Child rights activists welcome legal protection for children

Jun 16, 2016

Addressing the media today, Fred Kakembo board member at IDAY-International observed that there is need for all the legal frame work enacted to advocate for rights of children.

As the day of the African child is being commemorated today in Masaka, child rights activists have hailed government for amending the children's act.   

Addressing the media today, Fred Kakembo board member at IDAY-International observed that there is need for all the legal frame work enacted to advocate for rights of children.

Kakembo urged all rights activists to strengthen partnership and have collective voices geared towards protecting rights of children.

"All child rights activists should reinstate village committees to monitor, discuss, sensitize as well as report cases of child abuse within their communities. Let us make the child abuse help lines active and popularize across the country so that people get to know that a child in problems should be helped," said Kakembo

His statement comes at a time child rights activists recently came out to advise government to ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) domestic workers convention 189 to reduce the prevalence of child domestic workers.  

According to Kakembo, since President Yoweri Museveni has assented to the Children's Act Amendment, stakeholders should strive to ensure they fit within the laws for correct implementation.

Recently, Uganda Child Rights Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) organized a convention on child rights to specifically draw modalities with child focused organizations on how the Act will be enforced.

Martin Kiiza, General Secretary at National Council for Children (NCC) welcomed child rights activists for strengthening unity as it will reduce child abuse. Kiiza noted that there is need for more sensitization to bring on board more players to bridge the gap of child related abuse cases.

Statistics available at the National Council for Children (NCC) indicate that Uganda has over 2 million domestic child workers and there are more cases of child abuse in the urban areas.

A recent survey by Ministry of gender, labour and social development in conjunction with UNICEF indicated that about 3.7 million children below five years of age live in poverty.

 

 

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