UGANDA: National Laws

Summary: General overview of Uganda's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.

National laws on children's rights

Status of the CRC in national law

Ratified treaties and conventions do not automatically have force in Ugandan law, and the CRC has not been directly incorporated into national law.  Notably, however, the Guiding Principles for the country's Children's Act state that children shall have the right to exercise "all the rights set out in the United National Convention on the Rights of the Child".  While the Convention cannot be directly enforced in domestic courts, it can and has been cited as interpretive guidance.

Constitution: The Constitution of Uganda, particularly Chapter Four, contains numerous rights provisions that apply to children as to adults, but also a large number that specifically address the rights of children:

• Art. 11(1): provides that a child of not more than five years of age who is found in Uganda, and whose parents are not known, will be presumed to be a citizen of Uganda
• Art. 11(2): provides that a child under the age of 18 who is adopted by a citizen of Uganda shall, on application, be registered as a citizen of Uganda
• Art. 17(1)(c): creates a duty for citizens to protect children and vulnerable persons against any form of abuse, harassment or ill-treatment
• Art. 22(2): provides that "[n]o person has the right to terminate the life of an unborn child except as may be authorised by law"
• Art. 31(2): requires the Ugandan Parliament to legislate to allow widows and widowers to enjoy parental rights over their children
• Art. 31(4): creates a right and duty for parents to care for and bring up their children
• Art. 31(5): provides that children may not be separated from their families, or persons entitled to bring them up, against the will of their families or those persons except in accordance with the law
• Art. 34(1): grants children the right to know and be cared for by their parents or those entitled by law to bring them up, subject to laws enacted in their best interests
• Art. 34(2): entitles children to basic education and makes this education the responsibility of the State and the parents of the children
• Art. 34(3): prohibits the deprivation of medical treatment, education or any other social or economic benefit from children on the basis of religious or other beliefs
• Art. 34(4) and (5): entitles children under the age of sixteen years to protection from social or economic exploitation, particularly that which is hazardous, would interfere with their education, or be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development
• Art. 34(6): requires that lawfully detained children be kept separate from adult offenders
• Art. 34(7): requires the law to accord special protection to orphans and other vulnerable children
• Art. 257(1)(c): defines a child as a person under the age of eighteen years

Legislation: The Children's Act contains the majority of legislation that relates to children, but other legislation containing provisions of particular relevance to children's rights can be found in a number of Acts including, but by no means limited to:

• The Children's Act (formerly the Children Statute)
• The Penal Code
• The Uganda People's Defence Force Act (setting the minimum age for recruitment into the Armed Forces)
• The Birth and Death Registration Act (amended by Decree No. 3 of 1974)
• The Refugee Act
• The Immigration Act

Legal Research:
The Parliament of Uganda maintains an official website (http://www.parliament.go.ug/index.php) that provides access to the Constitution and information on Bills and motions before Parliament, while the website of the Supreme Court of Uganda has published legislation of particular relevance to the courts (http://www.judicature.go.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=107). The Uganda Legal Information Institute maintains a database of laws consolidated as of December 2000 (http://www.ulii.org/ug/legis/consol_act/), and the World Law Guide provides links to a selection of Ugandan legislation (http://www.lexadin.nl/wlg/legis/nofr/oeur/lxweuga.htm). In addition, the GlobaLex initiative at New York University has published a guide to legal research in Uganda (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/uganda.htm), and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/uganda.php) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/ug/) provide links to a selection of legal and governmental resources.

Case Law
CRC Jurisprudence
The High Court considered Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Nantume v. Kampala City Council & ors. with regards to contractual obligations of children and In the matter of Namugerwa Joyce and ors. and in the matter of an Application for Guardianship of the Estates of Said Minors by Nakabugo Cate with regards to the guardianship of children.

Case law research
The Uganda Legal Information Institute (http://www.ulii.org/) maintains a database of case law from the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Commercial Court.

Compliance with the CRC
In its 2005 Concluding Observations, the Committee on the Rights of the Child noted that some progress had been made in bringing domestic laws into conformity with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including in the area of juvenile justice. Nevertheless, the Committee expressed concern at the lack of a systematic and comprehensive legislative review, and urged the State to specifically direct the Law Reform Commission and provide it sufficient resources to review relevant national laws, and ensure that legislation and regulations in the area of children's rights are effectively implemented.

In depth analysis
While the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed some areas of reform with regards to domestic law, its 2005 Concluding Observations highlighted a number of areas in which the law that fell short of the provisions of the CRC. Particular concerns were raised with regards to violence in a number of settings, perhaps most seriously with regards to child sacrifice in the Mukono and Kayunga districts. The Committee recommended that the State legislate to specifically prohibit such actions and enforce the law to ensure that perpetrators of such killings are prosecuted and appropriately punished. The Committee also raised the issue of corporal punishment, with regards to which it welcomed the prohibition on such punishment in schools and in the penal system, but urged the State to extend the prohibition to all settings, including the home. The Committee also urged the State to explicitly prohibit female genital mutilation and enforce the new laws so as to combat the widespread practise.

With regards to juvenile justice, the Committee recognised that some efforts had been made in the area, but remained concerned at the limited progress made in establishing a functioning juvenile justice system, particularly with respect to the lack of magistrates, remand houses for children in conflict with the law and the poor conditions in those institutions that exist. Accordingly, the Committee recommended improving the training of professionals working with children in the justice system, providing children with legal assistance at an early stage of legal proceedings, and strengthening the role of local authorities, particularly with respect to minor offences.

The Committee noted the widespread practice of child labour which, as of 2005, affected as many as 2.7 million children. The Committee noted that the State "[had] not taken comprehensive measures to prevent and combat this large-scale economic exploitation of children" and recommended that the State develop and implement a comprehensive programme to prevent child labour.

Current legal reform projects
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.