SECTION IV: GENERAL PRINCIPLES 4.1 None Discrimination In line with Article 2 of the ACRWC, the Ugandan Constitution under Article 21, provides for equality before the law and protects all persons against discrimination on grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, creed, religion, social economic standing or political opinion. However, Government is aware that discrimination against certain groups of children in practice still exists. The basis for discrimination include: gender biases within the family and community such as son preference, overworking of girls and putting low priority on girls‟ education; geographical location (rural areas and some remote district/locations have less access to resources and services); religion, ethnicity; poverty; disability and refugees. General attitudes towards children in society at large are sometimes negative and authoritarian. For example, children are expected to show respect and obey parents, elders and those in authority. Children are sometimes seem as property of family and subordinated to families and clans. According to a baseline survey on girl child sexual abuse, “children have no voice and keep quiet when their rights are infringed upon,” (FIDA, 1999). Discrimination is sometimes unintended for example; facilities including schools do not have provisions for children with disabilities. These include ramps in high places; spacious wash rooms that can accommodate wheel chairs; and adequate learning materials and equipment for the different forms of disability. In institutions where children need to communicate their concerns such as health centres and the justice system, there are no sign language experts who can facilitate easy communication for such children. The situation at the family and community level is worse whereby in some homes children with disability and hidden in the house, poorly dressed and their health conditions are ignored depending on the severity of disability. Disability is often seen as bad luck or a curse and may even result in one of the parents, usually the mother being blamed for producing such child. Some of the causes of discrimination are deep-rooted, for instance, in cultural beliefs. Actions taken by Government to counteract these beliefs include the development of National Gender Policy and National Action Plan on Women; the implementation of UPE; the development and implementation of the PEAP; the development and implementation of the plan of action to fight corruption; and the creation of the Equal Opportunities Commission. There is a specific institution that currently handles issues of policy and advocacy for persons with disability, the National Union of Disabled Persons in Uganda (NUDIPU) that is the National Council for Disability. In Parliament, there is representation of persons with disabilities on a regional basis. These articulate concerns of persons with disability at the legislative level. Within schools, efforts have been made to provide for at least on special needs teacher per school. These are not adequate to cover all the needs however more are being trained at the Uganda National Institute of Special Needs Education (UNISE). There is also increased sensitization at community level for people to understand that a person with disability has equal rights with others. In some public places and the media, translation in sign language is used. Within the education sector, discrimination that is inherent as a result of geographical and cultural factors, has been addressed by introducing interventions for complementary education for street children, children in the nomadic pastoral areas of Karamoja –Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja (ABEK) and the disadvantaged children in Kamuli and other lakeshore areas-Complementary Opportunities for Primary Education (COPE). Availability of early childhood development (ECD) centres has contributed to reducing 13