Friends
The Northern region has the highest percentages of males (17%) and females
(35%) with no education, in comparison to other regions (ranging from 5.1 to
15%). Overall, the Net Attendance Ratio (NAR) for the primary level5 is 82% in
Uganda; the Northern region has a low NAR of 74 %. At secondary school level,
Kampala has the highest NAR with 44% while the north has 5% and IDP camps in
particular have a low percentage at 3% (with 5% of males and less than 1% of
secondary age females attending school).
These numbers are numbers of children that are going to be the part of the
future Uganda. These numbers are too high to be neglected and we neglect them
at our own peril. Child Protection Recovery Strategy for Northern Uganda
2009-2011, Is a paper that was written by Hon. Opio Gabriel Minister of Gender,
Labour and Social Development. We are posting from page 6
Ugandans we so need to discuss Acholi violence candidly.
2. CHILD PROTECTION IN A RECOVERY CONTEXT
2.1 Northern Uganda
Whereas human security has improved in Northern Uganda, the two decades of
armed conflict has
resulted in a lower level of development in comparison to the rest of the
country. Studies and
research indicate higher poverty levels and lower social development indicators
in northern
Uganda, which are reflective of the status of children’s access to basic social
services including
quality education, health care, and overall well -being. As stated in the PRDP:
‘institutions in the
North remain weak, understaffed and under-resourced resulting in very weak
provision of basic
social services, including rule of law’.
The 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey4(UDHS), provides key findings in
this regard:
(i) 23% of children in the North are registered at birth; of which 11.3 %
actually possess a
birth certificate (highest rates are found in the east-central region where
37.2 % of children
are registered).
(ii) The Northern region has the highest percentages of males (17%) and females
(35%) with
no education, in comparison to other regions (ranging from 5.1 to 15%).
Overall, the Net
Attendance Ratio (NAR) for the primary level5 is 82% in Uganda; the Northern
region has
a low NAR of 74 %. At secondary school level, Kampala has the highest NAR with
44%
while the north has 5% and IDP camps in particular have a low percentage at 3%
(with 5%
of males and less than 1% of secondary age females attending school).
(iii) Infant mortality rates6 are the highest at 106 deaths per 1,000 live
births in the North as
compared to 69 deaths per 1,000 live births in Central region, which has the
lowest rates.
(iv) 22% of children in the North are orphaned7 (the rate is 27 % in IDP
camps), which is the
highest rate in the country. The highest proportion in Uganda of paternal
orphans is also
found in the Northern region. The ratio of the proportion of Orphans and
Vulnerable
Children (OVCs) to non-OVCs with met basic needs reflects the greatest
inequality in the
Northern region where only 6 percent of all children have their basic needs
met, with a
ratio of 0.65.
(v) 32.4 % of women8 in the North indicated having ever experienced sexual
violence, the
majority first experiencing sexual violence during their childhood9. 54 % of
women in the
North had experienced physical violence since the age of 15. 66.8 % of women
and 46 %
of men in the North have experienced emotional, physical or sexual violence by
their
spouse or partner.
Following more than two decades of a protracted and complex humanitarian
situation, the
increasingly secure environment in Northern Uganda has enabled well over half
of the 1.8 million
displaced persons to begin the journey home. By May 200910, in the districts of
Gulu/Amuru/Kitgum/Pader, 56% (or 622,000) of Internally Displaced Persons
(IDPs) were
estimated to have settled permanently in their villages of origin; 22% (or
241,000) having made
initial movements out of the camps into 1,464 transit sites; and 25% (or
282,000) were still living
in approx 120 IDP camps. In the districts of Amuria and Katakwi, an estimated
10% (or 14,000)
of IDPs were still living in approx 20 camps, whilst 2% (3000) were living in
transit sites and
162,000 had returned to villages of origin. In Lira, Apac and Oyam districts,
all IDP camps had
been closed by the end of 2008, with a total of 466,103 IDPs having returned
home or settled in
new trading centres.
The on-going process of return holds promise for improved care and protection
of children in the
long run, but also poses a number of current challenges to the safety,
security, and well-being of
children and families. Whilst critical strides in child protection programming
and tangible results
have been accomplished in the last years in the North, interventions in return
and transit areas are
beset and directly impacted by little access to or lack of available essential
services such as schools,
health clinics, police, legal services, safe water, electricity, feeder roads
and markets. As indicated by
several inter-agency assessments, over 40% of households continue to leave
children behind in
camps where they can access schooling and health care, as they move to return
sites to rebuild
homesteads and till the land. This temporary separation from primary
caregivers, increases risks
and exposure of children to violence, abuse, and exploitation. Orphans and
child-headed
households make up a significant proportion of extremely vulnerable individuals
remaining in
camps due to a continued reliance on relief services and an inability to access
support for their
return.
The extreme social pressures caused by conflict and displacement, the
consequent break down of
social support safety nets, the erosion of positive cultural values, chronic
violence, the continued
spread of HIV and economic desperation, have led to an increase in women and
child-headed
households and the adoption of some practices and behaviours that are not
supportive of child
care and protection11. This is not helped by the comparatively weak investment
in protective
services for children, and the limited or inadequate capacities and resources
to address child
protection, as well as the gap in services left by the pull out of some
humanitarian agencies in
2008/2009. In 2008, over 26,000 child protection violations were recorded12 by
child protection
systems across the districts of Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum, Oyam Apac and Lira.
Considering that
violations typically are under-reported, and combined with the fact that not
all sub-counties have
the capacity to provide monthly reports, this figure rests well below the
actual incidence of child
protection violations in Northern Uganda.
Whilst some continuing humanitarian assistance is needed to support part of the
conflict-affected
population in Northern Uganda, the main thrust of interventions is recovery and
development
oriented, and efforts geared towards elimination or reduction of disparities.
The impact of these
recovery interventions must be consolidated and strengthened within the
framework of the PRDP,
in order to improve human development in Northern Uganda, to contribute to the
realisation of the
National Development Plan (NDP) and to ensure Uganda’s attainment of the
Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
2.3. Child Protection Issues
Violence, abuse, exploitation, deprival of parental care, and children in
contact with the law are the
most salient child protection concerns in Northern Uganda, reiterated by both
children and adults
alike during the regional and national consultations. Major gaps and challenges
hampering response
to these concerns were also identified.
2.3.1 Violence experienced by children
A number of studies carried out in recent years show a continued pattern of
abuse, exploitation,
and violence against children both in family, community and institutional
settings (including in
schools13 and care facilities).
In 2008, reports from the district departments of community services indicated
that sexual
violence, parental neglect and domestic violence14 were the most commonly
committed forms of
abuse against children, contributing to increased incidents of children
engaging in exploitative
forms of labour15, including prostitution as well as children forced into early
marriages16.
Consultations with both children and duty-bearers in the sub-regions of Acholi,
Lango and Teso
identified these same violations. In particular, children expressed grave
concern over the
commonplace occurrence of violence, its general acceptance and lack of response
and action taken
against perpetrators. This has contributed to a culture of impunity among
communities which is
most evident in the response to incidents of sexual violence, where in many
instances caregivers
negotiate for ‘settlement’ with the perpetrators instead of holding them
accountable for their
actions.
2.3.2 Children deprived of parental care
Children deprived of parental care (including orphans and child-headed
households) and associated
risks have been identified by both children and adults as a major concern.
It is documented that over 40% of households leave children behind in camps to
access schooling
and health care, as adults move to the return sites, and or villages to rebuild
homesteads and
cultivate the land. This temporary separation of thousands of children from
their primary
caregivers, increases their vulnerability and exposure to violence, abuse and
exploitation, and more
often results in children dropping out of school and engaging in hazardous or
exploitative forms of
labour. The return process has also led many children to leave their families
with a preference to
live and work on the street in the urban centres rather than return to the
villages.
Child protection practitioners indicated that the number of children living on
the streets has
seemingly increased17 over the last few years in the North, with concerns that
this trend may be on
the rise unless adequate support and prevention interventions are implemented.
The armed conflict and the high prevalence of malaria, ARI and HIV and AIDS
have resulted in
many orphans, elderly and child-headed households in the conflict-affected
districts. Although
extended family members are caring for a number of orphans, and several
targeted OVC projects
have been implemented in the North, this support has not necessarily improved
the capacity of
families to care for and protect orphans. In some cases, it has alienated them.
According to the
2006 UDHS, approximately 84.4% of OVC reported receiving no free external
support. Widows
and elders head a significant percentage of households with orphans, many of
them barely able to
provide for the financial, social, psychological, and educational and health
needs of the children. It
has also been documented that within extended family settings, orphans,
particularly girls, are more
likely to be held back from school to do household tasks or help with farming,
and have been
identified as a target group of children forced into early marriages.
Generally, increased
vulnerability and discriminatory practices against orphans and child-headed
households has been
noted within the recovery context. Reports indicate that these children remain
at the margin of
existing support and fail to access family land; a factor that is crucial to
their long-term
resettlement.
Community dialogue sessions held in Pader, Kitgum, Gulu and Amuru districts on
re-integration
challenges faced by children formerly associated with the Lord’s Resistance
Army (LRA) reiterated
that children whose parents had died or been killed returned to find their land
had been
appropriated by relatives, depriving them of a means of support. This has
forced many orphans
and child-headed households to remain confined in IDP camps, while others have
taken to renting
rooms within the town centres, a practice that is economically challenging to
sustain.
2.3.3 Children in contact with the law18
While some promising initiatives and training in the area of juvenile justice
have been conducted in
Northern Uganda, overall major challenges exist for children within the
Justice, Law and Order
Sector (JLOS), in particular, access to justice and availability of
child-friendly legal services.
As a result of geographic and economic barriers to access justice services and
a general lack of
awareness, children do not know their rights within the justice system; and
parents, caregivers and
practitioners do not have information of legal processes and children’s special
protection rights.
Access to justice is further compounded by social and cultural practices, such
as discriminatory
customary practices against women and children in areas of land control,
inheritance, and genderbased
violence (GBV). Financial gains and interests associated with non formal
proceedings can be
factors preventing recourse to the formal justice system. There is also a
generalised lack of trust in
the formal justice system, and perception of inefficiency, corruption and
delays, as well as backlog
in processing children’s cases.
With regard to the treatment of convicted or presumed juvenile offenders, there
are reported cases
of prolonged detention beyond the prescribed statutory periods, and it has been
documented19 that
children experience violence at different stages within the justice system,
specifically during:
arrest,20 interview and interrogation, detention pending trial, while on
remand, in rehabilitation
centres, and in the court system. Communities are also known to sometimes
subject children
accused of petty crimes to mob violence, or punishment through beatings. This
raises the necessity
to address both the violence that children are subjected to throughout the
justice system as well as
within communities. Witness and victim protection for children is lacking, as
is proof of age in a
context where only 23 % of children in the North had their birth registered by
2006.21
Whilst the JLOS sector is currently working towards the creation of a
Transitional Justice22
Mechanism (TJM), it is critical to ensure that children’s special
considerations and protection are
prioritised and adequately addressed throughout the entire system, considering
that a majority of
the Lord’s Resistance Army members were under 18 years of age when abducted,
and many still
are.
2.3.4 Discrimination against children formerly associated with the LRA23
Various studies and assessments indicate that prevailing conditions of poverty
and limited access to
basic services means that sympathy for returnees, especially those unable to
contribute
economically, is often short in supply. This contributes to neglect,
impoverishment, and abuse of
some returnees. Some returnees who lacked family acceptance and support live in
extreme poverty,
and some have resorted to criminal behaviour or been forced to take up
exploitative forms of
labour as a means of survival.
Challenges and gaps with the return and re-integration of children formerly
associated with the
LRA have been extensively documented and include: inadequate preparation of
communities
receiving children; community fears, resentment24 and rejection of returning
children, in particular
child mothers, and children conceived in captivity; discrimination, extensive
and persistent
stigmatisation of returnees especially by peers; emotional distress of
returning children and the
inability of families to understand and identify symptoms; insufficient health
services and
specialised medical care upon return resulting in inadequate physical and
psychological care and
follow-up; insufficient socio-economic opportunities for returnees to engage in
productive
activities, including access to land.
Consultations with children who went through reception centres prior to
returning home valued
the care and support they received there, as in most cases it enabled them to
begin the process of
adjusting to life outside the armed group. While a functional system under the
coordination of the
Amnesty Commission and MGLSD is in place for return and reception (including
well resourced
contingency plans), longer term investment is required for sustainable
re-integration programming,
by ensuring linkages of reception centres with community-based groups working
on family and
community acceptance; and functional referrals and follow-up by support
services and
programmes.
Stay in the forum for Series two hundred and eighteen on the way ------>
EM
On the 49th Parallel
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika
machafuko"
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