Govt urged on funding, enforcement as Uganda celebrates 35 years of African Charter on Child Rights

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Uganda is marking 35 years since the adoption of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) with renewed calls for stronger funding, enforcement, and co-ordination to protect children amid concerns that the country is still falling short of its international obligations.

This comes as child rights actors, government agencies and children themselves convened in Kampala city for a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) symposium aimed at strengthening accountability for child protection commitments.

The three-day event held at Silver Springs Bugolobi, organised by the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network (UCRNN) and supported by several development partners, is part of nationwide commemorations of the Charter, adopted on July 11, 1990.

Kyegegwa District Woman MP Flavia Kabahenda warned that Uganda is still behind on its obligation to dedicate at least 10 per cent of the national budget to children a requirement under global child rights frameworks.

“International children’s rights obligations require that we allocate 10 per cent of the national budget to children. It is Uganda that is lagging in enforcing this,” Kabahenda said. 

“If we properly consolidated all child-focused interventions across sectors, we could even exceed that 10 per cent. But our interventions are scattered and unco-ordinated.”

Kabahenda said that despite Uganda’s robust legal framework, including the amended Children’s Act, the National Social Protection Policy, and national parenting guidelines, implementation remains weak. Many laws, she said, lack corresponding penalties in the Penal Code, making enforcement difficult.

“We have good laws, but enforcement is where we lack,” she said. 

“Police officers frequently say there is no penalty for certain offences, and violations go unpunished.”

Achievements and lingering gaps

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child remains the continent’s most comprehensive framework for child protection.

Unlike global treaties, the Charter addresses Africa-specific issues, explicitly prohibiting child marriage, outlawing the recruitment of child soldiers, and ensuring continued education for girls who become pregnant.

It also extends protection to internally displaced children, condemns female genital mutilation (FGM), and emphasises non-custodial sentencing for mothers of young children.

Uganda signed the Charter in February 1992 and ratified it on 17 August 1994. Since then, the country has established several legal and policy frameworks aligned to the Charter and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified in 2008).

However, despite progress, significant challenges persist, including rising cases of child exploitation and abuse, weak law enforcement, limited co-ordination among child protection actors, limited platforms for meaningful child participation, insufficient understanding of vulnerability factors and weak accountability mechanisms that allow violations to persist.

UCRNN executive director Damon Wamara echoed these concerns, noting that violence against children remains rampant and access to justice is still severely constrained.

“Guidance from the UNCRC recommends at least 1 per cent of the national budget be ring-fenced for direct child wellbeing initiatives,” he recommended.

Frontline systems under strain

At the symposium, Kabahenda called attention to the dire situation in frontline child protection institutions.

The police Child and Family Protection Unit (CFPU), she said, suffers from inadequate staffing, limited transport and poor office accommodation. Some officers “work under trees while waiting for whistleblowers,” she noted, with delays often leading to lost evidence.

Community-based services (CBS) departments, the first point of contact for many children at risk, face similar constraints. While UNICEF-supported parasocial workers provide critical whistleblowing support at the village level, Community Development Officers (CDOs) lack fuel, transport, and operational funding to follow up on cases.

“Co-ordination is not about sitting in boardrooms,” Kabahenda added, calling out the Office of the Prime Minister for focusing more on meetings rather than enforcing inter-sectoral collaboration. “It is about mainstreaming children's issues into planning and budgeting at the local government level.”

Children speak out

Children from across the country made presentations outlining daily challenges, including bullying, discrimination, lack of access to justice, and inadequate facilities for learners with disabilities.

“Most buildings lack elevators. Elevators should be installed to boost access for people with disabilities,” said Chris Higenyi, a secondary school student from Buikwe district. He also raised concerns over rampant bullying in schools.

Karamoja child trafficking crisis

Right To Play country director, Titus Tumusiime, raised an alarm over the increasing number of street children from Karamoja trafficked into Kampala and, in some cases, as far as Nairobi.

“Can we help the children of Karamoja? Can we help the children of Uganda?” he asked. “Let us ensure that whoever is engaged in child trafficking is apprehended and the law takes its course.”

The three-day CSO symposium was held under the theme: Reflect, renew, recommit is supported by the European Union, United Nations, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Save the Children, World Vision, FIDA Uganda, Right to Play, ERIKS, Africhild, Terre des Hommes, and others brought together more than 200 participants, including ministries of Finance, Gender, Internal Affairs, KCCA, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

As Uganda commemorates 35 years since the adoption of the ACRWC, the message from stakeholders remains clear: the country boasts strong laws, but must match them with funding, enforcement, coordination, and political will.

The closing call was unanimous, children’s rights can no longer be celebrated only on paper. They must be lived realities in homes, schools, communities, and every arm of government.