriculture, and rehabilitated and socially integrated through the implementation of the NAP.

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The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments. The Committee informs the Government that, if it has not supplied replies to the points raised by 1 September 2022, then it may proceed with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal at its next session.
Repetition
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years of age for prostitution is prohibited, to impose criminal responsibility on clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 years of age who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders. The Committee noted that the Director of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions had indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2000 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution.
The Committee notes with satisfaction that section 8A of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 provides that a person shall not engage a child in any work or trade that exposes the child to activities of a sexual nature, whether remunerated or not. It notes that the perpetrator is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred currency points or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Clause (d). Hazardous types of work. Children working in mines. The Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF Situation analysis of 2015, the Karamoja region has a high incidence of child labour in hazardous mining conditions (page 13). The Committee also observes, from the UNICEF Annual Report of 2016, that 344 girls and 720 boys were removed from the worst forms of child labour, such as mining, as a result of the support of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to the strategic plan for the national child helpline. Moreover, the Committee notes that section 8 of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 prohibits hazardous work, and that the list of hazardous occupations and activities in which the employment of children is not permitted (first schedule of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012) includes the prohibition of children working in mining. The Committee notes with concern the situation of children working in mines under particularly hazardous conditions. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the effective application of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 and of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012, so as to prevent children under 18 years of age from working in mines, and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. 1. 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 noted that orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Uganda were recognized in both the Policy on orphans and other vulnerable children and the National Strategic Plan on OVCs. The Committee also noted that the policies and activities of the National Action Plan on Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Uganda 2013–17 (NAP) include orphans and HIV/AIDS affected persons in its target groups. However, noting with concern the large number of children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS, the Committee urged the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure that such children are protected from the worst forms of child labour.
The Committee notes the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report. The Committee however notes that, according to a report by the Uganda AIDS Commission, entitled: “The Uganda HIV and AIDS country progress report: July 2015–June 2016”, approximately 160,000 OVCs received social support services and a mapping of OVC actors was conducted, among other achievements. The Committee also notes that the Second National Development Plan 2015/16–2019/20 outlines two programmes to support OVCs: the SUNRISE–OVC (Strengthening the Ugandan National Response for Implementation of Services for OVCs), and the SCORE (Strengthening Community OVC Response). While taking due note of the strategic plans developed by the Government and the decrease in the number of OVCs, the Committee notes with concern that there are still approximately 660,000 HIV/AIDS orphans in Uganda, according to UNAIDS estimates for 2015. 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 strengthen 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, the National Strategic Plan on OVCs, the SUNRISE–OVC and the SCORE, and the results achieved.
2. Child domestic workers. The Committee previously noted that the list of hazardous occupations and activities prohibits the engagement of children under 18 years of age in several activities and hazardous tasks in the sector of domestic work. However, the Committee noted that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013, approximately 51,063 children, that is 10.07 per cent of the number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in hazardous work in Uganda, are domestic housekeepers, cleaners and helpers. In this regard, the Committee observed that domestic workers form a group targeted by the NAP, and requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers.
The Committee notes the absence of information from the Government in this regard. Recalling that children in domestic work are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous work, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers, particularly the number of child domestic workers engaged in hazardous work who have benefited from initiatives taken in this regard.
3. Refugee children. The Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF Uganda situation report of 31 May 2017, there are over 730,000 refugee children in Uganda, among more than 1.2 million refugees. The Committee also observes from the joint Updated regional framework for the protection of South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children (July 2015–June 2017), developed by UNHCR, UNICEF and NGOs, that South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children are subjected to child labour in Uganda (page 5). The Committee finally notes that a Uganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees took place in Kampala in June 2017 to showcase the Uganda model of refugee protection and management, to highlight the emergency and long-term needs of the refugees and to mobilize resources. While acknowledging the difficult refugee situation prevailing in the country and the efforts provided by the Government, the Committee strongly urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures as a matter of urgency to specifically protect refugee children from the worst forms of child labour and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.
The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.
The Committee expects that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.

CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes with concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.
Repetition
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes from the National Action Plan for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons in Uganda (NAP–PTIP), that Uganda is a source, transit and destination point for victims of trafficking in persons, including children. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s Annual Report on the trend of trafficking in persons in Uganda: 2013, 399 children were victims of internal trafficking and 80 children victims of transnational trafficking (paragraph 2.0). It also observes that the Crime Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) is the lead agency in the management of criminal reports related to trafficking in persons. In 2013, a total of 159 criminal cases related to trafficking in persons were registered by the police, including 33 taken to court and two convictions (paragraph 3.0(III)). The Committee requests the Government to continue to intensify its efforts to eliminate the trafficking of children and to take the necessary steps to ensure the thorough investigation and effective prosecution of all persons who engage in the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age and ensure that penalties constituting an effective deterrent are imposed in practice. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations conducted, prosecutions carried out and convictions obtained under the Trafficking in Persons Act.
Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously observed that there was not any legislative provisions specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that a draft bill on child pornography was being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office.
The Committee notes with interest that section 14 of the Anti-Pornography Act of 2014 duly prohibits the use, procuring and offering of a child for the production of pornography. It notes that a person who commits this offence is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 750 “currency points” (one currency point under the law is equivalent to 20,000 Uganda shilling (UGX), which amount to US$5) or imprisonment not exceeding 15 years or both. Moreover, the Committee takes note of section 8(A) prohibiting the use of children in pornographic performances or materials.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act.
The Committee notes, with interest, that the Coordination Office for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons was established in 2013 within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (NAP–PTIP, page 4). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office, in particular in the framework of the National Plan and with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of child victims of trafficking identified and protected.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013 (SLF–CAS), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 76.5 per cent, and the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is 28.8 per cent. The Committee observed that the enrolment at the primary education level seems to have decreased, while the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level still appear to indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school. In this regard, the Committee noted that one of the implementation strategies of the National Action Plan on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda (NAP) is to increase enrolment and completion of primary level education through several activities. Moreover, the Committee noted that Uganda was implementing, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, the project entitled “Combating child labour through education”, which aims to contribute to the elimination of child labour by enhancing access to education. It noted that, in the framework of this project, the Education and Culture Ministry launched, in July 2013, the 12-year compulsory education programme Universal Secondary Education (USE), to give equal access to education for young persons between 16 and 18 years.
The Committee notes the absence of information in this regard in the Government’s report. The Committee however observes that, according to UNESCO estimates of 2013, there were approximately 470,000 children out of school and that the primary to secondary transition rate was only 53.9 per cent. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it once again requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the NAP, the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the USE, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates for all children in order to protect them from the worst forms of child labour.
Clause (b). 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. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in the framework of the ILO–IPEC Project of Support for the preparatory phase of the Uganda national Action Plan for the elimination of child labour (ILO–IPEC–SNAP), a total of 8,733 children were effectively prevented and withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour. It noted that, in the framework of the NAP, the fifth implementation strategy concerns the withdrawal, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, including children in commercial sexual exploitation, in the informal economy, and in commercial agriculture. Noting the lack of information received on this matter, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who were effectively removed from the worst forms of child labour, particularly from commercial sexual exploitation and hazardous work in agriculture, and rehabilitated and socially integrated through the implementation of the NAP.

CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes with concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.
Repetition
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years of age for prostitution is prohibited, to impose criminal responsibility on clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 years of age who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders. The Committee noted that the Director of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions had indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2000 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution.
The Committee notes with satisfaction that section 8A of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 provides that a person shall not engage a child in any work or trade that exposes the child to activities of a sexual nature, whether remunerated or not. It notes that the perpetrator is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred currency points or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Clause (d). Hazardous types of work. Children working in mines. The Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF Situation analysis of 2015, the Karamoja region has a high incidence of child labour in hazardous mining conditions (page 13). The Committee also observes, from the UNICEF Annual Report of 2016, that 344 girls and 720 boys were removed from the worst forms of child labour, such as mining, as a result of the support of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to the strategic plan for the national child helpline. Moreover, the Committee notes that section 8 of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 prohibits hazardous work, and that the list of hazardous occupations and activities in which the employment of children is not permitted (first schedule of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012) includes the prohibition of children working in mining. The Committee notes with concern the situation of children working in mines under particularly hazardous conditions. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the effective application of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 and of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012, so as to prevent children under 18 years of age from working in mines, and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. 1. 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 noted that orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Uganda were recognized in both the Policy on orphans and other vulnerable children and the National Strategic Plan on OVCs. The Committee also noted that the policies and activities of the National Action Plan on Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Uganda 2013–17 (NAP) include orphans and HIV/AIDS affected persons in its target groups. However, noting with concern the large number of children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS, the Committee urged the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure that such children are protected from the worst forms of child labour.
The Committee notes the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report. The Committee however notes that, according to a report by the Uganda AIDS Commission, entitled: “The Uganda HIV and AIDS country progress report: July 2015–June 2016”, approximately 160,000 OVCs received social support services and a mapping of OVC actors was conducted, among other achievements. The Committee also notes that the Second National Development Plan 2015/16–2019/20 outlines two programmes to support OVCs: the SUNRISE–OVC (Strengthening the Ugandan National Response for Implementation of Services for OVCs), and the SCORE (Strengthening Community OVC Response). While taking due note of the strategic plans developed by the Government and the decrease in the number of OVCs, the Committee notes with concern that there are still approximately 660,000 HIV/AIDS orphans in Uganda, according to UNAIDS estimates for 2015. 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 strengthen 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, the National Strategic Plan on OVCs, the SUNRISE–OVC and the SCORE, and the results achieved.
2. Child domestic workers. The Committee previously noted that the list of hazardous occupations and activities prohibits the engagement of children under 18 years of age in several activities and hazardous tasks in the sector of domestic work. However, the Committee noted that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013, approximately 51,063 children, that is 10.07 per cent of the number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in hazardous work in Uganda, are domestic housekeepers, cleaners and helpers. In this regard, the Committee observed that domestic workers form a group targeted by the NAP, and requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers.
The Committee notes the absence of information from the Government in this regard. Recalling that children in domestic work are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous work, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers, particularly the number of child domestic workers engaged in hazardous work who have benefited from initiatives taken in this regard.
3. Refugee children. The Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF Uganda situation report of 31 May 2017, there are over 730,000 refugee children in Uganda, among more than 1.2 million refugees. The Committee also observes from the joint Updated regional framework for the protection of South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children (July 2015–June 2017), developed by UNHCR, UNICEF and NGOs, that South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children are subjected to child labour in Uganda (page 5). The Committee finally notes that a Uganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees took place in Kampala in June 2017 to showcase the Uganda model of refugee protection and management, to highlight the emergency and long-term needs of the refugees and to mobilize resources. While acknowledging the difficult refugee situation prevailing in the country and the efforts provided by the Government, the Committee strongly urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures as a matter of urgency to specifically protect refugee children from the worst forms of child labour and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.
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.

CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.
Repetition
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes from the National Action Plan for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons in Uganda (NAP–PTIP), that Uganda is a source, transit and destination point for victims of trafficking in persons, including children. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s Annual Report on the trend of trafficking in persons in Uganda: 2013, 399 children were victims of internal trafficking and 80 children victims of transnational trafficking (paragraph 2.0). It also observes that the Crime Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) is the lead agency in the management of criminal reports related to trafficking in persons. In 2013, a total of 159 criminal cases related to trafficking in persons were registered by the police, including 33 taken to court and two convictions (paragraph 3.0(III)). The Committee requests the Government to continue to intensify its efforts to eliminate the trafficking of children and to take the necessary steps to ensure the thorough investigation and effective prosecution of all persons who engage in the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age and ensure that penalties constituting an effective deterrent are imposed in practice. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations conducted, prosecutions carried out and convictions obtained under the Trafficking in Persons Act.
Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously observed that there was not any legislative provisions specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that a draft bill on child pornography was being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office.
The Committee notes with interest that section 14 of the Anti-Pornography Act of 2014 duly prohibits the use, procuring and offering of a child for the production of pornography. It notes that a person who commits this offence is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 750 “currency points” (one currency point under the law is equivalent to 20,000 Uganda shilling (UGX), which amount to US$5) or imprisonment not exceeding 15 years or both. Moreover, the Committee takes note of section 8(A) prohibiting the use of children in pornographic performances or materials.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act.
The Committee notes, with interest, that the Coordination Office for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons was established in 2013 within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (NAP–PTIP, page 4). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office, in particular in the framework of the National Plan and with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of child victims of trafficking identified and protected.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013 (SLF–CAS), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 76.5 per cent, and the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is 28.8 per cent. The Committee observed that the enrolment at the primary education level seems to have decreased, while the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level still appear to indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school. In this regard, the Committee noted that one of the implementation strategies of the National Action Plan on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda (NAP) is to increase enrolment and completion of primary level education through several activities. Moreover, the Committee noted that Uganda was implementing, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, the project entitled “Combating child labour through education”, which aims to contribute to the elimination of child labour by enhancing access to education. It noted that, in the framework of this project, the Education and Culture Ministry launched, in July 2013, the 12-year compulsory education programme Universal Secondary Education (USE), to give equal access to education for young persons between 16 and 18 years.
The Committee notes the absence of information in this regard in the Government’s report. The Committee however observes that, according to UNESCO estimates of 2013, there were approximately 470,000 children out of school and that the primary to secondary transition rate was only 53.9 per cent. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it once again requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the NAP, the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the USE, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates for all children in order to protect them from the worst forms of child labour.
Clause (b). 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. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in the framework of the ILO–IPEC Project of Support for the preparatory phase of the Uganda national Action Plan for the elimination of child labour (ILO–IPEC–SNAP), a total of 8,733 children were effectively prevented and withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour. It noted that, in the framework of the NAP, the fifth implementation strategy concerns the withdrawal, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, including children in commercial sexual exploitation, in the informal economy, and in commercial agriculture. Noting the lack of information received on this matter, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who were effectively removed from the worst forms of child labour, particularly from commercial sexual exploitation and hazardous work in agriculture, and rehabilitated and socially integrated through the implementation of the NAP.

CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.
Repetition
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years of age for prostitution is prohibited, to impose criminal responsibility on clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 years of age who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders. The Committee noted that the Director of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions had indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2000 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution.
The Committee notes with satisfaction that section 8A of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 provides that a person shall not engage a child in any work or trade that exposes the child to activities of a sexual nature, whether remunerated or not. It notes that the perpetrator is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred currency points or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Clause (d). Hazardous types of work. Children working in mines. The Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF Situation analysis of 2015, the Karamoja region has a high incidence of child labour in hazardous mining conditions (page 13). The Committee also observes, from the UNICEF Annual Report of 2016, that 344 girls and 720 boys were removed from the worst forms of child labour, such as mining, as a result of the support of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to the strategic plan for the national child helpline. Moreover, the Committee notes that section 8 of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 prohibits hazardous work, and that the list of hazardous occupations and activities in which the employment of children is not permitted (first schedule of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012) includes the prohibition of children working in mining. The Committee notes with concern the situation of children working in mines under particularly hazardous conditions. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the effective application of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 and of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012, so as to prevent children under 18 years of age from working in mines, and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. 1. 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 noted that orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Uganda were recognized in both the Policy on orphans and other vulnerable children and the National Strategic Plan on OVCs. The Committee also noted that the policies and activities of the National Action Plan on Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Uganda 2013–17 (NAP) include orphans and HIV/AIDS affected persons in its target groups. However, noting with concern the large number of children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS, the Committee urged the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure that such children are protected from the worst forms of child labour.
The Committee notes the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report. The Committee however notes that, according to a report by the Uganda AIDS Commission, entitled: “The Uganda HIV and AIDS country progress report: July 2015–June 2016”, approximately 160,000 OVCs received social support services and a mapping of OVC actors was conducted, among other achievements. The Committee also notes that the Second National Development Plan 2015/16–2019/20 outlines two programmes to support OVCs: the SUNRISE–OVC (Strengthening the Ugandan National Response for Implementation of Services for OVCs), and the SCORE (Strengthening Community OVC Response). While taking due note of the strategic plans developed by the Government and the decrease in the number of OVCs, the Committee notes with concern that there are still approximately 660,000 HIV/AIDS orphans in Uganda, according to UNAIDS estimates for 2015. 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 strengthen 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, the National Strategic Plan on OVCs, the SUNRISE–OVC and the SCORE, and the results achieved.
2. Child domestic workers. The Committee previously noted that the list of hazardous occupations and activities prohibits the engagement of children under 18 years of age in several activities and hazardous tasks in the sector of domestic work. However, the Committee noted that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013, approximately 51,063 children, that is 10.07 per cent of the number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in hazardous work in Uganda, are domestic housekeepers, cleaners and helpers. In this regard, the Committee observed that domestic workers form a group targeted by the NAP, and requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers.
The Committee notes the absence of information from the Government in this regard. Recalling that children in domestic work are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous work, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers, particularly the number of child domestic workers engaged in hazardous work who have benefited from initiatives taken in this regard.
3. Refugee children. The Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF Uganda situation report of 31 May 2017, there are over 730,000 refugee children in Uganda, among more than 1.2 million refugees. The Committee also observes from the joint Updated regional framework for the protection of South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children (July 2015–June 2017), developed by UNHCR, UNICEF and NGOs, that South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children are subjected to child labour in Uganda (page 5). The Committee finally notes that a Uganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees took place in Kampala in June 2017 to showcase the Uganda model of refugee protection and management, to highlight the emergency and long-term needs of the refugees and to mobilize resources. While acknowledging the difficult refugee situation prevailing in the country and the efforts provided by the Government, the Committee strongly urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures as a matter of urgency to specifically protect refugee children from the worst forms of child labour and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.
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.

CMNT_TITLE

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes from the National Action Plan for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons in Uganda (NAP–PTIP), that Uganda is a source, transit and destination point for victims of trafficking in persons, including children. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s Annual Report on the trend of trafficking in persons in Uganda: 2013, 399 children were victims of internal trafficking and 80 children victims of transnational trafficking (paragraph 2.0). It also observes that the Crime Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) is the lead agency in the management of criminal reports related to trafficking in persons. In 2013, a total of 159 criminal cases related to trafficking in persons were registered by the police, including 33 taken to court and two convictions (paragraph 3.0(III)). The Committee requests the Government to continue to intensify its efforts to eliminate the trafficking of children and to take the necessary steps to ensure the thorough investigation and effective prosecution of all persons who engage in the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age and ensure that penalties constituting an effective deterrent are imposed in practice. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations conducted, prosecutions carried out and convictions obtained under the Trafficking in Persons Act.
Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously observed that there was not any legislative provisions specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that a draft bill on child pornography was being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office.
The Committee notes with interest that section 14 of the Anti-Pornography Act of 2014 duly prohibits the use, procuring and offering of a child for the production of pornography. It notes that a person who commits this offence is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 750 “currency points” (one currency point under the law is equivalent to 20,000 Uganda shilling (UGX), which amount to US$5) or imprisonment not exceeding 15 years or both. Moreover, the Committee takes note of section 8(A) prohibiting the use of children in pornographic performances or materials.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act.
The Committee notes, with interest, that the Coordination Office for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons was established in 2013 within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (NAP–PTIP, page 4). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office, in particular in the framework of the National Plan and with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of child victims of trafficking identified and protected.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013 (SLF–CAS), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 76.5 per cent, and the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is 28.8 per cent. The Committee observed that the enrolment at the primary education level seems to have decreased, while the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level still appear to indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school. In this regard, the Committee noted that one of the implementation strategies of the National Action Plan on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda (NAP) is to increase enrolment and completion of primary level education through several activities. Moreover, the Committee noted that Uganda was implementing, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, the project entitled “Combating child labour through education”, which aims to contribute to the elimination of child labour by enhancing access to education. It noted that, in the framework of this project, the Education and Culture Ministry launched, in July 2013, the 12-year compulsory education programme Universal Secondary Education (USE), to give equal access to education for young persons between 16 and 18 years.
The Committee notes the absence of information in this regard in the Government’s report. The Committee however observes that, according to UNESCO estimates of 2013, there were approximately 470,000 children out of school and that the primary to secondary transition rate was only 53.9 per cent. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it once again requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the NAP, the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the USE, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates for all children in order to protect them from the worst forms of child labour.
Clause (b). 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. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in the framework of the ILO–IPEC Project of Support for the preparatory phase of the Uganda national Action Plan for the elimination of child labour (ILO–IPEC–SNAP), a total of 8,733 children were effectively prevented and withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour. It noted that, in the framework of the NAP, the fifth implementation strategy concerns the withdrawal, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, including children in commercial sexual exploitation, in the informal economy, and in commercial agriculture. Noting the lack of information received on this matter, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who were effectively removed from the worst forms of child labour, particularly from commercial sexual exploitation and hazardous work in agriculture, and rehabilitated and socially integrated through the implementation of the NAP.

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Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years of age for prostitution is prohibited, to impose criminal responsibility on clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 years of age who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders. The Committee noted that the Director of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions had indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2000 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution.
The Committee notes with satisfaction that section 8A of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 provides that a person shall not engage a child in any work or trade that exposes the child to activities of a sexual nature, whether remunerated or not. It notes that the perpetrator is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred currency points or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years.
Clause (d). Hazardous types of work. Children working in mines. The Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF Situation analysis of 2015, the Karamoja region has a high incidence of child labour in hazardous mining conditions (page 13). The Committee also observes, from the UNICEF Annual Report of 2016, that 344 girls and 720 boys were removed from the worst forms of child labour, such as mining, as a result of the support of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to the strategic plan for the national child helpline. Moreover, the Committee notes that section 8 of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 prohibits hazardous work, and that the list of hazardous occupations and activities in which the employment of children is not permitted (first schedule of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012) includes the prohibition of children working in mining. The Committee notes with concern the situation of children working in mines under particularly hazardous conditions. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the effective application of the Children’s (Amendment) Act of 2016 and of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2012, so as to prevent children under 18 years of age from working in mines, and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. 1. 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 noted that orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Uganda were recognized in both the Policy on orphans and other vulnerable children and the National Strategic Plan on OVCs. The Committee also noted that the policies and activities of the National Action Plan on Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Uganda 2013–17 (NAP) include orphans and HIV/AIDS affected persons in its target groups. However, noting with concern the large number of children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS, the Committee urged the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure that such children are protected from the worst forms of child labour.
The Committee notes the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report. The Committee however notes that, according to a report by the Uganda AIDS Commission, entitled: “The Uganda HIV and AIDS country progress report: July 2015–June 2016”, approximately 160,000 OVCs received social support services and a mapping of OVC actors was conducted, among other achievements. The Committee also notes that the Second National Development Plan 2015/16–2019/20 outlines two programmes to support OVCs: the SUNRISE–OVC (Strengthening the Ugandan National Response for Implementation of Services for OVCs), and the SCORE (Strengthening Community OVC Response). While taking due note of the strategic plans developed by the Government and the decrease in the number of OVCs, the Committee notes with concern that there are still approximately 660,000 HIV/AIDS orphans in Uganda, according to UNAIDS estimates for 2015. 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 strengthen 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, the National Strategic Plan on OVCs, the SUNRISE–OVC and the SCORE, and the results achieved.
2. Child domestic workers. The Committee previously noted that the list of hazardous occupations and activities prohibits the engagement of children under 18 years of age in several activities and hazardous tasks in the sector of domestic work. However, the Committee noted that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013, approximately 51,063 children, that is 10.07 per cent of the number of children aged 5–17 years engaged in hazardous work in Uganda, are domestic housekeepers, cleaners and helpers. In this regard, the Committee observed that domestic workers form a group targeted by the NAP, and requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers.
The Committee notes the absence of information from the Government in this regard. Recalling that children in domestic work are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous work, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers, particularly the number of child domestic workers engaged in hazardous work who have benefited from initiatives taken in this regard.
3. Refugee children. The Committee observes that, according to the UNICEF Uganda situation report of 31 May 2017, there are over 730,000 refugee children in Uganda, among more than 1.2 million refugees. The Committee also observes from the joint Updated regional framework for the protection of South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children (July 2015–June 2017), developed by UNHCR, UNICEF and NGOs, that South Sudanese and Sudanese refugee children are subjected to child labour in Uganda (page 5). The Committee finally notes that a Uganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees took place in Kampala in June 2017 to showcase the Uganda model of refugee protection and management, to highlight the emergency and long-term needs of the refugees and to mobilize resources. While acknowledging the difficult refugee situation prevailing in the country and the efforts provided by the Government, the Committee strongly urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures as a matter of urgency to specifically protect refugee children from the worst forms of child labour and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.
The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

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The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.
Repetition
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). 1. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously observed that only the procuring and offering of women and girls for prostitution appeared to be prohibited in the Penal Code. It also observed that, by virtue of section 139 of the Penal Code, anyone who practises or engages in prostitution as well as intermediaries involved in prostitution commit an offence, while clients did not appear to be penalized. The Committee therefore requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years for prostitution is prohibited, to criminalize clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 years who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders. The Committee noted that the Principal State Attorney from the Directorate of Legal Advisory Services of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs indicated that the legal gaps between national criminal legislation and the Convention would be looked into during the ongoing legislative review of the Penal Code. Furthermore, the Director of Public Prosecutions from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2001 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution.
Noting the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee once again expresses the firm hope that the revision of the Penal Code and of the Children’s Act will take into account the outstanding comments of the Committee. It once again requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the amendments to those laws are adopted, as a matter of urgency, in conformity with Article 3(b) of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard in its next report.
2. Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously observed that there did not appear to be any legislative provisions specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that a draft Bill on child pornography was being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office. Noting the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the draft Bill on child pornography effectively prohibits the use, procuring or offering of both boys and girls under 18 years of age by anyone for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, and provides for effective and sufficiently dissuasive penalties. It once again requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that this Bill is adopted as a matter of urgency, and requests it to provide information on the progress made in this regard.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in establishing the office responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of the Trafficking in Persons Act. It also requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office once it is established, in particular with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of child victims of trafficking identified and protected.
Article 6. Programmes of action. National Action Plan for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that, with the collaboration of ILO–IPEC through the Project of Support for the preparatory phase of the Uganda National Action Plan for the elimination of child labour (ILO–IPEC–SNAP), the National Action Plan (NAP) for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda was launched in June 2012 for implementation until 2016–17. The goal of the NAP is to reduce the magnitude of the worst forms of child labour by 2017, through six strategic objectives: increased enrolment and completion of primary education; increased access to social protection and assistance to households; increased public awareness and mobilization; strengthened legal, policy and institutional framework; withdrawal, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in the worst forms of child labour; and enhanced tripartism. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted that the implementation of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) increased the enrolment of children in primary school. Moreover, in order to ensure that children do not stop their schooling after primary education, a universal programme for free secondary education was implemented. In this regard, the Committee noted that, according to the annual school census of 2008, published on the website of the Ministry of Education and Sports (www.education.go.ug), the net enrolment ratio in primary education was 95 per cent (97 per cent for boys and 93 per cent for girls). However, the Committee observed that, according to the same source, the net enrolment ratio in secondary education was of only 23.5 per cent (25.2 per cent for boys and 21.9 per cent for girls).
The Committee notes that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013 (SLF–CAS), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 76.5 per cent (75.2 per cent for boys and 77.8 per cent for girls), and the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is 28.8 per cent (26.9 per cent for boys and 30.7 per cent for girls). The Committee therefore observes that the enrolment at the primary education level seems to have decreased, while the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level still appear to indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school.
In this regard, the Committee notes that one of the implementation strategies of the NAP is to increase enrolment and completion of primary level education through several activities, including providing the necessary learning materials for school, recruiting more teachers, and improving the infrastructure to increase access to education for targeted children. Moreover, the Committee notes that Uganda is implementing, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, the project entitled “Combating child labour through education”, which aims to contribute to the elimination of child labour by enhancing access to education. It notes that, in the framework of this project, the Education and Culture Ministry launched, in July 2013, the 12-year compulsory education programme Universal Secondary Education (USE), to give equal access to education for young persons between 16 and 18 years. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the NAP, the UPE and the USE, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates for all children in order to protect them from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.
Clause (b). 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. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that, in the framework of the ILO–IPEC–SNAP project, a total of 8,733 children were effectively prevented and withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour. It notes that, in the framework of the NAP, the fifth implementation strategy concerns the withdrawal, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, including children in commercial sexual exploitation, in the informal economy, and in commercial agriculture. The aim is to create good practice models for child labour free zones that can be scaled up throughout the country. In this regard, the Committee observes that the activities planned include developing guidelines for identification of the worst forms of child labour in key sectors and mechanisms for the withdrawal of children from these worst forms; reuniting and resettling rehabilitated children with their families and communities; identifying service providers and referring affected children; and providing resettlement packages to children withdrawn from child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who were effectively removed from the worst forms of child labour, particularly from commercial sexual exploitation and hazardous work in agriculture, and rehabilitated and socially integrated through the implementation of the NAP.
Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. Child domestic workers. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the list of hazardous occupations and activities in the First Schedule of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2011 prohibits the engagement of children under 18 years in several activities and hazardous tasks in the sector of domestic work. However, the Committee notes that, according to the SLF–CAS, approximately 51,063 children, that is 10.07 per cent of the number of children aged five to 17 years engaged in hazardous work in Uganda, are domestic housekeepers, cleaners and helpers. In this regard, the Committee observes that domestic workers form a group targeted by the action of the NAP. Recalling that children in domestic work are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous work, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers, particularly the number of child domestic workers engaged in hazardous work who have benefited from initiatives taken in this regard.
Application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that, in collaboration with the ILO–IPEC–SIMPOC, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics conducted the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013. According to this survey, a total of 2.009 million children aged 5–17 years were in child labour (approximately 16 per cent of all children), including 307,300 aged 14–17 in hazardous work or working excessive hours (183,300 boys and 124,000 girls). A total of 507,000 children aged 5–17 years were found in hazardous work (25 per cent of the children in child labour): 170,000 (33.5 per cent) were working long hours; 80,600 (15.9 per cent) were performing night work; and 256,000 (50.6 per cent) were in conditional hazardous work, that is in industries and/or occupations gazetted as hazardous. In this regard, the survey reveals that the majority of children in conditional hazardous work were livestock and dairy workers (23.2 per cent). Another 19.9 per cent were domestic workers; 15.9 per cent were builders and construction workers; 12.3 per cent involved in the growing of rice; 7.1 per cent were working in restaurants; 4.9 per cent were potters and brick making workers; 4.6 per cent were in mining and quarrying; and 12.1 per cent in other sectors. The Committee also notes that one in every four working children (25.5 per cent) carried heavy loads at their workplaces.
While welcoming the several measures taken by the Government towards the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda, the Committee must express its serious concern at the number of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, in particular hazardous work, and working excessive hours in Uganda. The Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to improve the situation and ensure the effective enforcement of the Convention in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.

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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.

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Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). 1. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously observed that only the procuring and offering of women and girls for prostitution appeared to be prohibited in the Penal Code. It also observed that, by virtue of section 139 of the Penal Code, anyone who practises or engages in prostitution as well as intermediaries involved in prostitution commit an offence, while clients did not appear to be penalized. The Committee therefore requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years for prostitution is prohibited, to criminalize clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 years who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders. The Committee noted that the Principal State Attorney from the Directorate of Legal Advisory Services of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs indicated that the legal gaps between national criminal legislation and the Convention would be looked into during the ongoing legislative review of the Penal Code. Furthermore, the Director of Public Prosecutions from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2001 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution.
Noting the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee once again expresses the firm hope that the revision of the Penal Code and of the Children’s Act will take into account the outstanding comments of the Committee. It once again requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the amendments to those laws are adopted, as a matter of urgency, in conformity with Article 3(b) of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard in its next report.
2. Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously observed that there did not appear to be any legislative provisions specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that a draft Bill on child pornography was being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office. Noting the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the draft Bill on child pornography effectively prohibits the use, procuring or offering of both boys and girls under 18 years of age by anyone for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, and provides for effective and sufficiently dissuasive penalties. It once again requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that this Bill is adopted as a matter of urgency, and requests it to provide information on the progress made in this regard.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in establishing the office responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of the Trafficking in Persons Act. It also requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office once it is established, in particular with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of child victims of trafficking identified and protected.
Article 6. Programmes of action. National Action Plan for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that, with the collaboration of ILO–IPEC through the Project of Support for the preparatory phase of the Uganda National Action Plan for the elimination of child labour (ILO–IPEC–SNAP), the National Action Plan (NAP) for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda was launched in June 2012 for implementation until 2016–17. The goal of the NAP is to reduce the magnitude of the worst forms of child labour by 2017, through six strategic objectives: increased enrolment and completion of primary education; increased access to social protection and assistance to households; increased public awareness and mobilization; strengthened legal, policy and institutional framework; withdrawal, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in the worst forms of child labour; and enhanced tripartism. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted that the implementation of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) increased the enrolment of children in primary school. Moreover, in order to ensure that children do not stop their schooling after primary education, a universal programme for free secondary education was implemented. In this regard, the Committee noted that, according to the annual school census of 2008, published on the website of the Ministry of Education and Sports (www.education.go.ug), the net enrolment ratio in primary education was 95 per cent (97 per cent for boys and 93 per cent for girls). However, the Committee observed that, according to the same source, the net enrolment ratio in secondary education was of only 23.5 per cent (25.2 per cent for boys and 21.9 per cent for girls).
The Committee notes that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013 (SLF–CAS), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 76.5 per cent (75.2 per cent for boys and 77.8 per cent for girls), and the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is 28.8 per cent (26.9 per cent for boys and 30.7 per cent for girls). The Committee therefore observes that the enrolment at the primary education level seems to have decreased, while the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level still appear to indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school.
In this regard, the Committee notes that one of the implementation strategies of the NAP is to increase enrolment and completion of primary level education through several activities, including providing the necessary learning materials for school, recruiting more teachers, and improving the infrastructure to increase access to education for targeted children. Moreover, the Committee notes that Uganda is implementing, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, the project entitled “Combating child labour through education”, which aims to contribute to the elimination of child labour by enhancing access to education. It notes that, in the framework of this project, the Education and Culture Ministry launched, in July 2013, the 12-year compulsory education programme Universal Secondary Education (USE), to give equal access to education for young persons between 16 and 18 years. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the NAP, the UPE and the USE, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates for all children in order to protect them from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.
Clause (b). 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. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that, in the framework of the ILO–IPEC–SNAP project, a total of 8,733 children were effectively prevented and withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour. It notes that, in the framework of the NAP, the fifth implementation strategy concerns the withdrawal, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, including children in commercial sexual exploitation, in the informal economy, and in commercial agriculture. The aim is to create good practice models for child labour free zones that can be scaled up throughout the country. In this regard, the Committee observes that the activities planned include developing guidelines for identification of the worst forms of child labour in key sectors and mechanisms for the withdrawal of children from these worst forms; reuniting and resettling rehabilitated children with their families and communities; identifying service providers and referring affected children; and providing resettlement packages to children withdrawn from child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who were effectively removed from the worst forms of child labour, particularly from commercial sexual exploitation and hazardous work in agriculture, and rehabilitated and socially integrated through the implementation of the NAP.
Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. Child domestic workers. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the list of hazardous occupations and activities in the First Schedule of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2011 prohibits the engagement of children under 18 years in several activities and hazardous tasks in the sector of domestic work. However, the Committee notes that, according to the SLF–CAS, approximately 51,063 children, that is 10.07 per cent of the number of children aged five to 17 years engaged in hazardous work in Uganda, are domestic housekeepers, cleaners and helpers. In this regard, the Committee observes that domestic workers form a group targeted by the action of the NAP. Recalling that children in domestic work are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous work, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers, particularly the number of child domestic workers engaged in hazardous work who have benefited from initiatives taken in this regard.
Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that, in collaboration with the ILO–IPEC–SIMPOC, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics conducted the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013. According to this survey, a total of 2.009 million children aged 5–17 years were in child labour (approximately 16 per cent of all children), including 307,300 aged 14–17 in hazardous work or working excessive hours (183,300 boys and 124,000 girls). A total of 507,000 children aged 5–17 years were found in hazardous work (25 per cent of the children in child labour): 170,000 (33.5 per cent) were working long hours; 80,600 (15.9 per cent) were performing night work; and 256,000 (50.6 per cent) were in conditional hazardous work, that is in industries and/or occupations gazetted as hazardous. In this regard, the survey reveals that the majority of children in conditional hazardous work were livestock and dairy workers (23.2 per cent). Another 19.9 per cent were domestic workers; 15.9 per cent were builders and construction workers; 12.3 per cent involved in the growing of rice; 7.1 per cent were working in restaurants; 4.9 per cent were potters and brick making workers; 4.6 per cent were in mining and quarrying; and 12.1 per cent in other sectors. The Committee also notes that one in every four working children (25.5 per cent) carried heavy loads at their workplaces.
While welcoming the several measures taken by the Government towards the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda, the Committee must express its serious concern at the number of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, in particular hazardous work, and working excessive hours in Uganda. The Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to improve the situation and ensure the effective enforcement of the Convention in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.

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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 4(1). Determination of hazardous work. In its previous comments, the Committee urged the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children under 18 years was adopted as a matter of urgency.
The Committee notes with satisfaction that the Employment of Children Regulations, adopted in 2011, contain the list of hazardous activities prohibited to children under 18 years of age. It observes that this list includes occupations in a variety of sectors, such as agriculture (harvesting and marketing of tobacco or tea, preparing the land of rice plantations, maize milling, fishing); construction (building and roadwork), mining (sand harvesting and stone crushing); domestic work (cooking with fire, child minding, laundry work); the urban informal economy (market and street activities, motor garages and carpentry workshops); and in entertainment (waitressing and attending in hotels, bars, restaurants or casinos).
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 points in a request addressed directly to the Government.

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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:
Repetition
The Committee took note of the report of the Technical Advisory Mission (the Mission) on Child Labour Issues that was carried out in Uganda in July 2009.
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). 1. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee had previously noted that section 131 of the Penal Code states that anyone who procures any woman or girl to become a prostitute commits an offence. Sections 136 and 137 respectively punish anyone who lives on earnings of prostitution and anyone who keeps brothels. The Committee had observed that only the procuring and offering of women and girls for prostitution appear to be prohibited in the Penal Code. It had also observed that, by virtue of section 139 of the Penal Code, anyone who practises or engages in prostitution as well as intermediaries involved in prostitution commit an offence, while clients do not appear to be penalized. The Committee had therefore requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years for prostitution is prohibited, to criminalize clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders.
The Committee noted that the Principal State Attorney from the Directorate of Legal Advisory Services of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs informed the Mission that the legal gaps between national criminal legislation and the Convention would be looked into during the ongoing legislative review of the Penal Code. Furthermore, the Director of Public Prosecutions from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2001 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the revision of the Penal Code and of the Children’s Act will take into account the outstanding comments of the Committee. It requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the amendments to those laws are adopted, as a matter of urgency, in conformity with Article 3(b) of the Convention.
2. Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic purposes. The Committee had previously noted that section 166 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who, for the purposes of distribution, makes, produces, imports, exports, takes part in any business related to, advertises, any obscene writings, drawings, prints, paintings, photographs, cinematographic films or any other obscene objects. The Committee had observed that there do not appear to be any provisions in the relevant legislation specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions informed the Mission that a draft Bill on child pornography is being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the draft Bill on child pornography effectively prohibits the use, procuring or offering of both boys and girls under 18 years of age by anyone for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, and provides for effective and sufficiently dissuasive penalties. It requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that this Bill is adopted as a matter of urgency, and requests it to provide information on the progress made in this regard.
Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee once again noted the lack of information on this subject. It once again requests the Government to indicate whether a legal provision exists which prohibits the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, with its next report.
Article 4(1). Determination of hazardous work. Following its previous comments, the Committee noted that the mission indicated that, pursuant to sections 2, 32(4) and 32(5) of the Employment Act of 2006, the list of types of hazardous work to be prohibited to persons below 18 was drafted in consultation with the social partners. It noted that, according to the technical progress report (TPR) of 1 September 2009 for the ILO–IPEC project of support for the preparatory phase of the Ugandan National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO/IPEC SNAP Uganda project), the draft hazardous list has been revised and approved during the top management meeting of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) in May 2009, and that it will be gazetted after the drafting of an extra paragraph on light work.
However, the Committee noted that, during its time in Uganda, the Mission observed that the regulations necessary to implement and the newly enacted laws in Uganda, including the Employment Act of 2006, were not being adopted or issued, partly due to the fact that the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) had not met for three years and that the adoption of regulations fell within the purview of the terms of reference of the LAB. The Mission considered that the credibility of these newly enacted laws was at stake if they could not be implemented. In this regard, in a tripartite meeting held with representatives of relevant ministries and employers’ and workers’ representatives, the Acting Commissioner for Labour Industrial Relations and Productivity in the MGLSD acknowledged that the issue of adopting regulations in order to be able to implement the new laws was urgent. The Committee urges the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children under 18 is adopted, as a matter of urgency. In this regard, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to reactivate the LAB in full consultation with the social partners. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard with its next report.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. Labour inspection. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that the designated labour inspectors/officers carry out inspections in workplaces. However, in its previous comment under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the Committee had noted the Government’s statement that appropriate mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention were inadequate. In this respect, the Committee had referred to the comments made by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards at the International Labour Conference in June 2008, where the case of Uganda concerning the application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), was discussed. The Conference Committee recalled that it had been urging the Government for many years to take measures to reverse the phenomenon of the continued deterioration of the labour inspectorate, which had aggravated following the decentralization of the inspection function to the district level.
The Committee noted the Mission’s indication that there are approximately 23 labour inspectors in the agricultural sector, which is the main employer in Uganda, to monitor the application of the relevant regulations, in particular the occupational safety and health component. When labour inspectors find persons working in violation of the regulations in place, warnings are issued and the licence withdrawn the following year. However, the Mission report indicates that these inspections are sporadic and not institutionalized. In this regard, the Committee noted that, at the tripartite meeting held with representatives of relevant ministries and employers’ and workers’ representatives, the Acting Commissioner for Labour Industrial Relations and Productivity in the MGLSD indicated to the mission that having heard the feedback from the Mission on the labour inspection function on child labour issues in agriculture, she felt that there was definitely a window of opportunity for collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the MGLSD. She also agreed that the labour inspectorate needed to be reinforced so as to be able to detect child labour violations. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the inspection system pursuant to its above comments in order to enable the labour inspectors to monitor the effective implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention. In this regard, it strongly encourages the Government to initiate collaboration between Ministry of Agriculture and the MGLSD. It also once again requests the Government to provide information on the labour inspections carried out by the labour inspectorate and on the number and nature of violations detected involving children in all sectors where the worst forms of child labour exist and, in particular, in the agricultural sector.
2. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that there was a need for training and awareness-raising of public officials, such as labour inspectors, the police, the immigration service, the judiciary services, as well as employers and workers, in combating the trafficking of children. The Committee noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in establishing the office responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of the Trafficking in Persons Act. It also requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office once it is established, in particular with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years for labour or commercial sexual exploitation.
Article 6. Programmes of action. National plan of action to eliminate child labour and the national child labour policy. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that a National Programme of Action to Eliminate Child Labour in Uganda (NPA) was launched in 1999 in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, lasting until 2004. The Committee, in its comments under the Minimum Age Convention (No. 138), in 2008, had also noted the Government’s information that a national policy on child labour (NCLP), designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and progressively raise the minimum age for admission to employment or work, was adopted in 2006. It had further noted that the Government was cooperating with ILO–IPEC in the elaboration of a national action plan (NAP) in order to implement the NCLP.
The Committee noted that, in its report, the Mission expressed concern that a NAP for the elimination of child labour had yet to be developed to implement the NCLP. In this regard, the Committee noted that the technical progress report (TPR) of 1 September 2009 for the ILO/IPEC project of support for the preparatory phase of the Ugandan National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project) indicates that many activities were undertaken to get the process for the NAP started again, including a meeting organized on 2 July 2009 to reinforce the task force. A workshop will also be organized in Addis Ababa in November 2009 where Uganda’s tripartite partners will be invited to validate the NAP and mainstreaming guidelines. The Committee noted that the target date for the NAP to be adopted and operational is March to August 2012. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the NAP for the elimination of child labour is validated and adopted by the targeted date. It requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. The Committee had previously noted that, in 1997, universal primary education (UPE) was declared, which provides access to free basic education to children. As a result of the UPE, the primary school pupil population increased from 2.6 million in 1996 to 4.8 million and to more than 6.8 million children in 2007. However, the Committee had noted the Government’s information that not all children currently have access to primary and secondary education. The categories that have difficulties in gaining access to education include: street children, children from semi-nomadic populations, physically and mentally challenged children, juvenile offenders, children from geographically marginalized populations, domestic workers, working children, orphans, girls, children affected by armed conflict as refugees, internally displaced and abducted children. According to the UPE policy, priority must be given to children with special needs.
The Committee noted from the Mission report that the implementation of the UPE has further increased the enrolment of children in primary school: in 2008, 7.5 million children were enrolled in primary education (93 per cent). Moreover, in order to ensure that children do not stop their schooling after primary education, a universal programme for free secondary education has been implemented. In this regard, the Committee noted that, according to the annual school census of 2008, published on the web site of the Ministry of Education and Sports (www.education.go.ug), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 95 per cent (97 per cent for boys and 93 per cent for girls). However, the Committee observes that, according to the same source, the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is of only 23.5 per cent (25.2 per cent for boys and 21.9 per cent for girls).
The Committee took due note of the measures taken by the Government with regard to education. It observed, however, that the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level, in comparison with the primary school enrolment rates, indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the UPE and the universal programme for free secondary education, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates, in particular for those categories of children who have been identified by the Government as having difficulties in gaining access to education. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.
Clause (b). 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. 1. Commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the report of the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network, supplied by the Government, the Government was starting to develop an action plan on child sexual abuse and exploitation. According to the same source, the Slum Aid Project (slums of Katanga and Katwe) is aimed at empowering and rehabilitating child sex workers. Moreover, the Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL) addresses the prevention and rehabilitation of children involved in prostitution. The Committee had further noted that, according to the Government’s written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (13 September 2005, CRC/C/65/Add.33, paragraph 20), organizations like UYDEL have undertaken interventions in order to identify children and withdraw them from prostitution and other forms of sexual abuse: 1,375 children had received medical treatment; 1,560 children had received psychological counselling; 161 children were returned to school. The Committee noted that, according to the Mission report, UYDEL has removed more children from commercial sexual exploitation and rehabilitated them in a school built with the assistance of the Japanese Government. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on any developments with regard to the adoption of the action plan on child sexual abuse and exploitation. It also once again requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children who have been removed from commercial sexual exploitation and rehabilitated.
2. Hazardous child labour in the agricultural sector (sugar, tea, coffee, tobacco and rice sectors). The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that a number of action programmes were undertaken by different stakeholders under the NPA to address the worst forms of child labour in commercial agriculture, namely work in sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice farms. The Committee noted that, according to the TPR of 1 September 2009 of the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project, it is intended that, by the end of the project, a multidisciplinary and integrated area-based model of intervention laying the foundation for the establishment of “child labour free zones” at the district level will be created and available for replication throughout the country. In this regard, 2,712 children under 18 years of age should be withdrawn from selected worst forms of child labour. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children who have effectively been removed from working in the agricultural sector (sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice sectors) and rehabilitated through the programmes undertaken under the NPA. It further requests the Government to provide information on the progress made within the framework of the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project with regard to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, in particular the number of children withdrawn from working in the agricultural sector.
Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. 1. Child domestic workers. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that child domestic work is one of the worst forms of child labour targeted by the NPA. It had also noted that a number of action programmes had been launched, at the national and interregional levels, aimed at preventing (especially through education and training), withdrawing and rehabilitating children engaged in domestic work in various districts (Toror, Lira, Busia, Kampala, Wakiso, Mpigi, Rakai). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the action programmes targeting child domestic workers and the results achieved.
2. Street children. The Committee had previously noted that an action programme was launched in 2004 in order to prevent and withdraw children from hazardous street activities. The Committee noted that, according to the Ministerial Policy Statement for the MGLSD of 2009/10, in 2006–07, the MGLSD identified, withdrew, rehabilitated, resettled and supported 1,136 street children and their mothers. It further noted that, according to the Mission report, street children have benefited from a programme of non-formal education called the Basic Education for Poor Areas (BEPUA). The Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that children under 18 years working on the streets are protected from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests it to provide information on the number of street children who were effectively prevented or withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour through the implementation of the abovementioned measures.
3. Orphans and vulnerable children. The Committee had 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 had further noted the Government’s information that it adopted the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) policy in order to provide care, support and protection to orphans and other vulnerable children.
The Committee noted that, according to the joint ILO–IPEC, UNICEF and World Bank report on understanding children’s work in Uganda of August 2008 (UCW report), a large proportion of Ugandan children must grow up in the absence of one or both biological parents. In all, nearly 8 per cent of children aged 7–14 years, 0.5 million in absolute terms, are either “single” (one parent deceased) orphans and about five per cent, 300,000 in absolute terms, are “double” (both parents deceased) orphans. The child orphan phenomenon is closely linked to the HIV/AIDS crisis. The UCW further indicates that rates of economic activity are higher among double orphans, as well as paternal and particularly maternal orphans, compared to children living with both parents.
The Committee noted that, in the context of the final TPR of 10 December 2008 for the ILO–IPEC project to combat and prevent HIV/AIDS-induced child labour in sub-Saharan Africa, this project has permitted the prevention of 1,486 children at risk of becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour and withdrawn 1,456 children from such worst forms. Furthermore, the TPR indicates that the project has mainstreamed HIV/AIDS in the NCLP and that the issue of child labour has been mainstreamed into the joint United Nations response on HIV/AIDS (JUNTA). The Committee further noted that, according to the TPR of 1 September 2009 for the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project, a consultant has been recruited to study the OVC, child labour policies and NAPs to identify gaps or contradictions and suggest where synergies can be built. This is a joint initiative between UNICEF, the MGLSD, ILO–IPEC and JUNTA, and is actually a first step towards strengthening the National Strategic Programme Plan of Interventions (NSPPI) for OVC. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee expressed concern at the number of child orphaned because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Uganda and at risk of becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It therefore requests the Government to redouble its efforts to ensure that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children are prevented from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the results obtained, in particular through the implementation of the NSPPI for OVC.
Article 8. Poverty reduction programme. The Committee had previously noted that the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) 2004–5 to 2007–8 had been developed to eliminate mass poverty that perpetuates child labour. The Committee noted that, according to the report on education needs assessment for northern Uganda of February 2008 prepared by the Education Planning Department, in view of the magnitude of the problems that still exist in the north of Uganda as a consequence of the civil conflict, the need for the development of a strategy to overcome the deprivation and underdevelopment in that region resulted in the formulation of the National Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP). The PRDP is an overarching, multi-sectoral response which broadly sets forth a reconstruction and development roadmap that is to be followed by all the relevant sectors of government and development agencies. The PRDP is anchored to the PEAP and also incorporates Millennium Development Goals. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the vicious circle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any significant impact of the PEAP and the PRDP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, in particular in the agricultural sector.
Parts IV and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that child labour in Uganda prevails in various sectors, including: the informal sector, street activities, domestic service, the agricultural sector, fishing, construction and commercial sex. It had also noted the Government’s statement that the Uganda Bureau of Statistics has been created as a semi-autonomous organization responsible for developing statistics in the country (the Labour Force Survey 2003).
The Committee noted that, according to the UCW report, 17.3 per cent of children aged 5–17 years are engaged in child labour (1,764,451 children), while 4.8 per cent of children aged 14–17 years (115,900 children) are engaged in hazardous work or working excessive hours. The report indicates that while most working children are concentrated in the range of ten to 15 hours per week, there is also a significant proportion of children performing exceptionally long working hours, i.e. 30 or more hours per week. In absolute terms, 1.2 million children aged 7–11 years, 1,1 million children aged 12–14 years and 870,000 children aged 15–17 years work at least 30 hours per week. These are among the worst off working children, as their responsibilities completely preclude their rights to schooling, study, leisure and adequate rest. Expressing its serious concern at the number of children involved in the worst forms of child labour and working excessive hours in Uganda, the Committee requests the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the situation and ensure the effective enforcement of the Convention in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.

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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:
Repetition
The Committee took note of the report of the Technical Advisory Mission (the Mission) on Child Labour Issues that was carried out in Uganda in July 2009.
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. 1. Abductions and the exaction of forced labour. The Committee had previously noted that article 25:1 of the Constitution of Uganda stipulates that no person shall be held in slavery or servitude and that section 25:2 states that no person shall be required to perform forced labour. It had noted that the Penal Code punishes as offences abduction (section 126); detention with sexual intent (section 134); and abduction for the purpose of reducing to slavery (section 245). Moreover, section 5 of the Employment Act of 2006 states that anyone who uses or assists any other person in using forced or compulsory labour commits an offence. Finally, section 252 of the Penal Code provides that any person who unlawfully compels any other to labour against their will commits a misdemeanour.
However, in its previous comments under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), the Committee had noted that the armed group Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abducted children of both sexes, forcing them to provide work and services as concubines, these alleged activities being associated with the killings, beatings and rape of these children. The Committee had noted that, according to the report of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Uganda of 7 May 2007 (Secretary-General’s report of 2007) (S/2007/260, paragraph 10), the figures from 2005 suggested that as many as 25,000 children may have been abducted since the onset of the conflict in northern Uganda in Kitgum and Gulu districts. However, the total number of abductions had significantly reduced since its peak in 2004. The total number of abductions in January 2005 was estimated to be approximately 1,500, significantly reducing to 222 over the first six months of 2006. Since September 2006, there had been no confirmed reports on the abduction of children in Uganda by the LRA. Moreover, the peace talks between the Government of Uganda and the LRA had officially opened on 14 July 2006 and the parties had signed a formal cessation of hostilities agreement in August 2006, which was extended until 30 June 2007. It was initially expected that the prospects of the signing of a peace agreement would mean a potentially significant increase in the number of children released by the LRA. However, despite repeated pleas by various stakeholders, the LRA had not released children from its ranks.
The Committee 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). The Committee on the Rights of the Child was further concerned over the inhuman and degrading treatment of the abducted children. Moreover, the Committee noted that, according to the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Uganda of 15 September 2009 (Secretary-General’s report of 2009), the LRA has not knowingly operated in Ugandan territory since the cessation of hostilities in August 2006. Over the past four years, however, the LRA, including a substantial but unknown number of Ugandan children associated with its forces, has increasingly moved into neighbouring countries to establish additional bases; and children and their communities in the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic have been the victims of attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives and resulted in the disappearance of hundreds of children. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 233 abductions of children by the LRA were documented by child protection partners between 1 December 2008 and 30 June 2009. The Secretary-General further indicates that efforts to sign a Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the LRA failed and, as a result, the LRA has increasingly become a regional actor. Since December 2008, LRA elements, operating in small groups, reportedly conducted attacks against several localities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing civilians, burning houses and abducting children and adults. In total, it is estimated that more than 1,000 civilians have been killed and several hundred abducted by the LRA since it increased its violent activities in 2008.
The Committee therefore once again expressed its deep concern at the situation of children abducted by the LRA and forced to provide work and services as informants, porters, hostages, as well as becoming victims of sexual exploitation and violence. It observed that, although national legislation appears to prohibit abductions and the exaction of forced labour, this remains a serious issue of concern in practice, in particular in the context of renewed violence and conflict. In this regard, the Committee once again recalled that, by virtue of Article 3(a) of the Convention, the exaction of forced labour from children is considered as one of the worst forms of child labour and that, by virtue of Article 1 of the Convention, member States are required to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee strongly urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to eradicate abductions and the exaction of forced labour from children under 18 years, as a matter of urgency. In this regard, it requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of offenders are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed in practice. It also urges the Government to take measures to cooperate with the neighbouring countries and accordingly reinforce security measures, particularly on the common borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Sudan, with a view to bringing an end to this worst form of child labour.
2. Compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 (paragraph 5), Uganda is among the countries where parties to armed conflicts – the Ugandan People Defence Force (UPDF), the local defence units and the LRA – recruited or used children and were responsible for other grave violations. According to this report, it was estimated that, notwithstanding various peace agreements, up to 2,000 women and children may still have been held by the LRA within its ranks and had not been released. Regarding children recruited by the national military forces, the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 indicated that the UPDF recruited young boys to serve in its armed forces, especially within the local defence units, which are UPDF auxiliary forces. The report of 2007 also indicated that during recruitment, age verification was rarely carried out. After training, many of these children were said to be fighting alongside the UPDF. Although the Government of Uganda incorporated, in 2005, in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Act, a provision prohibiting the recruitment and use of child soldiers, the lack of effective monitoring at the local level led to children continuing to join some elements of the armed forces. However, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007, the Government had committed itself to strengthening the implementation of the existing legal and policy frameworks on the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. Moreover, in December 2006, the UPDF agreed to undertake inspection and monitoring, including to verify age during the recruitment process. Furthermore, the Uganda Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (UTF) had committed itself to working with the UPDF and the local defence units to ensure immediate and appropriate follow-up to remove any person under 18 years of age found within the UPDF and local defence units, including through referral to appropriate child protection agencies.
The Committee noted that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2009 (paragraphs 3–7), on 16 January 2009, the Government of Uganda and the UTF signed an action plan regarding children associated with armed forces in Uganda, which obligates the Government to prevent and end the association of children under the age of 18 with armed auxiliary forces; appoint focal points at the highest level of the Government on the implementation of the action plan; provide access on a regular and ad hoc basis to the UPDF and auxiliary facilities to the UTF to monitor and verify compliance; and promptly investigate allegations of recruitment and use of children and ensure the prosecution of perpetrators. Furthermore, the action plan identifies time-bound activities relating to children associated with the armed forces in Uganda. Among others, the measures include verification visits to all UPDF facilities and regular access to all relevant UPDF units by the UTF. In compliance with the action plan, the Government of Uganda and the UTF agreed upon a series of visits by the UTF to UPDF facilities in northern Uganda in early 2009, with a view to verifying that no persons under the age of 18 were present within, or recruited into, its ranks.
The Committee noted with satisfaction that no case of recruitment or use of children by the UPDF or its auxiliary forces has come to the attention of the UTF. Throughout its visits, the UPDF extended excellent cooperation to the verification team. Furthermore, the UTF observed the UPDF recruitment process in the northern districts of Uganda from 12 to 14 February 2009. It was noted that age requirements for recruitment into the UPDF, as set forth in existing laws and regulations, were strictly observed and followed by UPDF officers in compliance with the UPDF internal circular of February 2009 containing instructions on recruitment criteria. The Committee noted that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2009, the UTF will nevertheless continue to monitor compliance of the UPDF within the action plan framework to ensure that continuous efforts are made to prevent the recruitment and use of children and that the implementation of the action plan continues.
However, the Committee noted that the LRA, whose leadership originates in Uganda and a significant number of whose forces are also from Uganda, remains listed on the Secretary-General’s annexes to his reports on children and armed conflict because of the continued practice of recruitment of children within its ranks. Although LRA violations against children were originally reported solely under Uganda country situation reporting, the geostrategic situation of that group, which is expanding its armed activities to the wider region, has prompted the request of a strategy for increased regional joint capability to monitor and report on cross-border recruitment and use of children by the LRA. The UTF has therefore been engaged in consultations with the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Country Team in Uganda, the United Nations Children’s Fund headquarters and regional offices, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations missions in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, on appropriate steps to establish a subregional strategy to monitor and report on grave child rights violations committed by the LRA in the region.
The Committee welcomed the measures taken by the Government and the positive results it has registered with regard to the UPDF. However, it expressed its concern at the situation of children who continue to be recruited for armed conflict by the LRA. The Committee refers to the Secretary-General’s call upon the Government of Uganda to prioritize the protection of children in its military actions against LRA elements, either on Ugandan territory or in joint operations in neighbouring countries (S/2009/462, 15 September 2009, paragraph 28). The Committee therefore urges the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the situation and to take, as a matter of urgency, immediate and effective measures to put a stop in practice to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age by the LRA. In this regard, it urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that a strategy for increased regional joint capability to monitor and report on cross-border recruitment and use of children by the LRA is adopted as soon as possible. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that persons who forcibly recruit children under 18 years for use in armed conflict are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Providing the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Children who have been affected by armed conflict. The Committee had previously noted that the orphans and vulnerable children policy includes interventions to mitigate the impact of the conflict on vulnerable children, especially by providing them with psychological support and with health-care services. It had also noted that a number of measures had been taken in order to rehabilitate children affected by conflict: (a) the psychological support programme for the care of children in conflict areas; (b) the creation of the National Core Group for Psychological Support, responsible for advocacy against abduction and conflict-related child abuse; and (c) the project implemented by Save the Children from Denmark and Sweden, in collaboration with the UPDF and Gulu Support Children Organization (GUSCO) with the aim of training officers in the UPDF’s Child Protection Unit and promoting the observance of rights of children affected by armed conflict. Moreover, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 (paragraph 62), interim care centres, known as reception centres, were established in the north of Uganda in order to receive formerly abducted children, including those referred by the UPDF Child Protection Unit.
The Committee noted that, according to the mission report, the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) made interventions for child victims of armed conflict, as well as abducted children, and specialized schools have been built in the north of the country to give support and rehabilitate these children. Indeed, the Committee noted that, according to the report on Education Needs Assessment for Northern Uganda of February 2008 (ENA report) prepared by the Education Planning Department, the MoES has, among other things, provided psychosocial back-up support by training 50 trainers in psychosocial training, helped with the demobilization of 53 child soldiers, supported eight reception centres for former child abductees. The MoES has also constructed 27 learning centres with 114 classrooms in Kitgum, Pader and Lira for 6,000 displaced primary school children, as well as a primary boarding school at Laroo in Gulu with a capacity for 1,000 pupils. Furthermore, the ENA report indicates that many education provider organizations have contributed to the interventions of the MoES with a view to provide an interim response to the needs of northern Uganda in terms of education. 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 UTF on 16 January 2009 covers different areas of activities, including preventing the recruitment of children under 18 years for use in armed conflict and releasing and reintegrating underage recruits. The Committee strongly 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 provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into their communities through these measures, in particular through the action of the MoES and through the activities undertaken under the action programme regarding children associated with armed forces in Uganda.
The Committee is raising other points 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.

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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:
Repetition
The Committee took note of the report of the Technical Advisory Mission (the Mission) on Child Labour Issues that was carried out in Uganda in July 2009.
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee had previously noted that section 131 of the Penal Code states that anyone who procures any woman or girl to become a prostitute commits an offence. Sections 136 and 137 respectively punish anyone who lives on earnings of prostitution and anyone who keeps brothels. The Committee had observed that only the procuring and offering of women and girls for prostitution appear to be prohibited in the Penal Code. It had also observed that, by virtue of section 139 of the Penal Code, anyone who practises or engages in prostitution as well as intermediaries involved in prostitution commit an offence, while clients do not appear to be penalized. The Committee had therefore requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years for prostitution is prohibited, to criminalize clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders.
The Committee noted that the Principal State Attorney from the Directorate of Legal Advisory Services of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs informed the Mission that the legal gaps between national criminal legislation and the Convention would be looked into during the ongoing legislative review of the Penal Code. Furthermore, the Director of Public Prosecutions from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2001 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the revision of the Penal Code and of the Children’s Act will take into account the outstanding comments of the Committee. It requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the amendments to those laws are adopted, as a matter of urgency, in conformity with Article 3(b) of the Convention.
Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic purposes. The Committee had previously noted that section 166 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who, for the purposes of distribution, makes, produces, imports, exports, takes part in any business related to, advertises, any obscene writings, drawings, prints, paintings, photographs, cinematographic films or any other obscene objects. The Committee had observed that there do not appear to be any provisions in the relevant legislation specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions informed the Mission that a draft Bill on child pornography is being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the draft Bill on child pornography effectively prohibits the use, procuring or offering of both boys and girls under 18 years of age by anyone for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, and provides for effective and sufficiently dissuasive penalties. It requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that this Bill is adopted as a matter of urgency, and requests it to provide information on the progress made in this regard.
Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee once again noted the lack of information on this subject. It once again requests the Government to indicate whether a legal provision exists which prohibits the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, with its next report.
Article 4(1). Determination of hazardous work. Following its previous comments, the Committee noted that the mission indicated that, pursuant to sections 2, 32(4) and 32(5) of the Employment Act of 2006, the list of types of hazardous work to be prohibited to persons below 18 was drafted in consultation with the social partners. It noted that, according to the technical progress report (TPR) of 1 September 2009 for the ILO–IPEC project of support for the preparatory phase of the Ugandan National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO/IPEC SNAP Uganda project), the draft hazardous list has been revised and approved during the top management meeting of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) in May 2009, and that it will be gazetted after the drafting of an extra paragraph on light work.
However, the Committee noted that, during its time in Uganda, the Mission observed that the regulations necessary to implement and the newly enacted laws in Uganda, including the Employment Act of 2006, were not being adopted or issued, partly due to the fact that the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) had not met for three years and that the adoption of regulations fell within the purview of the terms of reference of the LAB. The Mission considered that the credibility of these newly enacted laws was at stake if they could not be implemented. In this regard, in a tripartite meeting held with representatives of relevant ministries and employers’ and workers’ representatives, the Acting Commissioner for Labour Industrial Relations and Productivity in the MGLSD acknowledged that the issue of adopting regulations in order to be able to implement the new laws was urgent. The Committee urges the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children under 18 is adopted, as a matter of urgency. In this regard, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to reactivate the LAB in full consultation with the social partners. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard with its next report.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Labour inspection. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that the designated labour inspectors/officers carry out inspections in workplaces. However, in its previous comment under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the Committee had noted the Government’s statement that appropriate mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention were inadequate. In this respect, the Committee had referred to the comments made by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards at the International Labour Conference in June 2008, where the case of Uganda concerning the application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), was discussed. The Conference Committee recalled that it had been urging the Government for many years to take measures to reverse the phenomenon of the continued deterioration of the labour inspectorate, which had aggravated following the decentralization of the inspection function to the district level.
The Committee noted the Mission’s indication that there are approximately 23 labour inspectors in the agricultural sector, which is the main employer in Uganda, to monitor the application of the relevant regulations, in particular the occupational safety and health component. When labour inspectors find persons working in violation of the regulations in place, warnings are issued and the licence withdrawn the following year. However, the Mission report indicates that these inspections are sporadic and not institutionalized. In this regard, the Committee noted that, at the tripartite meeting held with representatives of relevant ministries and employers’ and workers’ representatives, the Acting Commissioner for Labour Industrial Relations and Productivity in the MGLSD indicated to the mission that having heard the feedback from the Mission on the labour inspection function on child labour issues in agriculture, she felt that there was definitely a window of opportunity for collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the MGLSD. She also agreed that the labour inspectorate needed to be reinforced so as to be able to detect child labour violations. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the inspection system pursuant to its above comments in order to enable the labour inspectors to monitor the effective implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention. In this regard, it strongly encourages the Government to initiate collaboration between Ministry of Agriculture and the MGLSD. It also once again requests the Government to provide information on the labour inspections carried out by the labour inspectorate and on the number and nature of violations detected involving children in all sectors where the worst forms of child labour exist and, in particular, in the agricultural sector.
Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that there was a need for training and awareness-raising of public officials, such as labour inspectors, the police, the immigration service, the judiciary services, as well as employers and workers, in combating the trafficking of children. The Committee noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in establishing the office responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of the Trafficking in Persons Act. It also requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office once it is established, in particular with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years for labour or commercial sexual exploitation.
Article 6. Programmes of action. National plan of action to eliminate child labour and the national child labour policy. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that a National Programme of Action to Eliminate Child Labour in Uganda (NPA) was launched in 1999 in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, lasting until 2004. The Committee, in its comments under the Minimum Age Convention (No. 138), in 2008, had also noted the Government’s information that a national policy on child labour (NCLP), designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and progressively raise the minimum age for admission to employment or work, was adopted in 2006. It had further noted that the Government was cooperating with ILO–IPEC in the elaboration of a national action plan (NAP) in order to implement the NCLP.
The Committee noted that, in its report, the Mission expressed concern that a NAP for the elimination of child labour had yet to be developed to implement the NCLP. In this regard, the Committee noted that the technical progress report (TPR) of 1 September 2009 for the ILO/IPEC project of support for the preparatory phase of the Ugandan National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project) indicates that many activities were undertaken to get the process for the NAP started again, including a meeting organized on 2 July 2009 to reinforce the task force. A workshop will also be organized in Addis Ababa in November 2009 where Uganda’s tripartite partners will be invited to validate the NAP and mainstreaming guidelines. The Committee noted that the target date for the NAP to be adopted and operational is March to August 2012. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the NAP for the elimination of child labour is validated and adopted by the targeted date. It requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. The Committee had previously noted that, in 1997, universal primary education (UPE) was declared, which provides access to free basic education to children. As a result of the UPE, the primary school pupil population increased from 2.6 million in 1996 to 4.8 million and to more than 6.8 million children in 2007. However, the Committee had noted the Government’s information that not all children currently have access to primary and secondary education. The categories that have difficulties in gaining access to education include: street children, children from semi-nomadic populations, physically and mentally challenged children, juvenile offenders, children from geographically marginalized populations, domestic workers, working children, orphans, girls, children affected by armed conflict as refugees, internally displaced and abducted children. According to the UPE policy, priority must be given to children with special needs.
The Committee noted from the Mission report that the implementation of the UPE has further increased the enrolment of children in primary school: in 2008, 7.5 million children were enrolled in primary education (93 per cent). Moreover, in order to ensure that children do not stop their schooling after primary education, a universal programme for free secondary education has been implemented. In this regard, the Committee noted that, according to the annual school census of 2008, published on the web site of the Ministry of Education and Sports (www.education.go.ug), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 95 per cent (97 per cent for boys and 93 per cent for girls). However, the Committee observes that, according to the same source, the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is of only 23.5 per cent (25.2 per cent for boys and 21.9 per cent for girls).
The Committee took due note of the measures taken by the Government with regard to education. It observed, however, that the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level, in comparison with the primary school enrolment rates, indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the UPE and the universal programme for free secondary education, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates, in particular for those categories of children who have been identified by the Government as having difficulties in gaining access to education. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.
Clause (b). 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. Commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the report of the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network, supplied by the Government, the Government was starting to develop an action plan on child sexual abuse and exploitation. According to the same source, the Slum Aid Project (slums of Katanga and Katwe) is aimed at empowering and rehabilitating child sex workers. Moreover, the Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL) addresses the prevention and rehabilitation of children involved in prostitution. The Committee had further noted that, according to the Government’s written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (13 September 2005, CRC/C/65/Add.33, paragraph 20), organizations like UYDEL have undertaken interventions in order to identify children and withdraw them from prostitution and other forms of sexual abuse: 1,375 children had received medical treatment; 1,560 children had received psychological counselling; 161 children were returned to school. The Committee noted that, according to the Mission report, UYDEL has removed more children from commercial sexual exploitation and rehabilitated them in a school built with the assistance of the Japanese Government. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on any developments with regard to the adoption of the action plan on child sexual abuse and exploitation. It also once again requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children who have been removed from commercial sexual exploitation and rehabilitated.
Hazardous child labour in the agricultural sector (sugar, tea, coffee, tobacco and rice sectors). The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that a number of action programmes were undertaken by different stakeholders under the NPA to address the worst forms of child labour in commercial agriculture, namely work in sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice farms. The Committee noted that, according to the TPR of 1 September 2009 of the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project, it is intended that, by the end of the project, a multidisciplinary and integrated area-based model of intervention laying the foundation for the establishment of “child labour free zones” at the district level will be created and available for replication throughout the country. In this regard, 2,712 children under 18 years of age should be withdrawn from selected worst forms of child labour. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children who have effectively been removed from working in the agricultural sector (sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice sectors) and rehabilitated through the programmes undertaken under the NPA. It further requests the Government to provide information on the progress made within the framework of the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project with regard to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, in particular the number of children withdrawn from working in the agricultural sector.
Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. Child domestic workers. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that child domestic work is one of the worst forms of child labour targeted by the NPA. It had also noted that a number of action programmes had been launched, at the national and interregional levels, aimed at preventing (especially through education and training), withdrawing and rehabilitating children engaged in domestic work in various districts (Toror, Lira, Busia, Kampala, Wakiso, Mpigi, Rakai). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the action programmes targeting child domestic workers and the results achieved.
Street children. The Committee had previously noted that an action programme was launched in 2004 in order to prevent and withdraw children from hazardous street activities. The Committee noted that, according to the Ministerial Policy Statement for the MGLSD of 2009/10, in 2006–07, the MGLSD identified, withdrew, rehabilitated, resettled and supported 1,136 street children and their mothers. It further noted that, according to the Mission report, street children have benefited from a programme of non-formal education called the Basic Education for Poor Areas (BEPUA). The Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that children under 18 years working on the streets are protected from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests it to provide information on the number of street children who were effectively prevented or withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour through the implementation of the abovementioned measures.
Orphans and vulnerable children. The Committee had 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 had further noted the Government’s information that it adopted the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) policy in order to provide care, support and protection to orphans and other vulnerable children.
The Committee noted that, according to the joint ILO–IPEC, UNICEF and World Bank report on understanding children’s work in Uganda of August 2008 (UCW report), a large proportion of Ugandan children must grow up in the absence of one or both biological parents. In all, nearly 8 per cent of children aged 7–14 years, 0.5 million in absolute terms, are either “single” (one parent deceased) orphans and about five per cent, 300,000 in absolute terms, are “double” (both parents deceased) orphans. The child orphan phenomenon is closely linked to the HIV/AIDS crisis. The UCW further indicates that rates of economic activity are higher among double orphans, as well as paternal and particularly maternal orphans, compared to children living with both parents.
The Committee noted that, in the context of the final TPR of 10 December 2008 for the ILO–IPEC project to combat and prevent HIV/AIDS-induced child labour in sub-Saharan Africa, this project has permitted the prevention of 1,486 children at risk of becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour and withdrawn 1,456 children from such worst forms. Furthermore, the TPR indicates that the project has mainstreamed HIV/AIDS in the NCLP and that the issue of child labour has been mainstreamed into the joint United Nations response on HIV/AIDS (JUNTA). The Committee further noted that, according to the TPR of 1 September 2009 for the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project, a consultant has been recruited to study the OVC, child labour policies and NAPs to identify gaps or contradictions and suggest where synergies can be built. This is a joint initiative between UNICEF, the MGLSD, ILO–IPEC and JUNTA, and is actually a first step towards strengthening the National Strategic Programme Plan of Interventions (NSPPI) for OVC. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee expressed concern at the number of child orphaned because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Uganda and at risk of becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It therefore requests the Government to redouble its efforts to ensure that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children are prevented from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the results obtained, in particular through the implementation of the NSPPI for OVC.
Article 8. Poverty reduction programme. The Committee had previously noted that the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) 2004–05 to 2007–08 had been developed to eliminate mass poverty that perpetuates child labour. The Committee noted that, according to the report on education needs assessment for northern Uganda of February 2008 prepared by the Education Planning Department, in view of the magnitude of the problems that still exist in the north of Uganda as a consequence of the civil conflict, the need for the development of a strategy to overcome the deprivation and underdevelopment in that region resulted in the formulation of the National Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP). The PRDP is an overarching, multi-sectoral response which broadly sets forth a reconstruction and development roadmap that is to be followed by all the relevant sectors of government and development agencies. The PRDP is anchored to the PEAP and also incorporates Millennium Development Goals. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the vicious circle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any significant impact of the PEAP and the PRDP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, in particular in the agricultural sector.
Parts IV and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that child labour in Uganda prevails in various sectors, including: the informal sector, street activities, domestic service, the agricultural sector, fishing, construction and commercial sex. It had also noted the Government’s statement that the Uganda Bureau of Statistics has been created as a semi-autonomous organization responsible for developing statistics in the country (the Labour Force Survey 2003).
The Committee noted that, according to the UCW report, 17.3 per cent of children aged 5–17 years are engaged in child labour (1,764,451 children), while 4.8 per cent of children aged 14–17 years (115,900 children) are engaged in hazardous work or working excessive hours. The report indicates that while most working children are concentrated in the range of 10–15 hours per week, there is also a significant proportion of children performing exceptionally long working hours, i.e. 30 or more hours per week. In absolute terms, 1.2 million children aged 7–11 years, 1,1 million children aged 12–14 years and 870,000 children aged 15–17 years work at least 30 hours per week. These are among the worst off working children, as their responsibilities completely preclude their rights to schooling, study, leisure and adequate rest. Expressing its serious concern at the number of children involved in the worst forms of child labour and working excessive hours in Uganda, the Committee requests the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the situation and ensure the effective enforcement of the Convention in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.

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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:
Repetition
The Committee took note of the report of the Technical Advisory Mission (the Mission) on Child Labour Issues that was carried out in Uganda in July 2009.
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. 1. Abductions and the exaction of forced labour. The Committee had previously noted that article 25:1 of the Constitution of Uganda stipulates that no person shall be held in slavery or servitude and that section 25:2 states that no person shall be required to perform forced labour. It had noted that the Penal Code punishes as offences abduction (section 126); detention with sexual intent (section 134); and abduction for the purpose of reducing to slavery (section 245). Moreover, section 5 of the Employment Act of 2006 states that anyone who uses or assists any other person in using forced or compulsory labour commits an offence. Finally, section 252 of the Penal Code provides that any person who unlawfully compels any other to labour against their will commits a misdemeanour.
However, in its previous comments under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), the Committee had noted that the armed group Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abducted children of both sexes, forcing them to provide work and services as concubines, these alleged activities being associated with the killings, beatings and rape of these children. The Committee had noted that, according to the report of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Uganda of 7 May 2007 (Secretary-General’s report of 2007) (S/2007/260, paragraph 10), the figures from 2005 suggested that as many as 25,000 children may have been abducted since the onset of the conflict in northern Uganda in Kitgum and Gulu districts. However, the total number of abductions had significantly reduced since its peak in 2004. The total number of abductions in January 2005 was estimated to be approximately 1,500, significantly reducing to 222 over the first six months of 2006. Since September 2006, there had been no confirmed reports on the abduction of children in Uganda by the LRA. Moreover, the peace talks between the Government of Uganda and the LRA had officially opened on 14 July 2006 and the parties had signed a formal cessation of hostilities agreement in August 2006, which was extended until 30 June 2007. It was initially expected that the prospects of the signing of a peace agreement would mean a potentially significant increase in the number of children released by the LRA. However, despite repeated pleas by various stakeholders, the LRA had not released children from its ranks.
The Committee 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). The Committee on the Rights of the Child was further concerned over the inhuman and degrading treatment of the abducted children. Moreover, the Committee noted that, according to the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Uganda of 15 September 2009 (Secretary-General’s report of 2009), the LRA has not knowingly operated in Ugandan territory since the cessation of hostilities in August 2006. Over the past four years, however, the LRA, including a substantial but unknown number of Ugandan children associated with its forces, has increasingly moved into neighbouring countries to establish additional bases; and children and their communities in the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic have been the victims of attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives and resulted in the disappearance of hundreds of children. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 233 abductions of children by the LRA were documented by child protection partners between 1 December 2008 and 30 June 2009. The Secretary-General further indicates that efforts to sign a Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the LRA failed and, as a result, the LRA has increasingly become a regional actor. Since December 2008, LRA elements, operating in small groups, reportedly conducted attacks against several localities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing civilians, burning houses and abducting children and adults. In total, it is estimated that more than 1,000 civilians have been killed and several hundred abducted by the LRA since it increased its violent activities in 2008.
The Committee therefore once again expressed its deep concern at the situation of children abducted by the LRA and forced to provide work and services as informants, porters, hostages, as well as becoming victims of sexual exploitation and violence. It observed that, although national legislation appears to prohibit abductions and the exaction of forced labour, this remains a serious issue of concern in practice, in particular in the context of renewed violence and conflict. In this regard, the Committee once again recalled that, by virtue of Article 3(a) of the Convention, the exaction of forced labour from children is considered as one of the worst forms of child labour and that, by virtue of Article 1 of the Convention, member States are required to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee strongly urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to eradicate abductions and the exaction of forced labour from children under 18 years, as a matter of urgency. In this regard, it requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of offenders are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed in practice. It also urges the Government to take measures to cooperate with the neighbouring countries and accordingly reinforce security measures, particularly on the common borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Sudan, with a view to bringing an end to this worst form of child labour.
2. Compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 (paragraph 5), Uganda is among the countries where parties to armed conflicts – the Ugandan People Defence Force (UPDF), the local defence units and the LRA – recruited or used children and were responsible for other grave violations. According to this report, it was estimated that, notwithstanding various peace agreements, up to 2,000 women and children may still have been held by the LRA within its ranks and had not been released. Regarding children recruited by the national military forces, the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 indicated that the UPDF recruited young boys to serve in its armed forces, especially within the local defence units, which are UPDF auxiliary forces. The report of 2007 also indicated that during recruitment, age verification was rarely carried out. After training, many of these children were said to be fighting alongside the UPDF. Although the Government of Uganda incorporated, in 2005, in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Act, a provision prohibiting the recruitment and use of child soldiers, the lack of effective monitoring at the local level led to children continuing to join some elements of the armed forces. However, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007, the Government had committed itself to strengthening the implementation of the existing legal and policy frameworks on the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. Moreover, in December 2006, the UPDF agreed to undertake inspection and monitoring, including to verify age during the recruitment process. Furthermore, the Uganda Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (UTF) had committed itself to working with the UPDF and the local defence units to ensure immediate and appropriate follow-up to remove any person under 18 years of age found within the UPDF and local defence units, including through referral to appropriate child protection agencies.
The Committee noted that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2009 (paragraphs 3–7), on 16 January 2009, the Government of Uganda and the UTF signed an action plan regarding children associated with armed forces in Uganda, which obligates the Government to prevent and end the association of children under the age of 18 with armed auxiliary forces; appoint focal points at the highest level of the Government on the implementation of the action plan; provide access on a regular and ad hoc basis to the UPDF and auxiliary facilities to the UTF to monitor and verify compliance; and promptly investigate allegations of recruitment and use of children and ensure the prosecution of perpetrators. Furthermore, the action plan identifies time-bound activities relating to children associated with the armed forces in Uganda. Among others, the measures include verification visits to all UPDF facilities and regular access to all relevant UPDF units by the UTF. In compliance with the action plan, the Government of Uganda and the UTF agreed upon a series of visits by the UTF to UPDF facilities in northern Uganda in early 2009, with a view to verifying that no persons under the age of 18 were present within, or recruited into, its ranks.
The Committee noted with satisfaction that no case of recruitment or use of children by the UPDF or its auxiliary forces has come to the attention of the UTF. Throughout its visits, the UPDF extended excellent cooperation to the verification team. Furthermore, the UTF observed the UPDF recruitment process in the northern districts of Uganda from 12 to 14 February 2009. It was noted that age requirements for recruitment into the UPDF, as set forth in existing laws and regulations, were strictly observed and followed by UPDF officers in compliance with the UPDF internal circular of February 2009 containing instructions on recruitment criteria. The Committee noted that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2009, the UTF will nevertheless continue to monitor compliance of the UPDF within the action plan framework to ensure that continuous efforts are made to prevent the recruitment and use of children and that the implementation of the action plan continues.
However, the Committee noted that the LRA, whose leadership originates in Uganda and a significant number of whose forces are also from Uganda, remains listed on the Secretary-General’s annexes to his reports on children and armed conflict because of the continued practice of recruitment of children within its ranks. Although LRA violations against children were originally reported solely under Uganda country situation reporting, the geostrategic situation of that group, which is expanding its armed activities to the wider region, has prompted the request of a strategy for increased regional joint capability to monitor and report on cross-border recruitment and use of children by the LRA. The UTF has therefore been engaged in consultations with the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Country Team in Uganda, the United Nations Children’s Fund headquarters and regional offices, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations missions in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, on appropriate steps to establish a subregional strategy to monitor and report on grave child rights violations committed by the LRA in the region.
The Committee welcomed the measures taken by the Government and the positive results it has registered with regard to the UPDF. However, it expressed its concern at the situation of children who continue to be recruited for armed conflict by the LRA. The Committee refers to the Secretary-General’s call upon the Government of Uganda to prioritize the protection of children in its military actions against LRA elements, either on Ugandan territory or in joint operations in neighbouring countries (S/2009/462, 15 September 2009, paragraph 28). The Committee therefore urges the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the situation and to take, as a matter of urgency, immediate and effective measures to put a stop in practice to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age by the LRA. In this regard, it urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that a strategy for increased regional joint capability to monitor and report on cross-border recruitment and use of children by the LRA is adopted as soon as possible. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that persons who forcibly recruit children under 18 years for use in armed conflict are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Providing the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Children who have been affected by armed conflict. The Committee had previously noted that the orphans and vulnerable children policy includes interventions to mitigate the impact of the conflict on vulnerable children, especially by providing them with psychological support and with health-care services. It had also noted that a number of measures had been taken in order to rehabilitate children affected by conflict: (a) the psychological support programme for the care of children in conflict areas; (b) the creation of the National Core Group for Psychological Support, responsible for advocacy against abduction and conflict-related child abuse; and (c) the project implemented by Save the Children from Denmark and Sweden, in collaboration with the UPDF and Gulu Support Children Organization (GUSCO) with the aim of training officers in the UPDF’s Child Protection Unit and promoting the observance of rights of children affected by armed conflict. Moreover, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 (paragraph 62), interim care centres, known as reception centres, were established in the north of Uganda in order to receive formerly abducted children, including those referred by the UPDF Child Protection Unit.
The Committee noted that, according to the mission report, the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) made interventions for child victims of armed conflict, as well as abducted children, and specialized schools have been built in the north of the country to give support and rehabilitate these children. Indeed, the Committee noted that, according to the report on Education Needs Assessment for Northern Uganda of February 2008 (ENA report) prepared by the Education Planning Department, the MoES has, among other things, provided psychosocial back-up support by training 50 trainers in psychosocial training, helped with the demobilization of 53 child soldiers, supported eight reception centres for former child abductees. The MoES has also constructed 27 learning centres with 114 classrooms in Kitgum, Pader and Lira for 6,000 displaced primary school children, as well as a primary boarding school at Laroo in Gulu with a capacity for 1,000 pupils. Furthermore, the ENA report indicates that many education provider organizations have contributed to the interventions of the MoES with a view to provide an interim response to the needs of northern Uganda in terms of education. 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 UTF on 16 January 2009 covers different areas of activities, including preventing the recruitment of children under 18 years for use in armed conflict and releasing and reintegrating underage recruits. The Committee strongly 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 provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into their communities through these measures, in particular through the action of the MoES and through the activities undertaken under the action programme regarding children associated with armed forces in Uganda.
The Committee is raising other points 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.

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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. However, it takes note of the report of the Technical Advisory Mission (the Mission) on Child Labour Issues that was carried out in Uganda in July 2009.

The Committee took note of the report of the Technical Advisory Mission (the Mission) on Child Labour Issues that was carried out in Uganda in July 2009.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b).
1. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee had previously noted that section 131 of the Penal Code states that anyone who procures any woman or girl to become a prostitute commits an offence. Sections 136 and 137 respectively punish anyone who lives on earnings of prostitution and anyone who keeps brothels. The Committee had observed that only the procuring and offering of women and girls for prostitution appear to be prohibited in the Penal Code. It had also observed that, by virtue of section 139 of the Penal Code, anyone who practises or engages in prostitution as well as intermediaries involved in prostitution commit an offence, while clients do not appear to be penalized. The Committee had therefore requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years for prostitution is prohibited, to criminalize clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders.

The Committee noted that the Principal State Attorney from the Directorate of Legal Advisory Services of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs informed the Mission that the legal gaps between national criminal legislation and the Convention would be looked into during the ongoing legislative review of the Penal Code. Furthermore, the Director of Public Prosecutions from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2001 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the revision of the Penal Code and of the Children’s Act will take into account the outstanding comments of the Committee. It requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the amendments to those laws are adopted, as a matter of urgency, in conformity with Article 3(b) of the Convention.

2. Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic purposes. The Committee had previously noted that section 166 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who, for the purposes of distribution, makes, produces, imports, exports, takes part in any business related to, advertises, any obscene writings, drawings, prints, paintings, photographs, cinematographic films or any other obscene objects. The Committee had observed that there do not appear to be any provisions in the relevant legislation specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions informed the Mission that a draft Bill on child pornography is being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the draft Bill on child pornography effectively prohibits the use, procuring or offering of both boys and girls under 18 years of age by anyone for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, and provides for effective and sufficiently dissuasive penalties. It requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that this Bill is adopted as a matter of urgency, and requests it to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee once again noted the lack of information on this subject. It once again requests the Government to indicate whether a legal provision exists which prohibits the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, with its next report.

Article 4(1). Determination of hazardous work. Following its previous comments, the Committee noted that the mission indicated that, pursuant to sections 2, 32(4) and 32(5) of the Employment Act of 2006, the list of types of hazardous work to be prohibited to persons below 18 was drafted in consultation with the social partners. It noted that, according to the technical progress report (TPR) of 1 September 2009 for the ILO–IPEC project of support for the preparatory phase of the Ugandan National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO/IPEC SNAP Uganda project), the draft hazardous list has been revised and approved during the top management meeting of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) in May 2009, and that it will be gazetted after the drafting of an extra paragraph on light work.

However, the Committee noted that, during its time in Uganda, the Mission observed that the regulations necessary to implement and the newly enacted laws in Uganda, including the Employment Act of 2006, were not being adopted or issued, partly due to the fact that the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) had not met for three years and that the adoption of regulations fell within the purview of the terms of reference of the LAB. The Mission considered that the credibility of these newly enacted laws was at stake if they could not be implemented. In this regard, in a tripartite meeting held with representatives of relevant ministries and employers’ and workers’ representatives, the Acting Commissioner for Labour Industrial Relations and Productivity in the MGLSD acknowledged that the issue of adopting regulations in order to be able to implement the new laws was urgent. The Committee urges the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children under 18 is adopted, as a matter of urgency. In this regard, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to reactivate the LAB in full consultation with the social partners. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard with its next report.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. Labour inspection. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that the designated labour inspectors/officers carry out inspections in workplaces. However, in its previous comment under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the Committee had noted the Government’s statement that appropriate mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention were inadequate. In this respect, the Committee had referred to the comments made by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards at the International Labour Conference in June 2008, where the case of Uganda concerning the application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), was discussed. The Conference Committee recalled that it had been urging the Government for many years to take measures to reverse the phenomenon of the continued deterioration of the labour inspectorate, which had aggravated following the decentralization of the inspection function to the district level.

The Committee noted the Mission’s indication that there are approximately 23 labour inspectors in the agricultural sector, which is the main employer in Uganda, to monitor the application of the relevant regulations, in particular the occupational safety and health component. When labour inspectors find persons working in violation of the regulations in place, warnings are issued and the licence withdrawn the following year. However, the Mission report indicates that these inspections are sporadic and not institutionalized. In this regard, the Committee noted that, at the tripartite meeting held with representatives of relevant ministries and employers’ and workers’ representatives, the Acting Commissioner for Labour Industrial Relations and Productivity in the MGLSD indicated to the mission that having heard the feedback from the Mission on the labour inspection function on child labour issues in agriculture, she felt that there was definitely a window of opportunity for collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the MGLSD. She also agreed that the labour inspectorate needed to be reinforced so as to be able to detect child labour violations. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the inspection system pursuant to its above comments in order to enable the labour inspectors to monitor the effective implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention. In this regard, it strongly encourages the Government to initiate collaboration between Ministry of Agriculture and the MGLSD. It also once again requests the Government to provide information on the labour inspections carried out by the labour inspectorate and on the number and nature of violations detected involving children in all sectors where the worst forms of child labour exist and, in particular, in the agricultural sector.

2. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that there was a need for training and awareness-raising of public officials, such as labour inspectors, the police, the immigration service, the judiciary services, as well as employers and workers, in combating the trafficking of children. The Committee noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in establishing the office responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of the Trafficking in Persons Act. It also requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office once it is established, in particular with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years for labour or commercial sexual exploitation.

Article 6. Programmes of action. National plan of action to eliminate child labour and the national child labour policy. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that a National Programme of Action to Eliminate Child Labour in Uganda (NPA) was launched in 1999 in collaboration with
ILO–IPEC, lasting until 2004. The Committee, in its comments under the Minimum Age Convention (No. 138), in 2008, had also noted the Government’s information that a national policy on child labour (NCLP), designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and progressively raise the minimum age for admission to employment or work, was adopted in 2006. It had further noted that the Government was cooperating with ILO–IPEC in the elaboration of a national action plan (NAP) in order to implement the NCLP.

The Committee noted that, in its report, the Mission expressed concern that a NAP for the elimination of child labour had yet to be developed to implement the NCLP. In this regard, the Committee noted that the technical progress report (TPR) of 1 September 2009 for the ILO/IPEC project of support for the preparatory phase of the Ugandan National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour
(ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project) indicates that many activities were undertaken to get the process for the NAP started again, including a meeting organized on 2 July 2009 to reinforce the task force. A workshop will also be organized in Addis Ababa in November 2009 where Uganda’s tripartite partners will be invited to validate the NAP and mainstreaming guidelines. The Committee noted that the target date for the NAP to be adopted and operational is March to August 2012. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the NAP for the elimination of child labour is validated and adopted by the targeted date. It requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. The Committee had previously noted that, in 1997, universal primary education (UPE) was declared, which provides access to free basic education to children. As a result of the UPE, the primary school pupil population increased from 2.6 million in 1996 to 4.8 million and to more than 6.8 million children in 2007. However, the Committee had noted the Government’s information that not all children currently have access to primary and secondary education. The categories that have difficulties in gaining access to education include: street children, children from semi-nomadic populations, physically and mentally challenged children, juvenile offenders, children from geographically marginalized populations, domestic workers, working children, orphans, girls, children affected by armed conflict as refugees, internally displaced and abducted children. According to the UPE policy, priority must be given to children with special needs.

The Committee noted from the Mission report that the implementation of the UPE has further increased the enrolment of children in primary school: in 2008, 7.5 million children were enrolled in primary education (93 per cent). Moreover, in order to ensure that children do not stop their schooling after primary education, a universal programme for free secondary education has been implemented. In this regard, the Committee noted that, according to the annual school census of 2008, published on the web site of the Ministry of Education and Sports (www.education.go.ug), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 95 per cent (97 per cent for boys and 93 per cent for girls). However, the Committee observes that, according to the same source, the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is of only 23.5 per cent (25.2 per cent for boys and 21.9 per cent for girls).

The Committee took due note of the measures taken by the Government with regard to education. It observed, however, that the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level, in comparison with the primary school enrolment rates, indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the UPE and the universal programme for free secondary education, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates, in particular for those categories of children who have been identified by the Government as having difficulties in gaining access to education. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

Clause (b). 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. 1. Commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the report of the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network, supplied by the Government, the Government was starting to develop an action plan on child sexual abuse and exploitation. According to the same source, the Slum Aid Project (slums of Katanga and Katwe) is aimed at empowering and rehabilitating child sex workers. Moreover, the Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL) addresses the prevention and rehabilitation of children involved in prostitution. The Committee had further noted that, according to the Government’s written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (13 September 2005, CRC/C/65/Add.33, paragraph 20), organizations like UYDEL have undertaken interventions in order to identify children and withdraw them from prostitution and other forms of sexual abuse: 1,375 children had received medical treatment; 1,560 children had received psychological counselling; 161 children were returned to school. The Committee noted that, according to the Mission report, UYDEL has removed more children from commercial sexual exploitation and rehabilitated them in a school built with the assistance of the Japanese Government. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on any developments with regard to the adoption of the action plan on child sexual abuse and exploitation. It also once again requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children who have been removed from commercial sexual exploitation and rehabilitated.

2. Hazardous child labour in the agricultural sector (sugar, tea, coffee, tobacco and rice sectors). The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that a number of action programmes were undertaken by different stakeholders under the NPA to address the worst forms of child labour in commercial agriculture, namely work in sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice farms. The Committee noted that, according to the TPR of 1 September 2009 of the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project, it is intended that, by the end of the project, a multidisciplinary and integrated area-based model of intervention laying the foundation for the establishment of “child labour free zones” at the district level will be created and available for replication throughout the country. In this regard, 2,712 children under 18 years of age should be withdrawn from selected worst forms of child labour. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children who have effectively been removed from working in the agricultural sector (sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice sectors) and rehabilitated through the programmes undertaken under the NPA. It further requests the Government to provide information on the progress made within the framework of the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project with regard to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, in particular the number of children withdrawn from working in the agricultural sector.

Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. 1. Child domestic workers. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that child domestic work is one of the worst forms of child labour targeted by the NPA. It had also noted that a number of action programmes had been launched, at the national and interregional levels, aimed at preventing (especially through education and training), withdrawing and rehabilitating children engaged in domestic work in various districts (Toror, Lira, Busia, Kampala, Wakiso, Mpigi, Rakai). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the action programmes targeting child domestic workers and the results achieved.

2. Street children. The Committee had previously noted that an action programme was launched in 2004 in order to prevent and withdraw children from hazardous street activities. The Committee noted that, according to the Ministerial Policy Statement for the MGLSD of 2009/10, in 2006–07, the MGLSD identified, withdrew, rehabilitated, resettled and supported 1,136 street children and their mothers. It further noted that, according to the Mission report, street children have benefited from a programme of non-formal education called the Basic Education for Poor Areas (BEPUA). The Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that children under 18 years working on the streets are protected from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests it to provide information on the number of street children who were effectively prevented or withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour through the implementation of the abovementioned measures.

3. Orphans and vulnerable children. The Committee had 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 had further noted the Government’s information that it adopted the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) policy in order to provide care, support and protection to orphans and other vulnerable children.

The Committee noted that, according to the joint ILO–IPEC, UNICEF and World Bank report on understanding children’s work in Uganda of August 2008 (UCW report), a large proportion of Ugandan children must grow up in the
absence of one or both biological parents. In all, nearly 8 per cent of children aged 7–14 years, 0.5 million in absolute terms, are either “single” (one parent deceased) orphans and about five per cent, 300,000 in absolute terms, are “double” (both parents deceased) orphans. The child orphan phenomenon is closely linked to the HIV/AIDS crisis. The UCW further indicates that rates of economic activity are higher among double orphans, as well as paternal and particularly maternal orphans, compared to children living with both parents.

The Committee noted that, in the context of the final TPR of 10 December 2008 for the ILO–IPEC project to combat and prevent HIV/AIDS-induced child labour in sub-Saharan Africa, this project has permitted the prevention of 1,486 children at risk of becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour and withdrawn 1,456 children from such worst forms. Furthermore, the TPR indicates that the project has mainstreamed HIV/AIDS in the NCLP and that the issue of child labour has been mainstreamed into the joint United Nations response on HIV/AIDS (JUNTA). The Committee further noted that, according to the TPR of 1 September 2009 for the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project, a consultant has been recruited to study the OVC, child labour policies and NAPs to identify gaps or contradictions and suggest where synergies can be built. This is a joint initiative between UNICEF, the MGLSD, ILO–IPEC and JUNTA, and is actually a first step towards strengthening the National Strategic Programme Plan of Interventions (NSPPI) for OVC. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee expressed concern at the number of child orphaned because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Uganda and at risk of becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It therefore requests the Government to redouble its efforts to ensure that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children are prevented from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the results obtained, in particular through the implementation of the NSPPI for OVC.

Article 8. Poverty reduction programme. The Committee had previously noted that the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) 2004–05 to 2007–08 had been developed to eliminate mass poverty that perpetuates child labour. The Committee noted that, according to the report on education needs assessment for northern Uganda of February 2008 prepared by the Education Planning Department, in view of the magnitude of the problems that still exist in the north of Uganda as a consequence of the civil conflict, the need for the development of a strategy to overcome the deprivation and underdevelopment in that region resulted in the formulation of the National Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP). The PRDP is an overarching, multi-sectoral response which broadly sets forth a reconstruction and development roadmap that is to be followed by all the relevant sectors of government and development agencies. The PRDP is anchored to the PEAP and also incorporates Millennium Development Goals. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the vicious circle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any significant impact of the PEAP and the PRDP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, in particular in the agricultural sector.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that child labour in Uganda prevails in various sectors, including: the informal sector, street activities, domestic service, the agricultural sector, fishing, construction and commercial sex. It had also noted the Government’s statement that the Uganda Bureau of Statistics has been created as a semi-autonomous organization responsible for developing statistics in the country (the Labour Force Survey 2003).

The Committee noted that, according to the UCW report, 17.3 per cent of children aged 5–17 years are engaged in child labour (1,764,451 children), while 4.8 per cent of children aged 14–17 years (115,900 children) are engaged in hazardous work or working excessive hours. The report indicates that while most working children are concentrated in the range of 10–15 hours per week, there is also a significant proportion of children performing exceptionally long working hours, i.e. 30 or more hours per week. In absolute terms, 1.2 million children
aged 7–11 years, 1,1 million children aged 12–14 years and 870,000 children aged 15–17 years work at least 30 hours per week. These are among the worst off working children, as their responsibilities completely preclude their rights to schooling, study, leisure and adequate rest. Expressing its serious concern at the number of children involved in the worst forms of child labour and working excessive hours in Uganda, the Committee requests the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the situation and ensure the effective enforcement of the Convention in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.

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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

The Committee took note of the report of the Technical Advisory Mission (the Mission) on Child Labour Issues that was carried out in Uganda in July 2009.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Abductions and the exaction of forced labour. The Committee had previously noted that article 25:1 of the Constitution of Uganda stipulates that no person shall be held in slavery or servitude and that section 25:2 states that no person shall be required to perform forced labour. It had noted that the Penal Code punishes as offences abduction (section 126); detention with sexual intent (section 134); and abduction for the purpose of reducing to slavery (section 245). Moreover, section 5 of the Employment Act of 2006 states that anyone who uses or assists any other person in using forced or compulsory labour commits an offence. Finally, section 252 of the Penal Code provides that any person who unlawfully compels any other to labour against their will commits a misdemeanour.

However, in its previous comments under Convention No. 29, the Committee had noted that the armed group Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abducted children of both sexes, forcing them to provide work and services as concubines, these alleged activities being associated with the killings, beatings and rape of these children. The Committee had noted that, according to the report of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Uganda of 7 May 2007 (Secretary-General’s report of 2007) (S/2007/260, paragraph 10), the figures from 2005 suggested that as many as 25,000 children may have been abducted since the onset of the conflict in northern Uganda in Kitgum and Gulu districts. However, the total number of abductions had significantly reduced since its peak in 2004. The total number of abductions in January 2005 was estimated to be approximately 1,500, significantly reducing to 222 over the first six months of 2006. Since September 2006, there had been no confirmed reports on the abduction of children in Uganda by the LRA. Moreover, the peace talks between the Government of Uganda and the LRA had officially opened on 14 July 2006 and the parties had signed a formal cessation of hostilities agreement in August 2006, which was extended until 30 June 2007. It was initially expected that the prospects of the signing of a peace agreement would mean a potentially significant increase in the number of children released by the LRA. However, despite repeated pleas by various stakeholders, the LRA had not released children from its ranks.

The Committee 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). The Committee on the Rights of the Child was further concerned over the inhuman and degrading treatment of the abducted children. Moreover, the Committee noted that, according to the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Uganda of 15 September 2009 (Secretary-General’s report of 2009), the LRA has not knowingly operated in Ugandan territory since the cessation of hostilities in August 2006. Over the past four years, however, the LRA, including a substantial but unknown number of Ugandan children associated with its forces, has increasingly moved into neighbouring countries to establish additional bases; and children and their communities in the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic have been the victims of attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives and resulted in the disappearance of hundreds of children. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 233 abductions of children by the LRA were documented by child protection partners between 1 December 2008 and 30 June 2009. The Secretary-General further indicates that efforts to sign a Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the LRA failed and, as a result, the LRA has increasingly become a regional actor. Since December 2008, LRA elements, operating in small groups, reportedly conducted attacks against several localities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing civilians, burning houses and abducting children and adults. In total, it is estimated that more than 1,000 civilians have been killed and several hundred abducted by the LRA since it increased its violent activities in 2008.

The Committee therefore once again expressed its deep concern at the situation of children abducted by the LRA and forced to provide work and services as informants, porters, hostages, as well as becoming victims of sexual exploitation and violence. It observed that, although national legislation appears to prohibit abductions and the exaction of forced labour, this remains a serious issue of concern in practice, in particular in the context of renewed violence and conflict. In this regard, the Committee once again recalled that, by virtue of Article 3(a) of the Convention, the exaction of forced labour from children is considered as one of the worst forms of child labour and that, by virtue of Article 1 of the Convention, member States are required to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee strongly urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to eradicate abductions and the exaction of forced labour from children under 18 years, as a matter of urgency. In this regard, it requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of offenders are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed in practice. It also urges the Government to take measures to cooperate with the neighbouring countries and accordingly reinforce security measures, particularly on the common borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Sudan, with a view to bringing an end to this worst form of child labour.

Compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 (paragraph 5), Uganda is among the countries where parties to armed conflicts – the Ugandan People Defence Force (UPDF), the local defence units and the
LRA – recruited or used children and were responsible for other grave violations. According to this report, it was estimated that, notwithstanding various peace agreements, up to 2,000 women and children may still have been held by the LRA within its ranks and had not been released. Regarding children recruited by the national military forces, the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 indicated that the UPDF recruited young boys to serve in its armed forces, especially within the local defence units, which are UPDF auxiliary forces. The report of 2007 also indicated that during recruitment, age verification was rarely carried out. After training, many of these children were said to be fighting alongside the UPDF. Although the Government of Uganda incorporated, in 2005, in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Act, a provision prohibiting the recruitment and use of child soldiers, the lack of effective monitoring at the local level led to children continuing to join some elements of the armed forces. However, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007, the Government had committed itself to strengthening the implementation of the existing legal and policy frameworks on the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. Moreover, in December 2006, the UPDF agreed to undertake inspection and monitoring, including to verify age during the recruitment process. Furthermore, the Uganda Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (UTF) had committed itself to working with the UPDF and the local defence units to ensure immediate and appropriate follow-up to remove any person under 18 years of age found within the UPDF and local defence units, including through referral to appropriate child protection agencies.

The Committee noted that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2009 (paragraphs 3–7), on 16 January 2009, the Government of Uganda and the UTF signed an action plan regarding children associated with armed forces in Uganda, which obligates the Government to prevent and end the association of children under the age of 18 with armed auxiliary forces; appoint focal points at the highest level of the Government on the implementation of the action plan; provide access on a regular and ad hoc basis to the UPDF and auxiliary facilities to the UTF to monitor and verify compliance; and promptly investigate allegations of recruitment and use of children and ensure the prosecution of perpetrators. Furthermore, the action plan identifies time-bound activities relating to children associated with the armed forces in Uganda. Among others, the measures include verification visits to all UPDF facilities and regular access to all relevant UPDF units by the UTF. In compliance with the action plan, the Government of Uganda and the UTF agreed upon a series of visits by the UTF to UPDF facilities in northern Uganda in early 2009, with a view to verifying that no persons under the age of 18 were present within, or recruited into, its ranks.

The Committee noted with satisfaction that no case of recruitment or use of children by the UPDF or its auxiliary forces has come to the attention of the UTF. Throughout its visits, the UPDF extended excellent cooperation to the verification team. Furthermore, the UTF observed the UPDF recruitment process in the northern districts of Uganda from 12 to 14 February 2009. It was noted that age requirements for recruitment into the UPDF, as set forth in existing laws and regulations, were strictly observed and followed by UPDF officers in compliance with the UPDF internal circular of February 2009 containing instructions on recruitment criteria. The Committee noted that, according to the Secretary‑General’s report of 2009, the UTF will nevertheless continue to monitor compliance of the UPDF within the action plan framework to ensure that continuous efforts are made to prevent the recruitment and use of children and that the implementation of the action plan continues.

However, the Committee noted that the LRA, whose leadership originates in Uganda and a significant number of whose forces are also from Uganda, remains listed on the Secretary-General’s annexes to his reports on children and armed conflict because of the continued practice of recruitment of children within its ranks. Although LRA violations against children were originally reported solely under Uganda country situation reporting, the geostrategic situation of that group, which is expanding its armed activities to the wider region, has prompted the request of a strategy for increased regional joint capability to monitor and report on cross-border recruitment and use of children by the LRA. The UTF has therefore been engaged in consultations with the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Country Team in Uganda, the United Nations Children’s Fund headquarters and regional offices, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations missions in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, on appropriate steps to establish a subregional strategy to monitor and report on grave child rights violations committed by the LRA in the region.

The Committee welcomed the measures taken by the Government and the positive results it has registered with regard to the UPDF. However, it expressed its concern at the situation of children who continue to be recruited for armed conflict by the LRA. The Committee refers to the Secretary-General’s call upon the Government of Uganda to prioritize the protection of children in its military actions against LRA elements, either on Ugandan territory or in joint operations in neighbouring countries (S/2009/462, 15 September 2009, paragraph 28). The Committee therefore urges the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the situation and to take, as a matter of urgency, immediate and effective measures to put a stop in practice to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age by the LRA. In this regard, it urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that a strategy for increased regional joint capability to monitor and report on cross-border recruitment and use of children by the LRA is adopted as soon as possible. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that persons who forcibly recruit children under 18 years for use in armed conflict are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Providing the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Children who have been affected by armed conflict. The Committee had previously noted that the orphans and vulnerable children policy includes interventions to mitigate the impact of the conflict on vulnerable children, especially by providing them with psychological support and with health-care services. It had also noted that a number of measures had been taken in order to rehabilitate children affected by conflict:
(a) the psychological support programme for the care of children in conflict areas; (b) the creation of the National Core Group for Psychological Support, responsible for advocacy against abduction and conflict-related child abuse; and (c) the project implemented by Save the Children from Denmark and Sweden, in collaboration with the UPDF and Gulu Support Children Organization (GUSCO) with the aim of training officers in the UPDF’s Child Protection Unit and promoting the observance of rights of children affected by armed conflict. Moreover, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 (paragraph 62), interim care centres, known as reception centres, were established in the north of Uganda in order to receive formerly abducted children, including those referred by the UPDF Child Protection Unit.

The Committee noted that, according to the mission report, the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) made interventions for child victims of armed conflict, as well as abducted children, and specialized schools have been built in the north of the country to give support and rehabilitate these children. Indeed, the Committee noted that, according to the report on Education Needs Assessment for Northern Uganda of February 2008 (ENA report) prepared by the Education Planning Department, the MoES has, among other things, provided psychosocial back-up support by training 50 trainers in psychosocial training, helped with the demobilization of 53 child soldiers, supported eight reception centres for former child abductees. The MoES has also constructed 27 learning centres with 114 classrooms in Kitgum, Pader and Lira for 6,000 displaced primary school children, as well as a primary boarding school at Laroo in Gulu with a capacity for 1,000 pupils. Furthermore, the ENA report indicates that many education provider organizations have contributed to the interventions of the MoES with a view to provide an interim response to the needs of northern Uganda in terms of education. 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 UTF on 16 January 2009 covers different areas of activities, including preventing the recruitment of children under 18 years for use in armed conflict and releasing and reintegrating underage recruits. The Committee strongly 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 provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into their communities through these measures, in particular through the action of the MoES and through the activities undertaken under the action programme regarding children associated with armed forces in Uganda.

The Committee is raising other points 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.

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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. However, it takes note of the report of the Technical Advisory Mission (the Mission) on Child Labour Issues that was carried out in Uganda in July 2009.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee had previously noted that the Penal Code does not provide a comprehensive prohibition of trafficking contemplated under Article 3(a) of the Convention. It had noted, however, that during 2006, a Member of Parliament drafted a comprehensive anti-trafficking law. The Committee notes that the draft Trafficking in Persons Bill was passed on 2 April 2009 and sent to the President on 10 September 2009 for assent. It notes with interest that the Trafficking in Persons Act prohibits the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child under 18 years for the purpose of exploitation (section 3(3)), which includes sexual exploitation or forced labour (section 2(c)). The Committee observes that the Act also provides for the investigation and prosecution of child traffickers and protection of children from trafficking.

Clause (b). 1. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee had previously noted that section 131 of the Penal Code states that anyone who procures any woman or girl to become a prostitute commits an offence. Sections 136 and 137 respectively punish anyone who lives on earnings of prostitution and anyone who keeps brothels. The Committee had observed that only the procuring and offering of women and girls for prostitution appear to be prohibited in the Penal Code. It had also observed that, by virtue of section 139 of the Penal Code, anyone who practises or engages in prostitution as well as intermediaries involved in prostitution commit an offence, while clients do not appear to be penalized. The Committee had therefore requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years for prostitution is prohibited, to criminalize clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders.

The Committee notes that the Principal State Attorney from the Directorate of Legal Advisory Services of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs informed the Mission that the legal gaps between national criminal legislation and the Convention would be looked into during the ongoing legislative review of the Penal Code. Furthermore, the Director of Public Prosecutions from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2001 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the revision of the Penal Code and of the Children’s Act will take into account the outstanding comments of the Committee. It requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the amendments to those laws are adopted, as a matter of urgency, in conformity with Article 3(b) of the Convention.

2. Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic purposes. The Committee had previously noted that section 166 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who, for the purposes of distribution, makes, produces, imports, exports, takes part in any business related to, advertises, any obscene writings, drawings, prints, paintings, photographs, cinematographic films or any other obscene objects. The Committee had observed that there do not appear to be any provisions in the relevant legislation specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee notes that the Director of Public Prosecutions informed the Mission that a draft Bill on child pornography is being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the draft Bill on child pornography effectively prohibits the use, procuring or offering of both boys and girls under 18 years of age by anyone for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, and provides for effective and sufficiently dissuasive penalties. It requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that this Bill is adopted as a matter of urgency, and requests it to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee once again notes the lack of information on this subject. It once again requests the Government to indicate whether a legal provision exists which prohibits the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, with its next report.

Article 4, paragraph 1. Determination of hazardous work. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the mission indicates that, pursuant to sections 2, 32(4) and 32(5) of the Employment Act of 2006, the list of types of hazardous work to be prohibited to persons below 18 was drafted in consultation with the social partners. It notes that, according to the technical progress report (TPR) of 1 September 2009 for the ILO–IPEC project of support for the preparatory phase of the Ugandan National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO/IPEC SNAP Uganda project), the draft hazardous list has been revised and approved during the top management meeting of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) in May 2009, and that it will be gazetted after the drafting of an extra paragraph on light work.

However, the Committee notes that, during its time in Uganda, the Mission observed that the regulations necessary to implement and the newly enacted laws in Uganda, including the Employment Act of 2006, were not being adopted or issued, partly due to the fact that the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) had not met for three years and that the adoption of regulations fell within the purview of the terms of reference of the LAB. The Mission considered that the credibility of these newly enacted laws was at stake if they could not be implemented. In this regard, in a tripartite meeting held with representatives of relevant ministries and employers’ and workers’ representatives, the Acting Commissioner for Labour Industrial Relations and Productivity in the MGLSD acknowledged that the issue of adopting regulations in order to be able to implement the new laws was urgent. The Committee urges the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children under 18 is adopted, as a matter of urgency. In this regard, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to reactivate the LAB in full consultation with the social partners. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard with its next report.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. Labour inspection. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that the designated labour inspectors/officers carry out inspections in workplaces. However, in its previous comment under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the Committee had noted the Government’s statement that appropriate mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention were inadequate. In this respect, the Committee had referred to the comments made by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards at the International Labour Conference in June 2008, where the case of Uganda concerning the application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), was discussed. The Conference Committee recalled that it had been urging the Government for many years to take measures to reverse the phenomenon of the continued deterioration of the labour inspectorate, which had aggravated following the decentralization of the inspection function to the district level.

The Committee notes the Mission’s indication that there are approximately 23 labour inspectors in the agricultural sector, which is the main employer in Uganda, to monitor the application of the relevant regulations, in particular the occupational safety and health component. When labour inspectors find persons working in violation of the regulations in place, warnings are issued and the licence withdrawn the following year. However, the Mission report indicates that these inspections are sporadic and not institutionalized. In this regard, the Committee notes that, at the tripartite meeting held with representatives of relevant ministries and employers’ and workers’ representatives, the Acting Commissioner for Labour Industrial Relations and Productivity in the MGLSD indicated to the mission that having heard the feedback from the Mission on the labour inspection function on child labour issues in agriculture, she felt that there was definitely a window of opportunity for collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the MGLSD. She also agreed that the labour inspectorate needed to be reinforced so as to be able to detect child labour violations. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the inspection system pursuant to its above comments in order to enable the labour inspectors to monitor the effective implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention. In this regard, it strongly encourages the Government to initiate collaboration between Ministry of Agriculture and the MGLSD. It also once again requests the Government to provide information on the labour inspections carried out by the labour inspectorate and on the number and nature of violations detected involving children in all sectors where the worst forms of child labour exist and, in particular, in the agricultural sector.

2. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that there was a need for training and awareness-raising of public officials, such as labour inspectors, the police, the immigration service, the judiciary services, as well as employers and workers, in combating the trafficking of children. The Committee notes that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in establishing the office responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of the Trafficking in Persons Act. It also requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office once it is established, in particular with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years for labour or commercial sexual exploitation.

Article 6. Programmes of action. National plan of action to eliminate child labour and the national child labour policy. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that a National Programme of Action to Eliminate Child Labour in Uganda (NPA) was launched in 1999 in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, lasting until 2004. The Committee, in its comments under the Minimum Age Convention (No. 138), in 2008, had also noted the Government’s information that a national policy on child labour (NCLP), designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and progressively raise the minimum age for admission to employment or work, was adopted in 2006. It had further noted that the Government was cooperating with ILO–IPEC in the elaboration of a national action plan (NAP) in order to implement the NCLP.

The Committee notes that, in its report, the Mission expressed concern that a NAP for the elimination of child labour had yet to be developed to implement the NCLP. In this regard, the Committee notes that the technical progress report (TPR) of 1 September 2009 for the ILO/IPEC project of support for the preparatory phase of the Ugandan National Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project) indicates that many activities were undertaken to get the process for the NAP started again, including a meeting organized on 2 July 2009 to reinforce the task force. A workshop will also be organized in Addis Ababa in November 2009 where Uganda’s tripartite partners will be invited to validate the NAP and mainstreaming guidelines. The Committee notes that the target date for the NAP to be adopted and operational is March to August 2012. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the NAP for the elimination of child labour is validated and adopted by the targeted date. It requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. The Committee had previously noted that, in 1997, universal primary education (UPE) was declared, which provides access to free basic education to children. As a result of the UPE, the primary school pupil population increased from 2.6 million in 1996 to 4.8 million and to more than 6.8 million children in 2007. However, the Committee had noted the Government’s information that not all children currently have access to primary and secondary education. The categories that have difficulties in gaining access to education include: street children, children from semi-nomadic populations, physically and mentally challenged children, juvenile offenders, children from geographically marginalized populations, domestic workers, working children, orphans, girls, children affected by armed conflict as refugees, internally displaced and abducted children. According to the UPE policy, priority must be given to children with special needs.

The Committee notes from the Mission report that the implementation of the UPE has further increased the enrolment of children in primary school: in 2008, 7.5 million children were enrolled in primary education (93 per cent). Moreover, in order to ensure that children do not stop their schooling after primary education, a universal programme for free secondary education has been implemented. In this regard, the Committee notes that, according to the annual school census of 2008, published on the web site of the Ministry of Education and Sports (www.education.go.ug), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 95 per cent (97 per cent for boys and 93 per cent for girls). However, the Committee observes that, according to the same source, the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is of only 23.5 per cent (25.2 per cent for boys and 21.9 per cent for girls).

The Committee takes due note of the measures taken by the Government with regard to education. It observes, however, that the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level, in comparison with the primary school enrolment rates, indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the UPE and the universal programme for free secondary education, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates, in particular for those categories of children who have been identified by the Government as having difficulties in gaining access to education. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

Clause (b). 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. 1. Commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the report of the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network, supplied by the Government, the Government was starting to develop an action plan on child sexual abuse and exploitation. According to the same source, the Slum Aid Project (slums of Katanga and Katwe) is aimed at empowering and rehabilitating child sex workers. Moreover, the Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL) addresses the prevention and rehabilitation of children involved in prostitution. The Committee had further noted that, according to the Government’s written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (13 September 2005, CRC/C/65/Add.33, paragraph 20), organizations like UYDEL have undertaken interventions in order to identify children and withdraw them from prostitution and other forms of sexual abuse: 1,375 children had received medical treatment; 1,560 children had received psychological counselling; 161 children were returned to school. The Committee notes that, according to the Mission report, UYDEL has removed more children from commercial sexual exploitation and rehabilitated them in a school built with the assistance of the Japanese Government. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on any developments with regard to the adoption of the action plan on child sexual abuse and exploitation. It also once again requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children who have been removed from commercial sexual exploitation and rehabilitated.

2. Hazardous child labour in the agricultural sector (sugar, tea, coffee, tobacco and rice sectors). The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that a number of action programmes were undertaken by different stakeholders under the NPA to address the worst forms of child labour in commercial agriculture, namely work in sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice farms. The Committee notes that, according to the TPR of 1 September 2009 of the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project, it is intended that, by the end of the project, a multidisciplinary and integrated area-based model of intervention laying the foundation for the establishment of “child labour free zones” at the district level will be created and available for replication throughout the country. In this regard, 2,712 children under 18 years of age should be withdrawn from selected worst forms of child labour. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children who have effectively been removed from working in the agricultural sector (sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice sectors) and rehabilitated through the programmes undertaken under the NPA. It further requests the Government to provide information on the progress made within the framework of the
ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project with regard to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, in particular the number of children withdrawn from working in the agricultural sector.

Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. 1. Child domestic workers. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that child domestic work is one of the worst forms of child labour targeted by the NPA. It had also noted that a number of action programmes had been launched, at the national and interregional levels, aimed at preventing (especially through education and training), withdrawing and rehabilitating children engaged in domestic work in various districts (Toror, Lira, Busia, Kampala, Wakiso, Mpigi, Rakai). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the action programmes targeting child domestic workers and the results achieved.

2. Street children. The Committee had previously noted that an action programme was launched in 2004 in order to prevent and withdraw children from hazardous street activities. The Committee notes that, according to the Ministerial Policy Statement for the MGLSD of 2009/10, in 2006–07, the MGLSD identified, withdrew, rehabilitated, resettled and supported 1,136 street children and their mothers. It further notes that, according to the Mission report, street children have benefited from a programme of non-formal education called the Basic Education for Poor Areas (BEPUA). The Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that children under 18 years working on the streets are protected from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests it to provide information on the number of street children who were effectively prevented or withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour through the implementation of the abovementioned measures.

3. Orphans and vulnerable children. The Committee had 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 had further noted the Government’s information that it adopted the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) policy in order to provide care, support and protection to orphans and other vulnerable children.

The Committee notes that, according to the joint ILO–IPEC, UNICEF and World Bank report on understanding children’s work in Uganda of August 2008 (UCW report), a large proportion of Ugandan children must grow up in the absence of one or both biological parents. In all, nearly 8 per cent of children aged 7–14 years, 0.5 million in absolute terms, are either “single” (one parent deceased) orphans and about five per cent, 300,000 in absolute terms, are “double” (both parents deceased) orphans. The child orphan phenomenon is closely linked to the HIV/AIDS crisis. The UCW further indicates that rates of economic activity are higher among double orphans, as well as paternal and particularly maternal orphans, compared to children living with both parents.

The Committee notes that, in the context of the final TPR of 10 December 2008 for the ILO–IPEC project to combat and prevent HIV/AIDS-induced child labour in sub-Saharan Africa, this project has permitted the prevention of 1,486 children at risk of becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour and withdrawn 1,456 children from such worst forms. Furthermore, the TPR indicates that the project has mainstreamed HIV/AIDS in the NCLP and that the issue of child labour has been mainstreamed into the joint United Nations response on HIV/AIDS (JUNTA). The Committee further notes that, according to the TPR of 1 September 2009 for the ILO–IPEC SNAP Uganda project, a consultant has been recruited to study the OVC, child labour policies and NAPs to identify gaps or contradictions and suggest where synergies can be built. This is a joint initiative between UNICEF, the MGLSD, ILO–IPEC and JUNTA, and is actually a first step towards strengthening the National Strategic Programme Plan of Interventions (NSPPI) for OVC. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee expresses concern at the number of child orphaned because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Uganda and at risk of becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It therefore requests the Government to redouble its efforts to ensure that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children are prevented from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the results obtained, in particular through the implementation of the NSPPI for OVC.

Clause (e). Special situation of girls. The Committee had previously noted with interest the Government’s information that the MoES, other line ministries, NGOs and donors have been active in implementing initiatives in girls’ education. It had also noted the Government’s information that districts with high drop-out rates, low retention and pass rates for girls were supported with grants through the promotion of a girls’ education scheme.

The Committee notes with interest that, according to the UCW report, there is surprisingly little difference in the time use patterns of boys and girls in rural or urban areas. The share of boys and girls aged 7–14 years in economic activity and in school varies little. Other indicators also suggest that gender plays a relatively minor role in the child labour phenomenon in Uganda. Only slight differences by sex emerge among older, 15- to 17-year-old children in terms of school enrolment (favouring boys) but not in terms of involvement in economic activity.

Article 8. Poverty reduction programme. The Committee had previously noted that the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) 2004–05 to 2007–08 had been developed to eliminate mass poverty that perpetuates child labour. The Committee notes that, according to the report on education needs assessment for northern Uganda of February 2008 prepared by the Education Planning Department, in view of the magnitude of the problems that still exist in the north of Uganda as a consequence of the civil conflict, the need for the development of a strategy to overcome the deprivation and underdevelopment in that region resulted in the formulation of the National Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP). The PRDP is an overarching, multi-sectoral response which broadly sets forth a reconstruction and development roadmap that is to be followed by all the relevant sectors of government and development agencies. The PRDP is anchored to the PEAP and also incorporates Millennium Development Goals. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the vicious circle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any significant impact of the PEAP and the PRDP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, in particular in the agricultural sector.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s information that child labour in Uganda prevails in various sectors, including: the informal sector, street activities, domestic service, the agricultural sector, fishing, construction and commercial sex. It had also noted the Government’s statement that the Uganda Bureau of Statistics has been created as a semi-autonomous organization responsible for developing statistics in the country (the Labour Force Survey 2003).

The Committee notes that, according to the UCW report, 17.3 per cent of children aged 5–17 years are engaged in child labour (1,764,451 children), while 4.8 per cent of children aged 14–17 years (115,900 children) are engaged in hazardous work or working excessive hours. The report indicates that while most working children are concentrated in the range of 10–15 hours per week, there is also a significant proportion of children performing exceptionally long working hours, i.e. 30 or more hours per week. In absolute terms, 1.2 million children aged 7–11 years, 1,1 million children aged 12–14 years and 870,000 children aged
15–17 years work at least 30 hours per week. These are among the worst off working children, as their responsibilities completely preclude their rights to schooling, study, leisure and adequate rest. Expressing its serious concern at the number of children involved in the worst forms of child labour and working excessive hours in Uganda, the Committee requests the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the situation and ensure the effective enforcement of the Convention in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.

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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. However, it takes note of the report of the Technical Advisory Mission (the Mission) on Child Labour Issues that was carried out in Uganda in July 2009.

Article 3. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Abductions and the exaction of forced labour. The Committee had previously noted that article 25:1 of the Constitution of Uganda stipulates that no person shall be held in slavery or servitude and that section 25:2 states that no person shall be required to perform forced labour. It had noted that the Penal Code punishes as offences abduction (section 126); detention with sexual intent (section 134); and abduction for the purpose of reducing to slavery (section 245). Moreover, section 5 of the Employment Act of 2006 states that anyone who uses or assists any other person in using forced or compulsory labour commits an offence. Finally, section 252 of the Penal Code provides that any person who unlawfully compels any other to labour against their will commits a misdemeanour.

However, in its previous comments under Convention No. 29, the Committee had noted that the armed group Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abducted children of both sexes, forcing them to provide work and services as concubines, these alleged activities being associated with the killings, beatings and rape of these children. The Committee had noted that, according to the report of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Uganda of 7 May 2007 (Secretary-General’s report of 2007) (S/2007/260, paragraph 10), the figures from 2005 suggested that as many as 25,000 children may have been abducted since the onset of the conflict in northern Uganda in Kitgum and Gulu districts. However, the total number of abductions had significantly reduced since its peak in 2004. The total number of abductions in January 2005 was estimated to be approximately 1,500, significantly reducing to 222 over the first six months of 2006. Since September 2006, there had been no confirmed reports on the abduction of children in Uganda by the LRA. Moreover, the peace talks between the Government of Uganda and the LRA had officially opened on 14 July 2006 and the parties had signed a formal cessation of hostilities agreement in August 2006, which was extended until 30 June 2007. It was initially expected that the prospects of the signing of a peace agreement would mean a potentially significant increase in the number of children released by the LRA. However, despite repeated pleas by various stakeholders, the LRA had not released children from its ranks.

The Committee notes 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). The Committee on the Rights of the Child was further concerned over the inhuman and degrading treatment of the abducted children. Moreover, the Committee notes that, according to the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Uganda of 15 September 2009 (Secretary-General’s report of 2009), the LRA has not knowingly operated in Ugandan territory since the cessation of hostilities in August 2006. Over the past four years, however, the LRA, including a substantial but unknown number of Ugandan children associated with its forces, has increasingly moved into neighbouring countries to establish additional bases; and children and their communities in the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic have been the victims of attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives and resulted in the disappearance of hundreds of children. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 233 abductions of children by the LRA were documented by child protection partners between 1 December 2008 and 30 June 2009. The Secretary-General further indicates that efforts to sign a Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the LRA failed and, as a result, the LRA has increasingly become a regional actor. Since December 2008, LRA elements, operating in small groups, reportedly conducted attacks against several localities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing civilians, burning houses and abducting children and adults. In total, it is estimated that more than 1,000 civilians have been killed and several hundred abducted by the LRA since it increased its violent activities in 2008.

The Committee therefore once again expresses its deep concern at the situation of children abducted by the LRA and forced to provide work and services as informants, porters, hostages, as well as becoming victims of sexual exploitation and violence. It observes that, although national legislation appears to prohibit abductions and the exaction of forced labour, this remains a serious issue of concern in practice, in particular in the context of renewed violence and conflict. In this regard, the Committee once again recalls that, by virtue of Article 3(a) of the Convention, the exaction of forced labour from children is considered as one of the worst forms of child labour and that, by virtue of Article 1 of the Convention, member States are required to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee strongly urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to eradicate abductions and the exaction of forced labour from children under 18 years, as a matter of urgency. In this regard, it requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of offenders are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed in practice. It also urges the Government to take measures to cooperate with the neighbouring countries and accordingly reinforce security measures, particularly on the common borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Sudan, with a view to bringing an end to this worst form of child labour.

Compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 (paragraph 5), Uganda is among the countries where parties to armed conflicts – the Ugandan People Defence Force (UPDF), the local defence units and the LRA – recruited or used children and were responsible for other grave violations. According to this report, it was estimated that, notwithstanding various peace agreements, up to 2,000 women and children may still have been held by the LRA within its ranks and had not been released. Regarding children recruited by the national military forces, the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 indicated that the UPDF recruited young boys to serve in its armed forces, especially within the local defence units, which are UPDF auxiliary forces. The report of 2007 also indicated that during recruitment, age verification was rarely carried out. After training, many of these children were said to be fighting alongside the UPDF. Although the Government of Uganda incorporated, in 2005, in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Act, a provision prohibiting the recruitment and use of child soldiers, the lack of effective monitoring at the local level led to children continuing to join some elements of the armed forces. However, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007, the Government had committed itself to strengthening the implementation of the existing legal and policy frameworks on the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. Moreover, in December 2006, the UPDF agreed to undertake inspection and monitoring, including to verify age during the recruitment process. Furthermore, the Uganda Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (UTF) had committed itself to working with the UPDF and the local defence units to ensure immediate and appropriate follow-up to remove any person under 18 years of age found within the UPDF and local defence units, including through referral to appropriate child protection agencies.

The Committee notes that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2009 (paragraphs 3–7), on 16 January 2009, the Government of Uganda and the UTF signed an action plan regarding children associated with armed forces in Uganda, which obligates the Government to prevent and end the association of children under the age of 18 with armed auxiliary forces; appoint focal points at the highest level of the Government on the implementation of the action plan; provide access on a regular and ad hoc basis to the UPDF and auxiliary facilities to the UTF to monitor and verify compliance; and promptly investigate allegations of recruitment and use of children and ensure the prosecution of perpetrators. Furthermore, the action plan identifies time-bound activities relating to children associated with the armed forces in Uganda. Among others, the measures include verification visits to all UPDF facilities and regular access to all relevant UPDF units by the UTF. In compliance with the action plan, the Government of Uganda and the UTF agreed upon a series of visits by the UTF to UPDF facilities in northern Uganda in early 2009, with a view to verifying that no persons under the age of 18 were present within, or recruited into, its ranks.

The Committee notes with satisfaction that no case of recruitment or use of children by the UPDF or its auxiliary forces has come to the attention of the UTF. Throughout its visits, the UPDF extended excellent cooperation to the verification team. Furthermore, the UTF observed the UPDF recruitment process in the northern districts of Uganda from 12 to 14 February 2009. It was noted that age requirements for recruitment into the UPDF, as set forth in existing laws and regulations, were strictly observed and followed by UPDF officers in compliance with the UPDF internal circular of February 2009 containing instructions on recruitment criteria. The Committee notes that, according to the Secretary‑General’s report of 2009, the UTF will nevertheless continue to monitor compliance of the UPDF within the action plan framework to ensure that continuous efforts are made to prevent the recruitment and use of children and that the implementation of the action plan continues.

However, the Committee notes that the LRA, whose leadership originates in Uganda and a significant number of whose forces are also from Uganda, remains listed on the Secretary-General’s annexes to his reports on children and armed conflict because of the continued practice of recruitment of children within its ranks. Although LRA violations against children were originally reported solely under Uganda country situation reporting, the geostrategic situation of that group, which is expanding its armed activities to the wider region, has prompted the request of a strategy for increased regional joint capability to monitor and report on cross-border recruitment and use of children by the LRA. The UTF has therefore been engaged in consultations with the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Country Team in Uganda, the United Nations Children’s Fund headquarters and regional offices, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations missions in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, on appropriate steps to establish a subregional strategy to monitor and report on grave child rights violations committed by the LRA in the region.

The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the Government and the positive results it has registered with regard to the UPDF. However, it expresses its concern at the situation of children who continue to be recruited for armed conflict by the LRA. The Committee refers to the Secretary-General’s call upon the Government of Uganda to prioritize the protection of children in its military actions against LRA elements, either on Ugandan territory or in joint operations in neighbouring countries (S/2009/462, 15 September 2009, paragraph 28). The Committee therefore urges the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the situation and to take, as a matter of urgency, immediate and effective measures to put a stop in practice to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age by the LRA. In this regard, it urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that a strategy for increased regional joint capability to monitor and report on cross-border recruitment and use of children by the LRA is adopted as soon as possible. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that persons who forcibly recruit children under 18 years for use in armed conflict are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Providing the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Children who have been affected by armed conflict. The Committee had previously noted that the orphans and vulnerable children policy includes interventions to mitigate the impact of the conflict on vulnerable children, especially by providing them with psychological support and with health-care services. It had also noted that a number of measures had been taken in order to rehabilitate children affected by conflict: (a) the psychological support programme for the care of children in conflict areas; (b) the creation of the National Core Group for Psychological Support, responsible for advocacy against abduction and conflict-related child abuse; and (c) the project implemented by Save the Children from Denmark and Sweden, in collaboration with the UPDF and Gulu Support Children Organization (GUSCO) with the aim of training officers in the UPDF’s Child Protection Unit and promoting the observance of rights of children affected by armed conflict. Moreover, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 (paragraph 62), interim care centres, known as reception centres, were established in the north of Uganda in order to receive formerly abducted children, including those referred by the UPDF Child Protection Unit.

The Committee notes that, according to the mission report, the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) made interventions for child victims of armed conflict, as well as abducted children, and specialized schools have been built in the north of the country to give support and rehabilitate these children. Indeed, the Committee notes that, according to the report on Education Needs Assessment for Northern Uganda of February 2008 (ENA report) prepared by the Education Planning Department, the MoES has, among other things, provided psychosocial back-up support by training 50 trainers in psychosocial training, helped with the demobilization of 53 child soldiers, supported eight reception centres for former child abductees. The MoES has also constructed 27 learning centres with 114 classrooms in Kitgum, Pader and Lira for 6,000 displaced primary school children, as well as a primary boarding school at Laroo in Gulu with a capacity for 1,000 pupils.  Furthermore, the ENA report indicates that many education provider organizations have contributed to the interventions of the MoES with a view to provide an interim response to the needs of northern Uganda in terms of education. The Committee also notes 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 UTF on 16 January 2009 covers different areas of activities, including preventing the recruitment of children under 18 years for use in armed conflict and releasing and reintegrating underage recruits. The Committee strongly 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 provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who have been rehabilitated and reintegrated into their communities through these measures, in particular through the action of the MoES and through the activities undertaken under the action programme regarding children associated with armed forces in Uganda.

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

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The Committee notes the Government’s first report. It requests it to provide further information on the following points.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes that certain aspects of the prohibition of the trafficking of children contemplated under the Convention are covered in section 131 of the Penal Code. Section 131 prohibits anyone from procuring a woman or girl to leave Uganda for the purposes of prostitution. The Committee considers that trafficking of children under Article 3(a) includes the recruitment, transportation, harbouring or receipt of a child under 18 years, by means of force, deception, influence or reward to acquire control of the child for the purpose of sexual or economic exploitation. The Committee notes that, under the Penal Code, boys under 18 years of age are not protected from sale and trafficking. The Committee reminds the Government that, by virtue of Article 3(a), the sale and trafficking of children constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour and is therefore prohibited for both boys and girls below 18 years of age. The Committee notes that section 131 of the Penal Code does not provide a comprehensive prohibition of trafficking contemplated under Article 3(a). However, during 2006, a member of Parliament drafted a comprehensive anti-trafficking law. The Committee accordingly asks the Government to indicate whether this anti-trafficking law prohibits the sale and trafficking of both boys and girls under 18 years of age. It also requests the Government to keep it informed on any progress made in the adoption of this comprehensive anti-trafficking law.

Clause (b). 1. Use, procuring or offering a child for prostitution. The Committee notes that section 131 of the Penal Code states that anyone who procures any woman or girl to become a prostitute commits an offence. Sections 136 and 137 respectively punish anyone who lives on earnings of prostitution and anyone who keeps brothels. The Committee observes that only the procuring and offering of women and girls for prostitution appear to be prohibited in the Penal Code. It also observes that, by virtue of section 139 of the Penal Code, anyone who practices or engages in prostitution as well as intermediaries involved in prostitution commit an offence, while clients do not appear to be penalized. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years for prostitution is prohibited. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to criminalize clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to establish penalties for this purpose. The Committee finally encourages the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that boys and girls under 18 who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders.

2. Use, procuring or offering a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic purposes. The Committee notes that no information is contained in the Government’s report on this point. It also notes that section 166 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who, for the purposes of distribution, makes, produces, imports, exports, takes part in any business related to, advertises, any obscene writings, drawings, prints, paintings, photographs, cinematographic films or any other obscene objects. The Committee observes that there do not appear to be any provisions in the relevant legislation specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the use, procuring or offering of both boys and girls under 18 years of age, by anyone, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances is prohibited, as well as applicable penalties.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee notes that the Government provides no information on this point. It requests the Government to indicate whether a legal provision exists which prohibits the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs.

Clause (d). Hazardous work. The Committee notes the Government’s information that section 8 of the Children’s Act of 2000 states that children (under 18 years) shall not be employed or engaged in any activity that may be harmful to their health, education or mental, physical, or moral development. The Committee also notes that section 32(4) of the Employment Act of 2006 states that a child may not be employed in any employment or work which is injurious to their health, dangerous or hazardous or otherwise unsuitable and an employer shall not continue to employ a child after being notified in writing by a labour officer that the employment or work is injurious to health, dangerous, or otherwise unsuitable for that child.

Article 4, paragraph 1. Determination of hazardous work. The Committee notes that the relevant legislation does not seem to contain a list of the types of hazardous work prohibited to children under 18 years. The Committee reminds the Government that, by virtue of Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention, the types of hazardous work referred to under Article 3(d) must be determined by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, taking into consideration relevant international standards, in particular Paragraph 3 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190). The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that a list determining the types of hazardous work that may not be performed by children under 18 years of age will be adopted shortly, in consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned. It also asks the Government to inform it of any progress made in this regard.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. Labour inspectorate. The Committee notes the Government’s information that the designated labour inspectors/officers carry out inspections in workplaces. The Committee notes that sections 10–14 of the Employment Act of 2006 establish the inspection competencies of the labour officers. Section 32(6) of the Employment Act of 2006 states that any person, including a labour union or employer’s association may complain to a labour officer if he or she believes that a child is being employed in breach of the prohibition on hazardous work contained in section 32(4) of the same Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide extracts of the inspections reports specifying the extent and nature of violations detected involving children under 18 years performing hazardous work.

2. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee notes the Government’s information that there is need for training and awareness raising of public officials, such as labour inspectors, the police, the immigration service, the judiciary services, as well as employers and workers, in combating the trafficking of children. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to this end and their impact on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

3. Child Labour Unit and the National Steering Committee on Child Labour. The Committee notes the Government’s information that a Child Labour Unit has been set up within the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations. The Unit has prepared, among others, a draft child labour policy. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that the National Steering Committee on Child Labour and child labour committees at the district/community levels serve as monitoring mechanisms. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the activities of the Child Labour Unit and the National Steering Committee on Child Labour and their impact on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Article 6. Programmes of action. National Plan of Action to Eliminate Child Labour and the National Child Labour Policy. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in November 1998, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ILO/IPEC. Consequently, a National Programme of Action to Eliminate Child Labour in Uganda was launched in 1999 lasting until 2004. The general objective of the programme was to contribute to the progressive elimination of exploitative child labour in Uganda, starting with its worst forms. More specifically, the Programme was aimed at: (a) progressively eliminating exploitative child labour focusing on prevention, withdrawal, rehabilitation and offering alternatives to working children; (b) developing a National Policy on Child Labour and a Plan of Action on Child Labour; (c) implementing pilot projects for improving the situation of ex-child workers and changing attitudes about child labour among the public. The worst forms of child labour targeted by the NPA include: work in commercial agriculture, namely sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice farms; domestic work; commercial sex; fishing, stone quarries, construction and other related dangerous activities. The Committee notes the Government’s information that employers’ and workers’ organizations were consulted and their views were taken into consideration. It notes with interest the Government’s information that, in implementing the NPA, about 3,000 children involved in the worst forms of child labour, such as domestic work, street work, prostitution, commercial farming, work in the informal sector and armed conflict, were withdrawn from those worst forms of child labour. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in implementing the NPA, a draft National Child Labour Policy and a National Plan of Action on Child Labour have been developed. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the implementation of the National Plan of Action on Child Labour and its impact on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Article 7, paragraph 1. Penalties. The Committee notes that the Penal Code provides for sufficiently dissuasive and effective penalties of imprisonment for anyone who commits the following offences: trafficking of girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation (section 131); procuring prostitution (section 131). The Committee also notes the penalties of imprisonment or fines provided by section 96 of the Employment Act of 2006 for the violation of the prohibition on employing a child in hazardous work contained in section 32(4) of the same Act.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. The Committee notes the Government’s information that it recognizes basic education as both a human right and important investment in the future productive capacity of the economy. In 1997, universal primary education (UPE) was declared, which provides access to free basic education to children. The UPE goal was the achievement of universal primary education by 2003. As a result of the UPE, the primary school pupil population increased from 2.6 million in 1996 to 4.8 million and it is at present at more than 6.8 million children. However, although significant progress has been made in achieving education for all, especially primary enrolment, the rates of children staying in school are still low. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that not all children currently have access to primary and secondary education. The categories that have difficulties in gaining access to education include: street children, children from semi-nomadic populations, physically and mentally challenged children, juvenile offenders, children from geographically marginalized populations, domestic workers, working children, orphans, girls, children affected by armed conflict as refugees, internally displaced and abducted children. According to the UPE policy, the priority must be given to children with special needs.

The Committee considers that education contributes to preventing children from engaging in the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue its efforts to ensure free basic education and to keep children in school. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted to improve access to free basic education of those categories of children who have been identified by the Government as having difficulties in gaining access to such education. It finally asks the Government to continue supplying data on the enrolment and drop-out rates in school disaggregated by sex.

Clause (b). 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. 1. Commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee notes that, according to the report of the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network (UCRNN), supplied by the Government, the Government is starting to develop an action plan on child sexual abuse and exploitation. According to the same source, the Slum Aid Project (slums of Katanga and Katwe) is aimed at empowering and rehabilitating child sex workers. Moreover, the Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL) addresses the prevention and rehabilitation of children involved in prostitution. The Committee further notes that, according to the Government’s written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (13 September 2005, CRC/C/65/Add.33, page 20), organizations like UYDEL have undertaken interventions in order to identify children and withdraw them from prostitution and other forms of sexual abuse: 1,375 children have received medical treatment; 1,560 children received psychological counselling; 161 children were returned to school. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments with regard to the adoption of the action plan on child sexual abuse and exploitation. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children who have been removed from commercial sexual exploitation and rehabilitated.

2. Hazardous child labour in the agricultural sector (sugar, tea, coffee, tobacco and rice sectors). The Committee notes the Government’s information that a number of action programmes were undertaken by different stakeholders under the National Programme of Action to Eliminate Child Labour to address the worst forms of child labour in commercial agriculture, namely work in sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice farms. The Committee notes that the following programmes were adopted targeting children working in the agricultural sector: “Survey on the prevention, withdrawal and rehabilitation of children engaged in hazardous work in commercial agriculture in Uganda” (May 2002); “Combating hazardous child labour in commercial agriculture in Ngogwe and SSI Mukono District” (March 2003); “Uganda: Workers effort to eliminate child labour in the sugar and tea sectors” (March 2003); “Uganda: Elimination of child labour in coffee growing areas in Mbale District” (March 2003); “Uganda: Eliminating child labour in sugar and rice sectors” (August 2003); “Uganda: Enhancing the capacity of labour inspectors to prevent and combat child labour in commercial agriculture in Uganda” (January 2004). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of children who have been removed from working in the agricultural sector (sugar and tea plantations, tobacco and rice sectors) and rehabilitated in implementing the abovementioned programmes.

Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. 1. Child domestic workers. The Committee notes the Government’s information that child domestic work is one of the worst forms of child labour targeted by the National Programme of Action to Eliminate Child Labour. It also notes that a number of action programmes have been launched, at the national and interregional levels, aimed at preventing (especially through education and training), withdrawing and rehabilitating children engaged in domestic work in various districts (Toror, Lira, Busia, Kampala, Wakiso, Mpigi, Rakai). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the action programmes targeting child domestic workers and results achieved.

2. Street boys. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (13 September 2005, CRC/C/65/Add.33, page 26), the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) has developed and implemented in 2002 a strategy and a workplan aimed at identifying, removing and rehabilitating street children, by providing them with opportunities for sustainable livelihood. Since 2002, over 1,167 former street children have passed through a transit centre in Kampiringisa where they have received counselling. For the majority of children, their families were traced and they were reunited with them. The Committee also notes that an action programme was launched in 2004 in order to prevent and withdraw children from hazardous street activities. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that children under 18 years working on the streets are protected from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests it to continue providing information on the measures taken to this end, and results achieved.

3. Orphans and vulnerable children. Child victims/orphans of HIV/AIDS. The Committee notes 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. It also notes that, according to the Government’s written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (13 September 2005, CRC/C/65/Add.33, page 19), with the HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality rates, the number of orphans has increased tremendously and is projected to increase further. The Committee notes that, according to the document by Human Rights Watch “The less they know, the better – Abstinence-Only HIV/AIDS Programs in Uganda”, supplied by the Government, Uganda is home to nearly 1 million children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Some orphans end up on the street, where they may engage in hazardous labour, including sex work, to survive. Without parental care, those children may be withdrawn from school and forced into severe economic hardship. Many of these abuses increase vulnerability to HIV infection. It also notes that Uganda has launched a number of programmes of action aimed at: (a) preventing and combating HIV/AIDS-induced child labour; (b) preventing and withdrawing HIV/AIDS-affected children from entering into child labour in various districts (Mbale, Kampala, Mukono, Rakai). The Committee also notes the Government’s information that it adopted the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Policy in order to provide care, support and protection to orphans and other vulnerable children. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the abovementioned measures and of the OVC Policy on protecting child victims/orphans of HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children from the worst forms of child labour.

Clause (e). Special situation of girls. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information that the Ministry of Education and Sports, other line ministries, NGOs and donors have been active in implementing initiatives in girls’ education. Over 127 broad activities and interventions are currently devoted to improving the education and welfare of girls. According to the Government, a national strategy and plan of action for girls’ education was launched in 2000. The overall goal of the strategy is that all girls in Uganda have full access to educational opportunities and are supported by their families, schools, communities, government and the private sector to participate fully in gender-balanced education programmes in order to attain their maximum potential as equal and effective citizens. This strategy guides government and other stakeholders to remove the numerous barriers to education for girls. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that districts with high drop‑out rates, low retention and pass rates for girls are supported with grants through the promotion of girl’s education scheme. The Committee welcomes the measures taken to improve the education of girls. It requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the abovementioned measures on increasing girls’ enrolment rates and reducing their drop-out rates.

Article 7, paragraph 3. Designation of the competent authority responsible for the implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Commissioner for Labour is the authority entrusted with the implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention.

Article 8. 1. International cooperation. The Committee notes the Government’s information that cooperation has been enhanced with the ILO and other development partners in the country, such as UNICEF.

2. Poverty reduction programme. The Committee notes the Government’s information that a range of factors has contributed to the problem of child labour such as poverty. The Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) 2004–05 to
2007–08 has been developed to eliminate mass poverty that perpetuates child labour. The most important social interventions of the PEAP addressing children’s needs include: primary education, primary health care, rural water supply and sanitation. The poverty analysis unit in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development coordinates data collection, analysis and dissemination regarding the PEAP. The Committee requests the Government to provide information of any notable impact of the PEAP towards eliminating the worst forms of child labour.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s information that child labour in Uganda prevails in various sectors, including: the informal sector, street activities, domestic service, the agricultural sector, fishing, construction and commercial sex. It also notes the Government’s statement that at the national level a concerted effort is being made by the Government to revive the national statistical system. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has been created as a semi-autonomous organization responsible for developing statistics in the country (the labour force survey 2003). Five thematic and sectoral studies were carried out on child labour. According to the Government, disaggregated information on the number of children rescued from child labour is the following: 2,369 children reunited with their families; 167 (140 boys and 27 girls) working under safer conditions; 1,483 enrolled in formal education; 386 children (149 boys and 237 girls) provided with vocational skills; 191 children (143 boys and 48 girls) provided with basic literacy; more than 3,500 children receiving counselling and health care. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether those children were removed from the worst forms of child labour and, if so, to specify the nature of the worst forms of child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.

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The Committee notes the Government’s first report. It also notes the detailed discussion which took place at the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards of the 95th Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2006. Referring to the comments made by the Committee under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), in so far as Article 3(a) of the Convention provides that the worst forms of child labour include “all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as forced or compulsory labour”, the Committee is of the view that the issue of forced labour of children can be examined more specifically under this Convention. The Committee requests the Government to supply further information on the following points.

Article 3. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. 1. Abductions and the exaction of forced labour. In its previous comments under Convention No. 29, the Committee had noted that the armed group Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abducted children of both sexes, forcing them to provide work and services as concubines, these alleged activities being associated with killings, beatings and rape of these children. Over 14,000 children had been abducted from districts in northern Uganda.

The Committee notes the Government’s information during the Conference Committee discussion that it was making efforts to address the problem of children’s abductions. In this regard, legislative, awareness-raising and rehabilitative measures had been adopted in order to combat the abductions of children. Moreover, the Governments of Uganda and Sudan signed an agreement in Nairobi in December 1999 for the return of children abducted from Uganda and taken to Sudan by the LRA. As a result of these efforts, no serious cases of abductions were reported in the last six months and internally displaced persons had started returning to their homes.

The Committee notes that article 25:1 of the Constitution of Uganda stipulates that no person shall be held in slavery or servitude. It notes that the Penal Code punishes as offences abduction (section 126); detention with sexual intent (section 134); and abduction for the purpose of reducing to slavery (section 245). It also notes that article 25:2 of the Constitution states that no person shall be required to perform forced labour. Moreover, section 5 of the Employment Act of 2006 states that anyone who uses, or assists any other person in using, forced or compulsory labour commits an offence. Finally, section 252 of the Penal Code provides that any person who unlawfully compels any other to labour against their will commits a misdemeanour.

The Committee notes 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 10) (the Secretary-General’s report of 2007), the latest figures from 2005 suggest that as many as 25,000 children may have been abducted since the onset of the conflict in northern Uganda in Kitgum and Gulu districts. Children have been used as porters, informants, and other service providers, including sexual slaves. However, the total number of abductions has significantly reduced since its peak in 2004. The total number of abductions in January 2005 was estimated to be approximately 1,500, significantly reducing to 222 over the first six months of 2006. Since September 2006, there have been no confirmed reports on the abduction of children in Uganda by the LRA. However, the LRA is not currently active within the territory of Uganda. In fact, the peace talks between the Government of Uganda and the LRA officially opened on 14 July 2006 and the parties signed a formal cessation of hostilities agreement in August 2006, which was extended until 30 June 2007. It was initially expected that the prospects of the signing of a peace agreement would mean a potentially significant increase in the number of children released by the LRA. However, despite repeated pleas by various stakeholders, the LRA has not released children from its ranks.

The Committee expresses its deep concern at the situation of children abducted by the LRA and forced to provide work and services as informants, porters, hostages, and victims of sexual exploitation and violence. It observes that, while there have been positive and tangible steps, which include various peace agreements, to combat the abductions and the exaction of forced labour from children, there is no evidence that the forced labour of children has been eliminated, as children have not been released from the LRA. Therefore, although the national legislation appears to prohibit abductions and the exaction of forced labour, this remains a serious issue of concern in practice. In this regard, the Committee reminds the Government that, by virtue of Article 3(a) of the Convention, forced labour is considered as one of the worst forms of child labour, and that by virtue of Article 1 of the Convention, member States are required to take immediate and effective measures to secure the elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. It urges the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the situation and to take the necessary measures, as a matter of urgency, to ensure that the practice of abductions and the exaction of forced labour from children under 18 years is eradicated. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the offenders are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice. It finally requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken to remove children from situations of abduction and forced labour and provide for their rehabilitation and social integration.

2. Compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The Committee had previously noted, under Convention No. 29, that children abducted by the LRA were forced to become part of the conflict and used, among others, as soldiers.

The Committee notes that, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 (paragraph 5), Uganda is among the countries where parties to armed conflicts – the Uganda People Defence Force (UPDF), the local defence units and the armed group, the LRA – recruited or used children and were responsible for other grave violations. According to this report, it is estimated that, notwithstanding various peace agreements, up to 2,000 women and children may still be held by the LRA within its ranks and have not been released. Regarding children recruited by the national military forces, the Secretary-General’s report indicates that the UPDF recruits young boys to serve in its armed forces, especially within the local defence units, which are UPDF auxiliary forces (defence units are not specifically regulated by law, they are de facto under the responsibility of the regular armed forces in Uganda and receive training and arms from the UPDF). According to the report, there are no signs of release of the 1,128 children reported to have been mobilized into local units in late 2004.

During recruitment, age verification is rarely carried out during enrolment. After training, many of these children are said to be fighting alongside the UPDF. Although the Government of Uganda incorporated, in 2005, in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Act a provision prohibiting the recruitment and use of child soldiers, the lack of effective monitoring at the local level leads to children continuing to join some elements of the armed forces. According to the report, in order to address the issue of children recruited in armed conflict, the Government has committed itself to strengthening the implementation of the existing legal and policy frameworks on the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. Moreover, in December 2006, the UPDF agreed to undertake inspection and monitoring, also during the recruitment process, with the purpose of age verification. Furthermore, the Uganda Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (UTF) has committed itself to working with the UPDF and the local defence units to ensure immediate and appropriate follow-up to remove any person under 18 years of age found within the UPDF and local defence units, including through referral to appropriate child protection agencies.

The Committee finally notes that, in his recommendations, the Secretary-General: (a) called upon all parties to the conflict to maintain a dialogue with the UTF for the preparation and development of a concrete time-bound action plan; (b) expressed his concern at the absence of any sign of release of children associated with various forces, especially the local defence units and the LRA, and urged appropriate measures for their immediate release, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration; and (c) urged the LRA leaders to end child recruitment and release children associated with their forces (Secretary-General’s report of 2007, paragraphs 63–65).

While noting the positive measures taken by the Government in this field, including the cooperation between the UPDF and the UTF, the Committee expresses its concern at the situation of children who continue to be recruited for armed conflict by the UPDF, the local defence units and the LRA. The Committee requests the Government to take prompt and effective action to ensure that the practice of forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 years of age in armed conflict is both prohibited and eliminated in the national armed forces and in rebel groups. In line with the recommendations of the UN Secretary‑General on children and armed conflict, the Committee also urges the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that children under 18 years are released from the ranks of the UPDF, local defence units and the LRA. It finally requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that persons who forcibly recruit children under 18 years for use in armed conflict are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Effective and time-bound measures. 
Clause (b). Providing the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Children who have been affected by armed conflict. The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Policy includes interventions to mitigate the impact of the conflict on vulnerable children, especially by providing them with psychological support and with health-care services. It also notes the information contained in the Government’s written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (13 September 2005; CRC/C/RESP/96, page 23), according to which one of the local NGOs, Gulu Support Children Organization (GUSCO), offers children affected by armed conflict a reception centre where they receive rehabilitation services, such as counseling, food, clothing, shelter, education and psychological support. More than 2,000 children have been reunited with their families since 2002. Other rehabilitative centres are the Rachalle Rehabilitation Centre in Lira District – managing a programme of more than 500,000 children within the affected area – and the Aachan Children’s Centre (1,060 children rehabilitated since 2003). The Committee further notes that, according to the Government’s information during the Conference Committee discussion, a number of measures have been taken in order to rehabilitate children affected by conflict: (a) the Psychological Support Programme for the care of children in conflict areas; (b) the creation of the National Core Group for Psychological Support, responsible for advocacy against abduction and conflict-related child abuse; (c) the project implemented by Save the Children from Denmark and Sweden, in collaboration with the UPDF and GUSCO with the aim of training officers in the UPDF’s Child Protection Unit and promoting the observance of rights of children affected by armed conflict. Moreover, according to the Secretary-General’s report of 2007 (paragraph 62), interim care centres, known as reception centres, were established in the north of Uganda in order to receive formerly abducted children, including those referred by the UPDF Child Protection Unit. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the effective and time-bound measures taken to rehabilitate and integrate children affected by the armed conflict and to indicate how many of these children under 18 years have been rehabilitated and reintegrated in their communities through such measures.

The Committee is also addressing a direct request to the Government concerning other points.

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