12     between the ages of the 16 to 18 years do not benefit from the provision, and might legitimately be seen as being allowed to get into the army. 46. During its onsite visit in relation to this Communication, the African Committee has found evidence, and re-confirmation, about the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict by the UPDF (in particular within the 105th battalion) . A number of credible reports, including from the United Nations confirmed the presence of children in the UPDF during the material time. For instance, reports that indicated the presence of around 120 recruits out of a sample 1,200 in Lugore training centre that were probably under the age of 18 were made by UNICEF in November 2003. 47. Until 2007, the respondent State appeared on the Security Council list of States that have children in their armed forces. It is indeed a welcome and notable development that, based on the action plan regarding children associated with armed forces signed between the Government of Uganda and the United Nations in August 2007, the country task forces on monitoring and reporting conducted onsite visits of UPDF facilities to verify the implementation of its recruitment policies and ensure compliance in ending child recruitment and use. Government commitment in this regard is commendable as there were no reported cases of recruitment and use of children by UPDF or the LDUs in the years after 2007. Notably, the LRA has been listed in the annex of the UN Secretary General’s reports on children and armed conflict as a party that commits grave violations against children since 2003. 48. The African Committee has noted the increasingly transparent recruitment process that is undertaken by the UPDF to avoid manipulation of the system; measures including informing district authorities about the conditions that only a person above 18 years and recommended by his/her respective LCs shall be eligible for recruitment, and the presence of medical doctors to verify the ages of recruits. Despite these measures, the absence of a universal and well functioning birth registration system, in line with Article 6 of the Charter, which is crucial for the process of age verification, had created a big gap for the recruitment of children into the UPDF. 49. In this respect, it should also be mentioned that the African Committee notes the effort undertaken by the Government to repatriate and handle children formerly associated with LRA to Uganda through the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence or through UPDF child protection units. Unfortunately, for some of the children, escape or rescue from the LRA did not always translate into a return to civilian life, at least immediately. The Committee also notes that such a process of repatriation was followed instead of having the children immediately placed under the care of appropriate civilian child protection actors. In addition, incidents where children overstayed (according to some reports for about two months) with UPDF/Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence before being handed over to child protection agencies does not in principle comply with the obligation to ensure children’s best interests as the paramount consideration. 50. Moreover, unfortunately, both in its submissions, oral arguments, and also during the investigative mission undertaken by the Committee, the Government has not been