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assistance to children. In many instances, access to safe drinking water was furthered
through boreholes in the camps, but due to the prevailing insecurity occasioned by the
raids and destruction of property by the LRA, services were not easily provided. The
population of the camps was very large, and health and sanitation services were
stretched. Farmlands could largely not be accessed due to the limited security outside
the confines of the IDP camps which diminished the local supply of food. Psycho social
support to returning children was reportedly provided in reception centers.
75.
Throughout the investigation of this Communication, the African Committee
found no evidence that the Government of Uganda failed to show due diligence in its
efforts to comply with Article 14 of the Charter, or that it mismanaged public finances for
health, or withheld medicines and medical treatment even if it had the means to provide
it, or indiscriminately attacked health facilities, or curtailed the efforts of nongovernmental organizations or other partners to contribute towards the realization of
Article 14, or discriminated in any way in its efforts to comply with Article 14 of the
Charter. The information available to the Committee does not provide a sufficient basis
to determine a violation of Article 14 of the African Children’s Charter. As a result, the
Committee does not find a violation of Article 14 by the Government of Uganda.
Alleged violation of Articles 27 and 29 (Sexual abuse and violence)
76.
In armed conflicts, sexual violence is increasingly committed against civilian
populations including boys and girls. Children who experience sexual violence suffer
from long-term psychological trauma, stigma, health consequences and early
pregnancies. The African Committee agrees that “sexual violence” in international
criminal law encompasses a broad range of offences relating to non-consensual acts of
a sexual nature. Indeed there are various forms of sexual abuse/violence that would
constitute as war crime. As a result, the Rome Statute of the ICC states that rape,
enforced prostitution, sexual slavery, enforced sterilization, forced pregnancy, or ‘other
forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity’ may constitute war crimes and crimes
against humanity. It is also notable that the SCSL established that “forced marriage” is
also an offence under international criminal law when it rendered three militia leaders
guilty of crimes against humanity for forcing girls into marriage. All these [and other
comparable] acts would constitute a violation of the African Children’s Charter.
77.
The abuse and torture of children abducted and recruited into the LRA are
acknowledged, and the Committee is hopeful that the leadership of the LRA will
ultimately be forced to face criminal charges for the war crimes it perpetrated. Given the
special protection girl children are offered by the Charter(in article 1 for instance), the
systematic use of abducted girls as ‘bush wives’ as well as raping and sexually abusing
them is of particular concern to the Committee since the LRA leadership accounts for
these extreme violations of the rights of girl children.
78.
However the Communication alleges that there were incidents where UPDF
soldiers were either directly involved or facilitated the sexual abuse and violence against
children. The Committee has investigated these allegations during its mission to