Human Trafficking in [Uganda Street Children in [Uganda] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Uganda] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the
first ten years of the 21st Century -
2000 to 2009
Uganda is a source and destination
country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor
and sexual exploitation. Ugandan children are trafficked within the country
for forced labor in the fishing, agricultural, and domestic service sectors,
as well as for commercial sexual exploitation; they are also trafficked to
other East African and European countries for the same purposes. Karamojong women and children are sold as slaves in
cattle markets or by intermediaries and are subsequently forced into domestic
servitude, sexual exploitation, cattle herding, and begging. Human trafficking of Ugandan children for
the forcible removal of body parts reportedly is widespread; so-called
witchdoctors seek various body parts of live victims for traditional medical
concoctions commonly purchased to heal illness, foster economic advancement,
or hurt enemies. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June,
2009 [full
country report] CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** 2006 Year in Review: Uganda July to December [PDF] www.glcss.org/php/reports/Uganda%20July%20to%20November%202006%20final.pdf The contents of this article had
appeared under a different title and may possibly still be accessible [here] [page 40]
[page 42] CHILD ABUSE INCREASE - The alarming report reveals that child abuse is on the increase in the sub-region as desperate Karimojong parents sell their children, especially girls, to raise money to maintain the remaining members of their families. Police
issues measures to fight child sacrifice www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/667107 A counter-trafficking unit has
been created to curb child sacrifice and human trafficking, he said. Kayihura’s briefing came amid reports of
increasing cases of ritual murders, with children as the main victims. Kayihura noted that of the 18 suspected
ritual murder cases reported to the Police last year, 15 had been
conclusively investigated and the suspects committed to the High Court. He observed that most ritual murders were
committed by either parents or relatives of the victims, adding that in the
15 cases, the suspects confessed. The state minister for internal
affairs, Matia Kasaija,
regretted that there was a 600% increase in ritual murder, from the three
reported in 2007, up to 18 cases last year.
Kasaija noted that the problem was
compounded by the increase in other crimes affecting children like
kidnapping, abduction and child stealing. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 CHILDREN - According to UNICEF estimates,
the LRA has abducted approximately 12 thousand children since 2002, and
continued to abduct children during the year. The LRA forced children into
virtual slavery as laborers, soldiers, guards, and sex slaves. In addition to
being beaten, raped, and forced to march until exhausted, abducted children
were forced to participate in the killing of other children who attempted to
escape. More than 85 percent of LRA captives were made up of children whom
the LRA abducted and forced to fight as rebels; most LRA rebels were between
the ages of 11 and 16. TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – In
addition to trafficking related to LRA abductions, adults and children were
trafficked internally for labor, commercial sexual exploitation, and criminal
activities. Trafficking in persons primarily occurred internally: the LRA
abducted children to be soldiers, sex slaves, and porters. Freelance
operators, including taxi drivers and hotel/bar operators, conducted the
commercial sex trafficking. Victims of internal trafficking
were subjected to hazardous working conditions, and commercial sex victims
were subjected to physical abuse and the risk of contracting sexually transmitted
diseases. Victims of commercial sex trafficking in urban centers often came
from small rural villages. Police
issues measures to fight child sacrifice www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/667107 A counter-trafficking unit has
been created to curb child sacrifice and human trafficking, he said. Kayihura’s briefing came amid reports of
increasing cases of ritual murders, with children as the main victims. Kayihura noted that of the 18 suspected
ritual murder cases reported to the Police last year, 15 had been
conclusively investigated and the suspects committed to the High Court. He observed that most ritual murders were
committed by either parents or relatives of the victims, adding that in the 15
cases, the suspects confessed. The state minister for internal
affairs, Matia Kasaija,
regretted that there was a 600% increase in ritual murder, from the three
reported in 2007, up to 18 cases last year.
Kasaija noted that the problem was
compounded by the increase in other crimes affecting children like
kidnapping, abduction and child stealing. Police
must probe human trafficking The Uganda Human Rights Commission
and the Ministry of Labour are handling cases
involving allegations that some people smuggle Indians from India and
Pakistan into the country. They
confiscate their passports and give them jobs where a big percentage of their
wages is taken to recover the costs of bringing them here. After working for some time and
accumulating salary arrears, when they start demanding their wages, the
employers get them deported for illegal immigration. This is a modern version
of slave trade, which has been reported in many countries. Uganda: Child Neglect Tops Rights Abuses www.afrika.no/Detailed/15014.html allafrica.com/stories/200709191127.html In its 145-page report, the
commission was concerned that child sacrifice, child trafficking, child labour, abduction, child soldiering, defilement, child
prostitution and abuse were persisting in Uganda. "Police reports reveal that there were
185 victims of combined cases of child abduction, kidnap, disappearance,
trafficking and sacrifice alone during the period between January and
September 2006," the report said. Most of the children trafficked
internally were from Buganda region, accounting for
36%, followed by Acholi (18%) and Ankole (8%). Uganda: Forced Onto the Streets to Please the Men streetkidnews.blogsome.com/2007/09/11/uganda-forced-onto-the-streets-to-please-the-men/ allafrica.com/stories/200709100490.html Most of them flee their homes due
to abuse and neglect, their heads filled with warped views of urban
existence. In reality, these dreams are not fulfilled and the end result is
there are children working and sleeping on the streets, fending for themselves
in unsafe conditions. The children are exposed to many
dangers. Many become part of child trafficking. They are persuaded under
false pretences by elders or family 'acquaintances' that they are moving to
new places with better opportunities.
Instead, they are trapped in a world of exploitation, which exposes
them to anything from child prostitution to human sacrifices. 2006 Year in Review: Uganda July to December [PDF] www.glcss.org/php/reports/Uganda%20July%20to%20November%202006%20final.pdf The contents of this article had
appeared under a different title and may possibly still be accessible [here] [page 40]
[page 42] CHILD ABUSE INCREASE - The alarming report reveals that child abuse is on the increase in the sub-region as desperate Karimojong parents sell their children, especially girls, to raise money to maintain the remaining members of their families. Migration body to monitor human trafficking impact "Many girls are taken from Iringa and brought to major cities to work as housegirls but they end up being subjected to
prostitution and other works which they did not expect, this is internal trafficking,"
she said. Many young boys, she said, are
taken to work in the mining companies, something which not only denies their
rights but also are psychosocially affected. A Hero
in Hell. Former Drug Dealer Frees Abducted Child Soldiers in Sudan and Uganda The children of the LRA perform
these acts at the bidding of their adult counterparts and make up about 80
percent of the rebel group, according to the United Nations. The LRA has
kidnapped more than 20,000 children since 1988 and today its captives
constitute the largest army of child soldiers in Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 5 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide U.S. Library of Congress
- Country Study Has the
world forgotten about us? That is the question raised by children in northern
Uganda. At least 20,000 children have been kidnapped and forced into being child
soldiers in one of the most brutal rebel armies in the world. Jennifer Achoro
was twelve years old and on her way to school when she was kidnapped. "I
had just put on my school uniform and was about to eat breakfast, when some
men from the rebel army came and asked my mother whether we had a radio. When
she said ‘No,' they forced their way into our hut and forced me along with
them." Ex-child
soldier's path to hope Ms Keitetsi
says she was enlisted into Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army in Uganda at the age
of eight in the1980s. She was given
her first Uzi aged nine - and became a killer. Gesturing with what was her trigger finger,
she says: "When I was a kid with a gun I felt big, I felt powerful. "With a gun you just needed to open
the safety, cock the gun, use this finger and they are dead. HERE IS THE TESTIMONY OF ONE
UGANDAN CHILD SOLDIER
- I heard later that two boys from my home were captured and beaten because I
had escaped. One of the boys was stabbed in the hand and asked to bring the
rebels to my parents’ home. They beat my mother and brother with clubs and
axes until they died. They threatened that they’ll kill more people if I
don’t come back. This was told me by a boy who lived near my home. He told me
it was my fault my mother and brother had been killed.’ ICC: Investigate All Sides in Uganda www.hrw.org/en/news/2004/02/04/icc-investigate-all-sides-uganda hrw.org/english/docs/2004/02/04/uganda7264.htm The ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, announced in London on January 29 that he would begin
an ICC investigation into crimes committed in Uganda. According to Human Rights Watch
research, the LRA has committed widespread abuses against civilians in
Uganda, including child abductions, summary executions, torture, rape and
sexual assault, forced labor, and mutilation. Recently, LRA abductions have
reached record levels, with an estimated 10,000 children abducted since
mid-2002 and forced to fight, kill civilians, and abduct other children.
Children who fail to comply with orders are murdered, often by other children
who are forced to kill them. www.hrw.org/reports/2004/childsoldiers0104/18.htm hrw.org/reports/2004/childsoldiers0104/18.htm DEMOBILIZATION AND CHILD PROTECTION
PROGRAMS - Children
“rescued” from the LRA by the UPDF were kept in military confinement,
sometimes for protracted periods, to gather intelligence before being
transferred to the Child Protection Unit, and then to rehabilitation programs
operated by NGOs including World Vision and the Gulu
Save Our Children Organization (GUSCO).285 The 120 recruits identified
at the Lugore training camp were demobilized and
were taking part in counselling and reintegration
programs. In response to the influx of “night commuters”, child protection
agencies and church groups established programs to feed and shelter these
children. Ugandan child soldier activist wins Anti-Slavery Award www.antislavery.org/homepage/news/newsone11200.htm At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
George Omona,
Project Co-ordinator of the Gulu
Support the Children Organisation (GUSCO), will
receive the 2000 Anti-Slavery Award from the All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE
RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES.
Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin,
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Human Trafficking in [Uganda Street Children in [Uganda] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Uganda] [other countries]