9
condemn in no uncertain terms that the LRA has violated and still is (as far as children
in some countries in the region are concerned) violating children’s rights in a massive
scale. This armed group continues to commit violations against children outside
Uganda, namely in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central
African Republic. Even to date, repeated calls made to the LRA to unconditionally
release children in its ranks have mostly gone ignored.
36.
In addition, the African Committee is also duly aware of the fact that the ability of
a State to fulfill its human rights obligations can be severely undermined by its
involvement in hostilities. As a result, the decision in this Communication give due
consideration to this reality.
37.
Article 1(1) of the African Children’s Charter stipulates the “fundamental duty” of
States Parties. This Article provides the general State Parties’ obligation by stating that
Member States of the Organization of African Unity Parties to the present Charter shall
recognize the rights, freedoms and duties enshrined in this Charter and shall undertake to
the necessary steps, in accordance with their Constitutional processes and with the
provisions of the present Charter, to adopt such legislative or other measures as may be
necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Charter.
In principle, this general obligation that States undertake is subject neither to
progressive realization, nor to available resources.
38.
The African Committee is of the strong view that effective implementation of laws
with due diligence is part of States parties obligation under the Charter. This position is
also supported by jurisprudence from the African Commission, where for instance in a
case concerning Mauritania, the Commission found that, although slavery had officially
been abolished in that country, this was not effectively enforced by the government.5
In
a Communication against the Government of Chad, the Commission likewise held that
the state's failure to protect people under its jurisdiction during a civil war against
attacks by unidentified militants, not proven to be government agents, constituted a
violation of the right to life.6 In Addition, the full title of the African Children’s Charterwhich is on the rights and welfare of the child - according to the African Committee, this
in part indicates that protection of rights should lead to the wellbeing and welfare of
children. In other words, the recognition of rights should be able to promote and improve
the lived reality of children on the ground.
39.
While the primary mandate of the African Committee is to interpret and monitor
the implementation of the African Children’s Charter, there are a number of other
instruments that Uganda is a State Party to that are directly relevant to the
Communication at hand [The sentence is not coherent (there is no link between the first
5
Org. of African Unity, African Comm'n, Communications 54/91, 61/91, 98/93, 164-196/97, & 210/98,
Malawi African Ass'n & Others v. Mauritania, 13th Annual Activity Report (1999).
6
Org. of African Unity, African Comm'n, Communication 74/92, Commission Nationale des Droit de
l'Homme et des Libertes v. Chad, 9th Annual Activity Report (1995-96) [hereinafter Org. of African Unity,
Commission Nationale]; see also Org. of African Unity, African Comm'n, Communication 155/96, The
Social & Economic Rights Action Center & Another v. Nigeria, 15th Annual Activity Report (2001-02).