2
15-‐19
APRIL
2013
Communication
No.
1/2005
AFRICAN
COMMITTEE
OF
EXPERTS
ON
THE
RIGHTS
AND
WELFARE
OF
THE
CHILD
Twenty
first
Ordinary
Session
15-‐19
April
2013
Addis
Ababa,
Ethiopia
MICHELO
HUNSUNGULE
AND
OTHERS
(ON
BEHALF
OF
CHILDREN
IN
NORTHERN
UGANDA)
v.
THE
GOVERNMENT
OF
UGANDA
DECISION
Summary of Alleged Facts
1.
In 2005, the Secretariat of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child (African Committee) received a Communication brought by Michelo
Hunsungule (Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria) and Others (the
Complainants) on behalf of children in Northern Uganda, against the Government of
Uganda.
2.
For 20 years, from 1986, Northern Uganda was subjected to a debilitating
insurrection which caused great suffering to the population, massive displacement and
gross violations of human rights including children’s rights. The insecurity was such that
the people could be protected from the rebels only by being moved into camps
(Internally Displaced Persons Caps) where living conditions were below the standard for
decent human living and survival. Despite numerous initiatives undertaken by the
Government of Uganda, the rebels had the opportunity in infiltrating camps, abducting
local citizens in raids, destroying property, and performing numerous atrocities.
3.
It has been well recorded that children bore a disproportionate brunt of the
insurrection. Most notably, children were the targets for abduction into the rebel forces,
and tens of thousands of boys and girls were taken captive by the Lord’s Resistance
Army (LRA) to serve various roles in furtherance of their evil cause. Children were often
at such risk that they could not sleep at home and were forced to travel at night to
central places where they could be better protected (the so- called ‘night commuters’).
Services such as health and education were severely disrupted, and internally displaced
persons were largely dependent on humanitarian assistance for survival.
4.
From 2005 onwards the position of the LRA weakened and since 2006, sufficient
improvements in security were achieved to enable a programme of return and voluntary
resettlement. Even today, the process of reconstruction of the region is visibly still