SECTION IX: SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES 9.0 Introduction Uganda is obliged under Article 22 (3) of the Charter to take all feasible measures to protect and care for children affected by armed conflicts. Government and its partners have undertaken several steps to protect children in Emergency Situations including: 9.1 Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) The Office of the Prime Minister is the principle agency responsible for the coordination of human and natural disaster management programmes in Uganda as per the National Disaster Policy and Internal Displacement Policy. This office houses the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) which is charged with coordination of sectional lead agencies as well as being the line Ministry through which disaster and humanitarian agencies link up with government. The National Disaster Management Policy clearly outlines the roles of the Office of the Prime Minister and Department of Disaster Management particularly in situations involving:  Mobilization of resources in order to assist the victims of disaster to restore their normal life particularly through use of disaster funds.  Providing leadership and coordination on the resettlement, rehabilitation and psychosocial care of disaster victims.  Ensuring that Sphere Standards, GPID and other standards are observed in all humanitarian interventions.  Monitoring and evaluation of standards, operations and performance of all actors in the humanitarian field. 9.2 Night Commuter Centres The idea of childhood as a protected period of healthy growth was obliterated in northern Uganda. The 20year conflict has meant a reign of terror, where the LRA use abducted children to attack homesteads, IDP camps and town suburbs to abduct yet more children and steal food and other items. This ushered in a new phenomenon –night commuting, as children fled their usual places of abode to safer places usually in temporary shelters, churches, bus parks/stations, missions, hospitals, shop verandas in towns. By October 2004, tens of thousands of children in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader were fleeing their homes each night to urban centres and the larger IDP camps fearing attacks and abductions by the LRA 11. These were known as „night commuters’. These children, many of whom are without protection of parents or organized shelter sites faced the threat of physical abuse, sexual exploitation and gender-based violence including rape. Girls were subjected to sexual harassment and abuse along transit routes and in the sleeping spaces in town centres. With the help of development partners, UNICEF, Save the Children in Uganda, CARE, AVSI, RUFOU, Noah‟s Ark and local NGOs, centres were provided for these children to sleep and also have a chance to read their books. These were equipped with wardens. Today, because of the improvement in the situation as peace negotiations go on, the children are now in homes where people have resettled while others can now safely stay in the camps. 11 UNICEF, State of the World’s Children 2005 34