Children have role to play in setting

their rights

Children in Lira hold placards during celebrations

to mark the Day of the African Child in 2006

 

June 16 was designated by the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) to remember the over 600 children massacred in South Africa by the apartheid regime in 1976. In an interview with Dora Naamala, the State Minister for Youth, James Kinobe explains the importance of the day to the Ugandan child.

What is the significance of the Day of the African Child to the Ugandan child? The day is an opportunity to evaluate and take stock of various activities, policies and programmes aimed at ensuring that the rights of our young citizens are protected and enjoyed by all our children	The state minister for youth James Kinobe

 

On this day, we review the extent to which children’s programmes and policies conform to the principles and whether they are in the best interest of a child. Children must also reflect on their roles and obligations as junior citizens of the nation.

 

What is the theme for the day and why was it chosen?
The theme is, “Child participation; children to be heard and seen”. The theme was chosen by the African Union to emphasise the importance of child participation in matters that affect them.

This year’s objectives include increasing awareness on the benefits of child-participation and advocating for greater involvement of children in issues that directly affect them and their communities. Another objective is to demonstrate the impact of child-participation in community development initiatives.

 

How is the government addressing the issue of children recovering from child-trafficking and also those traumatised as a result of civil unrest?

Returnee children (from war and trafficking) are received by competent authorities, rehabilitated and given psycho-social support under various rehabilitation centres like GUSCO in Gulu, and by probation and welfare officers found in all the districts of Uganda. After a specified period at the centre, tracing of children’s origins is done and this ends into the eventual resettlement and back to normalcy, including their participation in community activities.

 

What do you say about the bill on human trafficking, which is soon coming up?
The bill, which is a private member’s bill on trafficking in human beings is timely. It is being handled in collaboration with our ministry. It is meant to create increased awareness and help curb this vice. I believe the bill will help the country to deal with trafficking in human beings, most specifically children.

 

Some children come into conflict with the law. How are they treated and what measures are there to help them settle down?
When apprehended, children in conflict with the law go through the court system that refers them to juvenile prisons for remand. We have remand homes in Naguru, Fort-portal and Mbale, among others. They are remanded in conformity with the law, tried by competent courts and have a right to be represented by probation and welfare officers. When convicted, they serve their sentences at Kampiringisa National Rehabilitation Centre, which also serves as a rehabilitation centre before they are resettled back into the community.

 

What is the future of the African Child?
It must be one of hope, it must be a future that ensures the children are loved, cared for and protected in accordance with the standards prescribed by the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Children. The NRM government is committed to the child’s right of education through Universal Primary Education, to health through mass immunisation and emphasis on primary health care.

 

All our children deserve a decent future that guarantees the enjoyment of their rights.
On the Day of the African Child, as a country, as a continent and as stakeholders, let us reflect on the bottlenecks to the child’s bright future and deal with them head-on. This is a responsibility of all of us. The media must continue its noble function of advocacy and unearthing all the vices committed against our children, as it has always done.