Uganda is failing to protect homeless children against police
abuse and other violence, Human Rights Watch said in a report called “Where do
you want us to go?”. Street children throughout Uganda’s urban centers face
violence, and physical and sexual abuse. National and local government
officials should put an end to organized roundups of street children, hold
police and others accountable for beatings, and provide improved access for
these children to education and healthcare.
The 71-page report, “Where
Do You Want Us to Go?’ Abuses against Street Children in Uganda,” documents
human rights violations against street children by police and local government
officials, as well as abuses by members of the community and older homeless
children and adults. Police and other officials, including those from the
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), have beaten, extorted money from, and
arbitrarily detained street children after targeted roundups. In police cells
children have faced further beatings and forced labour, including cleaning the
cells and police living quarters. On the streets, homeless adults and older
children harass, threaten, beat, sexually abuse, force drugs upon, and exploit
street children, often with impunity.
“Ugandan authorities
should be protecting and helping homeless children, not beating them up or
throwing them in police jails with adults,” said Maria Burnett, senior Africa
researcher. “The government should end arbitrary roundups of street children
and protect them from abuse.”
Over half of all
Ugandans are under 15, and children are the single largest demographic group
living in poverty. According to independent groups, local government officials,
and police officers from the Child and Family Protection Unit (CFPU), the
number of Ugandan children living on the streets is increasing, though the
total number is not known.
Human Rights Watch
interviewed over 130 current and former street children from December 2013 to February
2014 in seven town centres throughout Uganda. Human Rights Watch also
interviewed 49 members of organizations providing assistance to street
children, health care workers, international humanitarian and children’s
organizations, police, and local government officials. Read more about the abuse inflicted on Ugandan children on www.eurasiareview.com |