Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 3/25/2003 |
X |
| Ratified Convention 182 6/21/2001 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
X |
| National Child Labor Action Plan |
X |
| Sector Action Plan |
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Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
The Ugandan Bureau of Statistics estimated that 33.9 percent of children in Uganda ages 5 to 14 years were working in 2000-01.[4071] Children engage in various types of work, such as commercial agriculture and fishing, [4072] domestic service,[4073] and street sales and other activities in the urban informal sector.[4074] Children are also involved in exploitive labor, including commercial sexual exploitation [4075] and other hazardous activities.[4076] Uganda is considered to be a source country for trafficking of persons. There is evidence of children being abducted and trafficked across the border to Southern Sudan by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The government also acknowledges that internal trafficking of children for labor and commercial sexual exploitation occurs, particularly in border towns and in Kampala.[4077] In Uganda alone, about 2 million children under 18 have been orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and are especially vulnerable to child labor.[4078]
Children in Uganda are also involved in armed conflict. During the 18-year conflict in Northern Uganda, the LRA has abducted an estimated 20,000 children for use as soldiers, laborers, and sex slaves.[4079] There are also credible reports that a number of children serve in the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) and Local Defense Units. The UPDF contends that children currently serving in the security forces may have been allowed to join through deception or oversight. The UPDF collaborated with UNICEF to identify and remove 300 to 400 under-age soldiers from Uganda’s 60,000 person army.[4080] Juvenile prisoners were reported to perform manual labor for little compensation.[4081]
The Constitution states that a child is entitled to basic education, which is the responsibility of the State and the child’s parents.[4082] The Government of Uganda provides free education through grade seven. However, education is not compulsory.[4083] In 2003, the gross primary enrollment rate was 127.5 percent and the net primary enrollment rate was 100.8 percent.[4084] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. In 2000, gross and net primary school attendance rates were 119 and 79 percent, respectively.[4085] The repetition rate for primary school in 2003 was 13.8 percent and the persistence rate to primary grade seven was 22.5 percent in the same year.[4086] Although 80 percent of students passed their primary leaving examination, there continue to be differences in achievement based on gender and geography.[4087]
Since the introduction of Universal Primary Education, primary school enrollment has increased from 2.9 million children in 1996 to 7.6 million in 2003.[4088] However, major obstacles to the provision of quality education remain, including the high cost of education related expenses, inadequate infrastructure, a shortage of schools (requiring students to walk long distances to attend classes), the inability of teacher recruitment to keep pace with rising enrollment, low teacher salaries, internal corruption, lack of professional development and training opportunities for teachers, lack of incentives to attract teachers to hard-to-reach areas, and cultural beliefs that do not favor education.[4089]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
Revisions to the Employment Decree of 1975 increased the minimum age for employment to 14 years and prohibit persons below the age of 18 from engaging in hazardous labor.[4090] The Constitution of Uganda states that children under 16 years have the right to be protected from social and economic exploitation and should not be employed in hazardous work; work that would otherwise endanger their health, physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development; or work that would interfere with their education.[4091] Children’s Statute No. 6 of 1996 prohibits the employment of children under 18 in work that may be harmful to their health, education, mental, physical, or moral development.[4092] In addition, the Trade Unions Decree No. 20 of 1976 gives minors the right to union membership.[4093] The Constitution prohibits child slavery, servitude, and forced labor.[4094]
Article 125 of the Penal Code prohibits individuals from procuring girls under the age of 21 for sex in Uganda or elsewhere. Violations of this Code are punishable by up to 7 years imprisonment. Owning or occupying a premise where a girl under age 18 is sexually exploited is a felony, and offenders are subject to 5 years of imprisonment under Article 127.[4095] The Penal Code prohibits trading in slaves and forced labor.[4096] The Armed Forces (Conditions of Service) Regulations set the minimum age for military service at 18 years.[4097]
The Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development is charged with enforcing child labor laws, as well as investigating and addressing child labor complaints through district labor officers.[4098] The military combats trafficking in persons by the LRA.[4099] However, the government’s efforts to enforce the Children’s Statute, the Constitution’s prohibitions against forced labor and other protections have been hindered by limited staffing, financial constraints, cultural norms, and the large proportion of children within the country’s general population.[4100] Only 26 out of 56 districts have labor officers and financial penalties for child labor are not severe enough to deter violations.[4101]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development (MGLSD) houses the Child Labor Unit (CLU), which develops policies and programs on child labor.[4102] The MGLSD also provides the Secretariat for the National Steering Committee on Child Labor.[4103] The National Council for Children (NCC) is a semi-autonomous body charged with monitoring the implementation of the National Plan of Action for Children.[4104] The NCC also falls within the mandate of the MGLSD.[4105]
The Government of Uganda is one of five countries participating in USDOL-funded ILO-IPEC regional programs to combat child labor in the commercial agricultural sector and to build capacity to facilitate national and sub-regional efforts against the worst forms of child labor.[4106] The government is also participating in a regional child labor project focusing on the small urban industry and service sector funded by the Canadian government.[4107] A USDOL Child Labor Education Initiative in the amount of USD 3 million aims to address the education needs of former child soldiers and children living in northern Uganda.[4108] In 2004, USDOL funded two regional projects to combat exploitative child labor and HIV/AIDS that include activities in Uganda: a USD 3 million dollar project based in Uganda and Zambia implemented by ILO-IPEC and a four-country USD 14.5 million Education Initiative project implemented by World Vision.[4109] Several other local and international organizations also implement projects to assist children and youth living in northern Uganda.[4110] Tobacco-exporting companies support programming to combat child labor in the tobacco growing industry.[4111]
The government continues to provide a variety of resettlement packages, some of which include educational benefits and vocational training, to former rebels returning to Uganda.[4112] The military has also established child protection units to assist returning child soldiers.[4113] In addition to these programs, the government is involved in efforts to eliminate child labor through strategies to reduce poverty, specifically the Poverty Eradication Action Plan and the Plan for Modernization of Agriculture.[4114]
In December 2004, the MGLSD adopted the Orphans and Vulnerable Children policy to coordinate government efforts to extend social services to several target groups of children, including those involved in the worst forms of child labor. The MGLSD also adopted the Social Development Sector Strategic Investment Plan to focus resources on supporting victims of poverty, including children, who perform jobs in the informal employment sector.[4115]
The Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) implements the policy of Universal Primary Education to encourage the enrollment and retention of primary students by improving access to education, enhancing the quality of education, and ensuring that education is affordable.[4116] In Financial Year 2003/2004, 31 percent of the general budget was allocated to the MOES for education. Of this amount, 65 percent was allocated to primary education and 10 percent to secondary education.[4117] With USAID assistance, the Ministry of Education and Sports developed a “Basic Education Policy and Costed Framework for Educationally Disadvantaged Children” to increase access among children not served by the current education system, including children engaged in hazardous work.[4118] This policy was adopted in November 2003 and aims to expand and coordinate current non-formal education efforts targeting underserved populations.[4119] The MOES also funds 46 vocational schools for children who cannot afford to attend secondary school.[4120] The Government of Uganda implements several programs to improve girls’ education.[4121] In 2004, the Ministry of Education and Sports extended the Ministry’s education advocacy campaign to local governments and local communities.[4122] Several donor governments and international organizations support the government’s education efforts.[4123]
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