UGANDA: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 KAMPALA 000377

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP-RYOUSEY, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB UG
SUBJECT: UGANDA: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 2007

REF: A. STATE 202745

B. KAMPALA 328


1. (U) Embassy POC for Trafficking In Persons (TIP) issues is
Political/Economic Chief Kathleen FitzGibbon, Tel: 256-41-306-214,
Mobile: 256-772-220-030, Fax: 256-41-345-144. To prepare this
report, P/E Chief Kathleen FitzGibbon (FO-02) spent 30 hours
and political assistant Gracie Jaasi spent 30 hours.


2. (SBU) Following responses are keyed to reftel paras 27-30.


3. Overview of UgandaQs activities to eliminate trafficking
in persons:

27A: Uganda is a country of origin, transit, and destination
for trafficked children and adults. The terrorist rebel
organization LordQs Resistance Army (LRA) abducted both male
and female children as well as adults in northern Uganda and
Southern Sudan to serve as soldiers, sex slaves, and porters.
The LRA abductions represented the majority of trafficking
victims in Uganda until peace talks began in July 2006. UNICEF
estimates that more than 20,000 children have been abducted
since the LRA began its insurgency in mid-1980s. Currently,
childrens' rights organizations estimate there are 1,500
abductees--adults and children--with the LRA in eastern Congo
and southern Sudan. The abductions occurred in the context
of a 21-year war and were outside the governmentQs full control.

Over the past few years, thousands of children in northern
Uganda commuted each night from internally displaced persons
centers to avoid LRA abduction. The numbers of "night
commuters" peaked in 2005 when approximately 23,500 of these
children were seeking refuge in NGO-run shelters. However,
the improved security situation had resulted in a dramatic
decrease in the number of night commuters to 2,700 in December

2006. Children who continue to commute do so for reasons
other than fear of abduction such as difficult home situations
or the desire to be in well-lit areas with other children.

The other major types of trafficking were children exploited
for commercial sex and forced labor. Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children (CSEC) occurs internally in Uganda
and victims generally move from rural villages to border
towns and urban centers. The two most recent studies of
trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children
were conducted in 2004 and 2006 by the Ministry of Gender,
Labor, and Social Development (MGLSD) and the International
Labor OrganizationQs International Programme on the Elimination
of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC). The 2004 report on CSEC estimated
that between 7,000-12,000 children in Uganda were sexually
exploited for commercial purposes. The study noted that 28
percent of the children in their sample were assisted by a
third party.

The recent draft ILO-IPEC Rapid Assessment Report on child
trafficking in 2006 noted an increase in cross-border trafficking.
Save the Children Uganda reported on child trafficking from
the Karamoja in northeastern Uganda. Another NGO, OASIS,
also conducted research in Karamoja in 2006. All of the
studies on trafficking indicated that statistics that determine
the scope and magnitude of the problem were difficult to
obtain. Instead, the reports focused on trends in trafficking
and recommended actions for the government and non-governmental
organizations. These studies indicated that girls were at a
higher risk of being trafficked than boys. Trafficking in
persons from Karamoja was tied to the corruption of seasonal
migration patterns and coping mechanism insecurity resulting
from an ongoing disarmament program.

27B: The security situation in northern Uganda has improved
dramatically since the LRA was driven out of northern Uganda
into Congo and the rebels and GOU began peace talks in July

2006. The talks are currently stalled but the security situation
remains calm. Since August 2006, there were no abductions by
the LRA in northern Uganda. As a result, persons living in IDP
camps in the Lango and Teso ethnic sub-regions continued to
leave IDP camps for their home villages. Nonetheless, the GOU
continued its deployment of an estimated 45,000 troops in
northern Uganda to protect civilians and combat the LRA.
UPDF conducted operations against the LRA in Uganda and
southern Sudan in early 2006 in which over 500 child abductees
were rescued. The GOU and the Government of Sudan expanded
a bilateral agreement in October 2005 permitting UPDF operations

KAMPALA 00000377 002 OF 009


on Sudanese territory. Under pressure from joint Ugandan-Southern
Sudanese military pressure the LRA leadership fled to eastern
DRC in December 2005. The International Criminal Court (ICC)
indicted five of the leaders for crimes against humanity and
war crimes committed in Uganda since July 2002.

Children trafficked for sex or labor were often put into situations
of exploitation by their own families. For children under
12 years of age, the traffickers were almost always family members.
In most situations, the parents placed their children with an
intermediary known to the community. The intermediaries were
mostly relatives, peers or well-established individuals. In
addition to family members, the ILO's Rapid Assessment identified
transporters, document forgers, middlemen and women, corrupt
border officials, and the childrens' peers as involved in or
benefiting from trafficking. Many children are enticed into
prostitution by their friends, who benefit financially from
recruiting others.

A relatively new trend discovered by police in 2006 was the
trafficking of Pakistani, Indian, and Chinese workers by importers.
In addition, the police found trafficking rings in which Indian
prostitutes were brought into Uganda.


27C: The governmentQs military efforts and amnesty program have
succeeded in reducing brutal killings and abductions by the LRA
in northern Uganda. The UPDF and international NGOs are preparing
for the possibility of receiving up to 1500 abducted children as
the result of the ongoing peace process. More generally, lack of
government resources has constrained the ability provide adequate
funds for efforts on social issues. The government relies on
massive amounts of donor aid to feed and provide minimal social
services to approximately 1.5 million displaced persons in northern
Uganda. Forty-two percent of the Ugandan national budget is provided
by donors.

UgandaQs police, prosecutors, and judiciary are constrained by
inadequate resources to pursue convictions against internal
traffickers involved in child prostitution. Corruption is a
general problem in government institutions in Uganda. However,
there is little indication that officials were bribed or otherwise
improperly influenced by traffickers. In 2006, the Ugandan police
dismissed over 300 police officers for corruption, unrelated to
trafficking. Ugandan judicial officers say the passage of a
comprehensive
anti-trafficking law and expanded training of enforcing trafficking
crimes would boost their prosecution efforts.

There is political will at the highest levels of government to stop
trafficking in persons. President Yoweri Museveni publicly supported
the passage of comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation and the
U.N. Protocol to Punish, Prevent, and Suppress Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children on February 22, 2007. (Ref B)
First Lady Janet Museveni, a parliamentarian, along with 80 other
female parliamentarians discussed UgandaQs TIP problems and
strategized on how to move forward a draft comprehensive
anti-trafficking bill (partially-funded by G/TIP) on February 9,

2007. The anti-TIP law was publicly launched on February 11.
The media, including the Government newspaper, have conducted
investigations and are reporting more on trafficking cases.

27D: The Government systematically monitors anti-trafficking
efforts in the northern conflict as it liberates captured child
soldiers from the rebel groups. The military's Child Protection
Unit in Gulu is the first stop for rescued or escaped children.
In 2006, the military processed 546 victims before turning them
over to NGO-run rehabilitation centers. The military's figures
were the most accurate over the last year. NGOs told Embassy
officers that their own systems of counting were non-functional
throughout the year. The Government also provides financial,
medical, psychological, and rehabilitation services to
ex-abductees, including child soldiers, back into Ugandan society.
The Child Protection Unit at national police headquarters monitors
the sex crimes involving children and local police efforts to
rescue children from exploitative forms of labor. The Director
of Public Prosecutions for the national government maintains
statistics on the number of prosecutions and convictions on the
crime of sex with a minor, which includes trafficking victims.
Uganda cooperates with INTERPOL and with regional law enforcement
initiatives. The Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development
worked with ILO-IPEC to carry out a rapid assessment of the child
trafficking problem in 2006. Though GOU agencies coordinate and

KAMPALA 00000377 003 OF 009


share information with various NGOs, the Government does not
regularly publish statistics. However, there were occasions
such as during the East African police chiefs regional meeting
in Kampala, when the Inspector General of Police publicly
discussed statistics involving child stealing.


4. (SBU) Prevention Activities:

28A: The Government acknowledges that the abductions in northern
Uganda and the children exploited in the sex industry are problems
in Uganda. The Government, at the highest levels, acknowledges
that trafficking in persons is a problem.

28B: The Ugandan military remains the primary weapon against
LRA abductions in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. The Amnesty
Commission, the Office of the President, the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Foreign Affairs continue to negotiate a peaceful
resolution to the conflict. The Police Criminal Investigations
Division (CID),the Special Branch, and Child Protection Unit
(CPU) are involved in the investigation of trafficking.
Local police officers assigned the child and family protection
portfolio lead sensitization campaigns in local communities
that encourage citizens to report trafficking crimes. The
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is responsible for prosecuting
traffickers. The MGLSD has the lead on trafficking issues but the
UPDF and police are the most active agencies in the fight against
traffickers. The MGLSD monitors and enforces labor standards that
prohibit the exploitation of children and is charged with sheltering
victims. From August 2006 to February 2007, 813 Karamojong were
removed from the streets of Kampala and transferred to Kapirigisa
remand/shelter home by a joint effort of city authorities, aid
agencies and the MGLSD. Two groups of Karamojong were transferred
transitional facilities in Karamoja on February 24.

Ugandan law prohibits service in the military by persons under
18 years of age. There were reports of a small number of children
serving in the Uganda PeopleQs Defense Forces (UPDF) and various
local militia known as Local Defense Units (LDUs). The UPDF
states that these children lie about their age and enter security
forces through fraud. A highly competitive recruiting drive in
November and December 2006 Qweeded outQ LDU members who were under
18, according to the UPDF. The UPDF cooperates with UNICEF and
other agencies to identify and decommission child soldiers.
There is no evidence that security forces actively or knowingly
recruit child soldiers.

28C: In northern Uganda, government uses local-language radio
programs to attempt to reach abducted children and their captors
to persuade them to return from the bush.

The national police continue to cooperate with an ILO-IPEC,
International Committee of the Red Cross, and Save the Children
to carry out programs to train local police officers and senior
police commanders on raising awareness in local communities on
the nature and dangers of child labor, including child
prostitution. NGOs also helped police trainers train 300
local police officers on their responsibility to prevent
child exploitation and enforce the related laws. The most
recent training of new police constables occurred in Lira
in early February 2007. The Child Protection Unit of the
police also used community meetings, school visits and radio
programs. WBS, a local television station, aired a widely
watched television special on child prostitution. The
government-run New Vision newspaper ran a victim's story
with advice for children who are being sexually-exploited
on February 25, 2007. Radio networks, which are the primary
source of information for most Ugandans, carried several
talk show programs about the scope and magnitude of child
trafficking and child labor in Uganda.

The MGLSD and the Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES)
also were extensively engaged in programs to promote universal
primary and secondary education, which has been recognized as
a key component in the strategy to eliminate the worst forms
of child labor. The Government is planning a public launch
of its National Child Labor policy on May 1--Labor Day--and
begin a nationwide sensitization campaign on child labor.
To date, public awareness campaigns focused on addressing the
supply side of trafficking because the GOU identified "ignorance"
of the issue as the primary driver.

28D: The Government remains very active in addressing three
underlying social conditions that render people vulnerable to

KAMPALA 00000377 004 OF 009


traffickers: poor education, poverty, and HIV/AIDS. The
Government continues to promote free Universal Primary Education
(UPE) and launched universal secondary education in February 2006.
The MOES also coordinates non-formal education programs that
target underserved populations. The Poverty Eradication
Action Plan (PEAP) is a national program aimed to increase
income-generating activities among the rural poor. With assistance
from donors, the government has begun offering free anti-retroviral
therapy to HIV-infected people. Finally, the MGLSDQs new
OVC policy coordinates the more effective delivery of services,
including vocational training and healthcare, to vulnerable
children. The Government also is implementing micro-financing
projects to help small businesses, including those owned and
operated by women.

28E: The Government maintains a positive relationship with
international agencies, NGOs, and others involved in programs
to address various aspects of the trafficking problem.
The MGLSD and National ChildrenQs Council have an MOU with
ILO/IPEC to eliminate child labor. The military and police
turn children over to NGOs and have received training on
protection issues for children. The NGOs advise the military
on child-friendly tactics. One international NGO arranged
a roundtable discussion between the military and former
abductees to discuss ways to improve the UPDF's ability to
rescue children from the LRA.

28F: The Government monitors its borders and has cooperated
in a US-financed program to increase border security.
Traffickers have been apprehended at Uganda's border with
Kenya and Rwanda. UgandaQs INTERPOL unit disseminates international
alerts on suspects to UgandaQs border officials for screening
immigrants. Immigration officials are monitoring flights to
Dubai, which have been used to traffic children. The Uganda
police also cooperate closely with their counterparts in the
region to investigate and arrest suspects involved in
cross-border crime.

28G: Government officials participate in a national
anti-trafficking working group formed in 2005. In 2006,
the working group completed the draft anti-trafficking law.
The Government has a Minister of State for Ethics and
Integrity and an Inspectorate General of Government that are
tasked with investigating corruption.

28H: The Ministry of Labor is working with police, l
ocal governments, the Ministries of Justice and Immigration,
and non-governmental and international organizations to
develop a draft National Plan of Action aimed specifically
at disseminating anti-TIP resources throughout the country.

28G: Different ministries have national action plans that
address trafficking problems in Uganda. The Ministries of
Defense and Internal Affairs implement plans to end the
LRA insurgency. The MGLSD also has a five-year plan that
includes assisting children so that they do not become
vulnerable to traffickers. NGOs have been consulted in
these discussions.


5. (SBU) Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers:

29A: Uganda does not have a comprehensive anti-trafficking
law, but draft anti-trafficking legislation was launched on
February 12. Parliamentarian Dora Byamukama adapted a model
anti-trafficking law developed in the U.S. to the Ugandan
context and solicited input from Ugandan stakeholders.
Byamukama and Winnie Masiko, the deputy chief whip in
parliament, also began lobbying their colleagues in parliament
for support. On February 9, UWOPAQ-the collective grouping
of UgandaQs 100 female parliamentariansQdiscussed the draft
legislation and began working on its passage. The draft
motion to place the legislation on the floor of parliament
is ready for introduction.

Uganda does have statutes under which trafficking can be
prosecuted. The Penal Code Act contains penalties for several
trafficking-related offenses including procurement of a woman
to become a prostitute, detention with sexual intent, sex
with a minor girl (defilement),dealing in slaves, and
compelling unlawful labor. Taken together, these laws
cover the full scope of trafficking in persons. However,
lack of investigative resources and technical capacity
in the criminal justice system limit effective enforcement

KAMPALA 00000377 005 OF 009


of the different laws.

29B-C: Trafficking cases are usually prosecuted under
the following statutes; Section 131 of the Penal Code Act,
which prohibits the procurement of any woman or girl to
become a common prostitute or to work in a brothel, either
in Uganda or elsewhere. The penalty for this offense is
up to seven years imprisonment. Section 134 prohibits
the unlawful detention of another person for the purpose
of sexual intercourse, including in a brothel. The penalty
for this offense is up to seven years imprisonment.

Section 249 prohibits the import, export, purchase, sale,
receipt, or detention of persons as slaves. The penalty for
such activities is imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Section 250 prohibits the compulsion of any person to labor
against his or her will; however, this is a misdemeanor offense.

29D: Rape carries a maximum penalty of death. This
sentence is sometimes imposed but has not been carried
out in many years. Defilement (sex with a minor girl
even if consensual) likewise carries a maximum penalty of
death. These penalties are more severe than those for
procuring a woman to be a prostitute (up to 7 years
imprisonment) or for dealing in slaves (up to 10 years
imprisonment).

29E: Section 139 of the Penal Code Act prohibits any
person from practicing or engaging in prostitution.
The penalty for prostitution is up to seven years imprisonment.
Similarly, Section 137 prohibits any person from
operating a brothel with a penalty of up to seven years
imprisonment. Section 136 prohibits any person from
living on the earnings of a prostitute, which includes
aiding, abetting, or compelling prostitution. The penalty
for this offense is also up to seven years imprisonment.
On occasion, the police will conduct QsweepsQ in urban
centers where prostitutes commonly work and arrest as
many prostitutes as they encounter.

29F: In the case of LRA abductions, most rescued or
captured rebels--which include child abductees--apply
for and receive amnesty. The Government has offered
blanket amnesty to ex-combatants since 2000 as a means
to induce defection and surrender of rebels.
Amnesty also recognizes abductees as victims who were
forced to commit atrocities. The Amnesty Commission
was created by the government to process amnesty
requests. In 2006, 2,490 former LRA combatants
applied for and received amnesty. Many of these had
been abducted as children. As a result of the amnesty
process, the Government has not arrested, prosecuted,
or convicted LRA rebels (most of whom were also victims
of abduction) for trafficking-related offenses.

At the request of the Ugandan Government, the
International Criminal Court (ICC) issued warrants for
the arrest of the top five commanders of the LRA for
crimes against humanity including murder, enslavement,
and rape in October 2005. One of the indictees,
Raska Lukwiya, was killed on August 12 by the Ugandan
military. The Ugandan government says that the
offer of amnesty to the LRA leadership is for treason
charges, not crimes against humanity, if a peace deal
is reached. The LRA will have to face traditional
forms of justice which requires the admission of guilt,
asking of forgiveness, and payment of compensation to
victims.

Over the past year, police have discovered at least
two trafficking rings. One involved young Indian girls
trafficked into Uganda for prostitution. The second
involved Indian, Chinese, and Sri Lankan workers trafficked
as forced laborers. In these two cases, the perpetrators
were charged with kidnapping and making threats with
menace and deported. The monitoring of evening flights
to Dubai has uncovered the trafficking of children to
U.A.E, Saudi Arabia, and possibly the Gulf states.
Security at Entebbe International Airport busted a
base of operations near the airport. Immigration officers
intercepted and picked up two Asians who were implicated
trafficking at the airport. The children were recovered
and the traffickers charged with document fraud. Immigration

KAMPALA 00000377 006 OF 009


and security officials estimate that ten children per
month may be trafficked through Dubai. Beginning in July,
police checkpoints on roads leading in and out of Karamoja
stopped numerous vehicles transporting young children being
trafficked to Kampala. Four girls were rescued from
traffickers on July 11, 2006 and police continue to question
passengers on these roads to determine if they were being
trafficked. The government enforces a strict law that
punishes any person who has sex with a minor. In 2006,
the Government arrested 4,520 people on charges of defilement.
Of these 1,193 were convicted. Many defilement cases are
settled out of court through agreements reached between
the perpetrator and the victimQs family. The DPP has
just received a case of a step-mother prostituting her
step-daughter. The prosecutor is concerned that the
husband will persuade his daughter to back out of the
court case. A police report summary stated that there
were 185 recorded cases of child abduction and
disappearances in 2006. Of these missing children,
42 were recovered, 4 were killed in child sacrifices,
and 139 remain missing.

29G: The terrorist rebel organization LordQs Resistance Army
(LRA) is responsible for the human trafficking in northern Uganda.
The LRA abducts children and adults to be soldiers, forced sexual
partners, and porters.

Third parties identified by the 2004 MGLSD study and the
ILO/IPEC Rapid Assessment indicate that children engaged
in commercial sexual exploitation were facilitated by family
members, friends, taxi drivers, bar/hotel owners, and pimps.
In general, these third parties are freelance operators.
There was one report of a border official who may have
benefited from the trafficking of an individual.
In general, there are no reports that government officials
condone or are involved with traffickers.

The Labor Commissioner and Parliamentary Committee on Labor
began investigating the security guard industry in October

2006. Over 1,500 Ugandans are serving as security guards
at U.S. installations in Iraq. The Labor Commissioner has
suspended at least three local guard companies for not
paying the guards as promised and changing the terms of
the contracts after the guards were deployed to Iraq. One
of the Ugandan companies was a contractor providing Ugandan
security guards at U.S. military bases in Iraq. The U.S.
sub-contractor, was briefed by the P/E Officer and DATT
at the U.S. Embassy in Kampala in October 2006 and was
given information on what labor practices constitute
trafficking, past DOD-contractors that were fined for
such practices, and the relevant U.S. regulations against
trafficking. The U.S. sub-contractor discontinued the
contract with the Ugandan company in December 2006.
The Government is drafting regulations for companies
sourcing Ugandans for external employment.

Labor inspectors investigate complaints of inappropriate
labor practices, including child labor, and have the
authority to impose civil penalties on employers.
However, in practice, inspectors in the north lack the
resources to adequately cover their entire districts.
Local district officials, the inspectors, and ILO-IPEC
collaborate on ways to increase the inspectors' mobility
and information collection. District child labor
committees were one effective mechanism to make up for a
lack of resources.

29H: The Government vigorously pursues LRA rebel units,
including hot pursuit of units that have recently abducted
children and other civilians. Techniques such as electronic
surveillance or undercover operations, sometimes are used
against criminal gangs. Although Ugandan law does not
prohibit the use of these techniques by the police,
resource constraints hinder the police forceQs ability
to support extensive use of these techniques in
criminal investigations.

29I: The Child and Family Protection Unit of the national
police, with assistance from ILO-IPEC, trained police
officers and senior commanders on child rights, child
labor laws, and definitions of the worst forms of child
labor. Local NGOs were invited to the training to present
information on the nature and forms of child labor in

KAMPALA 00000377 007 OF 009


Uganda, including child prostitution. These police
officers have already trained more than additional police
officers on child labor rights and crimes and will
continue to train other colleagues throughout 2006.
The American Bar Association sponsored police training,
which focused on trafficking crimes in 2006.
The Ministry of Labor in coordination with the National
Children's Council (NCC),continued to hold workshops
with law enforcement officers to brainstorm the
challenges of combating trafficking. On November
1, 2006, the GOU adopted a National Child Labor Policy,
although implementation has not started. The policyQs
objective is to integrate child labor concerns into
national, district and community programs; and establish
a legislative and institutional framework to initiate,
coordinate, monitor, and evaluate child labor programs.
The policy will also stimulate collective and concerted
efforts to eliminate child labor at all levels.

29J: The GOU and Government of South Sudan's joint
military operations deprived the LRA of bases in northern
Uganda and southern Sudan. The Government cooperates
with the Government of Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda,
and Burundi. The national police also participate in
the East African Police Chiefs Organization (EAPCO),
which includes nine countries in the region. The
organization provides mutual legal assistance, training,
and a forum to discuss trans-national crime. The
INTERPOL unit of the national police also participates
in multilateral investigations of cross-border crimes
including drug and firearms trafficking, although none
have so far included human trafficking crimes.

29K: There have been no cases of extradition on the
basis of trafficking charges in Uganda. The EAPCO is
currently developing an extradition treaty for the nine
member countries that should facilitate the extradition
of criminals.

29L: There is no evidence of governmental tolerance of
trafficking.

29M: There was only one case of complicity or
involvement of Government officials in instances
of trafficking raised in the ILO-IPEC Rapid Assessment.
Embassy officers have forwarded it to the police for
follow-up.

29N: Uganda does not have an identified child sex
tourism problem. However, Ugandan nationals were noted
to be users of child prostitutes in Kenya. The anti-TIP
law draft has an extraterritorial provision to allow
prosecution of Ugandans for trafficking-related offenses
in another country.

29O: The Government ratified ILO Convention 182 on
June 6, 2001. GOU ratified Conventions 29 and 105 on
June 4, 1963. GOU ratified the optional protocol to
the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale
of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography
on November 20, 2001. The Government signed the Protocol
to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons on
December 12, 2000. Parliamentarians are working on
getting the TIP Protocol ratified along with passage of
the TIP legislation.


5. (SBU) Protection and Assistance to Victims

30A: The Government provides assistance to former LRA
abductees, including children. The Ugandan military has
a Child Protection Unit, which facilitates the reception
and debriefing of former child soldiers, as well as
their subsequent transfer to NGO-run reintegration centers.
Child soldiers who surrender or are captured are
provided with shelter and food during the short
period (one or two days) before they are transferred
to NGO custody. NGOs are notified by the military
as soon as they have a child under their care.
In 2006, the UPDF Child Protection Unit rescued and
assisted 546 children before transferring them to NGO-run
centers for longer term care and support. There are four
UPDF transit shelters under the Child Protection Unit in
Gulu, Pader, Kitgum, and Acholi Pii. The GOU grants

KAMPALA 00000377 008 OF 009


blanket amnesty, through a law passed in 2000, which
absolves returnees (abducted persons and/or former rebels)
from criminal liability if they return and renounce rebellion.
The amnesty program has been an important method to
encourage the surrender of LRA rebels and has led to a
significant reduction in LRA strength.

Under the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development
there are two transit shelters for internally displaced
Karamojong, including those children who were used for begging.
The facilities in Kampala are not specifically for trafficking
victims. However, there were 813 Karamojong at the facility
in February. Two thousand others had been transported to two
transit centers in Karamoja, are predominately for children
and adults who migrated out of the region for better
economic opportunities. Many of the children were sent
by their families to beg in the major urban areas.

30B: The Government does not provide funding to foreign
or domestic NGOs for services to trafficking victims, due
to resource constraints. However, the Government works
closely with NGOs that assist former LRA abductees at
reception centers and Karamojong children removed from
the streets.

30C: The Ugandan militaryQs Child Protection Unit screens
children who were trafficked by the LRA and refers them to
NGO-run assistance programs. National and local level
officials, especially district child labor committees,
support the efforts of ILO/IPEC by identifying children
for withdrawal from the worst forms of child labor. Local
governments also have child labor committees to monitor the
working conditions of children. As previously stated, the
police conduct public awareness campaigns and remain in
touch with schools, which assist in identifying victims.

30D: The majority of children over the age of 12 and others
abducted by the LRA are granted amnesty through a
government-supported program. After a period of residence
at NGO reception centers, generally about six weeks, they are
released so that they can be reunited with their families and
reintegrated into society. NGOs and others provide limited
additional assistance, including psychosocial counseling.
Child sex workers rounded up with adult prostitutes during
police sweeps are generally released without charge.

30E: In northern Uganda, the Government has offered
amnesty to LRA rebels who renounce rebellion. Formerly
abducted children assisted the government through
providing information on the location of weapons caches
and rebel camps. The amnesty program is strongly
supported by the civilian communities subject to LRA
abductions and attack. Accordingly, victims are unable
to file civil suits or seek legal action against the LRA
traffickers who seek amnesty.

The government encourages victims in sexually related
trafficking cases to testify. A medical exam, which can
be conducted by a police physician, is necessary to provide
evidence of the crime. However, the police employ
few physicians due to resource constraints.
As a result, victims of defilement and rape often
have to pay for their own medical exams. The cost
deters many from following through with legal action.
There is also social stigma against victims of sexual
crimes in some communities. Other factors believed to
inhibit reporting and prosecution of sexual crimes
include fear of retribution, lack of support services,
and use of alternative restitution procedures.

30F: Rescued victims of LRA trafficking are provided
with initial care and support to assist in their
rehabilitation and reintegration. After victims are
reintegrated into communities, they are not provided
any special protection beyond the general Ugandan
military action to prevent overall LRA activity.

30G: The Government does make provision in the
military for the training of members of the Child
Protection Unit. ChildrenQs rights are also emphasized
in other human rights training programs provided to police
and security forces. Ugandan soldiers are given specific
training on the rights of children and carry a code of

KAMPALA 00000377 009 OF 009


conduct. The code states: soldier must apply and
reinforce all practical and legal measures to protect
children and their mother's lives and property before,
during, and after conflict; soldiers should inspire
confidence and let children know they are protected;
soldiers should never neglect child protection issues
and know Children's Rights; soldiers should stop the
use of child soldiers and never give children ammunition
to carry; soldiers should not rape children; soldiers
should not maltreat, massacre, or mutilate children or
separate them from their families; and soldiers should
give children good advice. Police officers are actively
participating in a specialized training program on the
worst forms of child labor.

30H: The Government provides assistance to child
soldiers returning from LRA captivity in southern
Sudan. In 2006, a government probation officer
assisted the return of a Congolese child prostitute
to her grandparents in Congo.

30I: UNICEF, Save the Children, World Vision, Kitgum
Concerned WomenQs Association, Gulu Support the Children
Organization, Concerned ParentQs Association, Give Me
a Chance, the International Rescue Committee, Uganda
Youth Development Link, Busia Compassionate Friends, Kids
in Need, Restore International, International Justice Mission,
and a number of other NGOs work with formerly abducted
children in northern Uganda and children in the commercial
sex industry. These organizations provide food, shelter,
psychosocial counseling, and vocational training.
The Government cooperates fully with these activities.
BROWNING