Uganda cited for child soldiers
UGANDA has been named among 18 countries still using child soldiers, ahead of the 4th UN Security Council debate on children in armed conflict due next week.
By Cyprian Musoke
UGANDA has been named among 18 countries still using child soldiers, ahead of the 4th UN Security Council debate on children in armed conflict due next week.
The 50-page report, ‘Child Soldier Use 2003’, details evidence of governments and armed groups in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East still using child soldiers.
“Although the United Nations has clearly identified violators, the recruitment and use of child soldiers persists all around the world,†said Jo Becker, a child rights advocate for Human Rights Watch, the New York-based human rights watchdog.
Becker is the founding chairperson of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, the group that issued the report.
The Minister of State for Defence, Ruth Nankabirwa, said Uganda had tried and continued to eliminate child soldiers and deserved credit instead of condemnation.
“I am disappointed by that report. We have made genuine efforts backed by laws.
“Our rules and regulations regarding recruitment and training in the UPDF clearly forbid under-18 recruits,†she said.
She, however, said under-age youths may erroneously get recruited, especially in villages where there are no birth certificates.
She said the army involved local leaders who are likely to know the birth dates to recommend suitable recruits.
“It is not an intended move for us to recruit under-age soldiers.
“We were the first to sign different protocols on this, including one I signed with Save-the-Children Denmark,†she said.
Countries named for using child soldiers include Angola, Burundi, DRC, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Sudan.
In Asia, child soldiers are being used in conflicts in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and by Tamil separatists in Sri Lanka, it said.
Child soldiers are also being used in the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories and in Colombia in Latin America.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and six other leading non-governmental organisations founded the coalition that made the report.
Ends
UGANDA has been named among 18 countries still using child soldiers, ahead of the 4th UN Security Council debate on children in armed conflict due next week.
The 50-page report, ‘Child Soldier Use 2003’, details evidence of governments and armed groups in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East still using child soldiers.
“Although the United Nations has clearly identified violators, the recruitment and use of child soldiers persists all around the world,†said Jo Becker, a child rights advocate for Human Rights Watch, the New York-based human rights watchdog.
Becker is the founding chairperson of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, the group that issued the report.
The Minister of State for Defence, Ruth Nankabirwa, said Uganda had tried and continued to eliminate child soldiers and deserved credit instead of condemnation.
“I am disappointed by that report. We have made genuine efforts backed by laws.
“Our rules and regulations regarding recruitment and training in the UPDF clearly forbid under-18 recruits,†she said.
She, however, said under-age youths may erroneously get recruited, especially in villages where there are no birth certificates.
She said the army involved local leaders who are likely to know the birth dates to recommend suitable recruits.
“It is not an intended move for us to recruit under-age soldiers.
“We were the first to sign different protocols on this, including one I signed with Save-the-Children Denmark,†she said.
Countries named for using child soldiers include Angola, Burundi, DRC, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Sudan.
In Asia, child soldiers are being used in conflicts in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and by Tamil separatists in Sri Lanka, it said.
Child soldiers are also being used in the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories and in Colombia in Latin America.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and six other leading non-governmental organisations founded the coalition that made the report.
Ends