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Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early years of the 21st Century gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Uganda.htm
Uganda is a source and
destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes
of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Ugandan children are trafficked
within the country for forced labor in the fishing, agricultural, and
domestic service sectors, as well as for commercial sexual exploitation; they
are also trafficked to other East African and European countries for the same
purposes. Karamojong women and children are sold as
slaves in cattle markets or by intermediaries and are subsequently forced
into domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, cattle herding, and begging. Human trafficking of
Ugandan children for the forcible removal of body parts reportedly is
widespread; so-called witchdoctors seek various body parts of live victims
for traditional medical concoctions commonly purchased to heal illness,
foster economic advancement, or hurt enemies. - U.S. State Dept
Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report] CAUTION: The following
links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** James Karuhanga,
Senior Researcher, [accessed 2 January 2011] The harsh weather
and climatic limitations make livestock maintenance difficult both to the Karamojong and the neighboring tribes. They have to walk
long distances, disregarding national boundaries, with their animals in
search of pasture for grazing and water. This search for water and pasture
has resulted in tribal fights and a culture of cattle rustling coupled with
the Karimojong’s natural belief that all livestock
around them belongs to them, which heightens the inter-tribal clashes. This is enforced by
the fact that cattle are used as a “bride price” and the raids are a symbol
of strength and manhood in the tradition of the community. In addition, there
are continual reports of Karimojong children sold
at weekly cattle markets in Kotido, Moroto and Nakapiripirit
districts. The alarming report
reveals that child abuse is on the increase in the sub-region as desperate Karimojong parents sell their children, especially girls,
to raise money to maintain the remaining members of their families. Police issues measures to fight child
sacrifice Josephine Maseruka,
The New Vision, 6 January 2009 www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/667107 [accessed 2 January 2011] A
counter-trafficking unit has been created to curb child sacrifice and human
trafficking, he said. Kayihura’s briefing came amid
reports of increasing cases of ritual murders, with children as the main
victims. Kayihura noted that of the
18 suspected ritual murder cases reported to the Police last year, 15 had
been conclusively investigated and the suspects committed to the High
Court. He observed that most ritual
murders were committed by either parents or relatives of the victims, adding
that in the 15 cases, the suspects confessed. The state minister
for internal affairs, Matia Kasaija,
regretted that there was a 600% increase in ritual murder, from the three
reported in 2007, up to 18 cases last year.
Kasaija noted that the problem was
compounded by the increase in other crimes affecting children like
kidnapping, abduction and child stealing. ***
ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/uganda.htm [accessed 2 January 2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor, March 8, 2006 www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61598.htm [accessed 2 January 2011] CHILDREN
-
According to UNICEF estimates, the LRA has abducted approximately 12 thousand
children since 2002, and continued to abduct children during the year. The
LRA forced children into virtual slavery as laborers, soldiers, guards, and
sex slaves. In addition to being beaten, raped, and forced to march until
exhausted, abducted children were forced to participate in the killing of
other children who attempted to escape. More than 85 percent of LRA captives
were made up of children whom the LRA abducted and forced to fight as rebels;
most LRA rebels were between the ages of 11 and 16. TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– In addition to trafficking related to LRA abductions, adults and children
were trafficked internally for labor, commercial sexual exploitation, and
criminal activities. Trafficking in persons primarily occurred internally:
the LRA abducted children to be soldiers, sex slaves, and porters. Freelance
operators, including taxi drivers and hotel/bar operators, conducted the
commercial sex trafficking. Victims of internal
trafficking were subjected to hazardous working conditions, and commercial
sex victims were subjected to physical abuse and the risk of contracting
sexually transmitted diseases. Victims of commercial sex trafficking in urban
centers often came from small rural villages. Diverse Human Trafficking Trends in East
African Region Highlights Urgent Need for Greater Protection International Organization for Migration
IOM, 12-10-2010 www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/media/press-briefing-notes/pbnAF/cache/offonce/lang/en?entryId=28484 [accessed 20 December 2010] In Adult victims were
identified in the domestic sector, as well as the mining, agricultural and
hospitality industries. The IOM assessment
established that Ugandan children are trafficked to all the countries in the
region with Police issues measures to fight child
sacrifice Josephine Maseruka,
The New Vision, 6 January 2009 www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/667107 [accessed 2 January 2011] A
counter-trafficking unit has been created to curb child sacrifice and human
trafficking, he said. Kayihura’s briefing came amid
reports of increasing cases of ritual murders, with children as the main victims.
Kayihura noted that of the
18 suspected ritual murder cases reported to the Police last year, 15 had
been conclusively investigated and the suspects committed to the High
Court. He observed that most ritual
murders were committed by either parents or relatives of the victims, adding
that in the 15 cases, the suspects confessed. The state minister
for internal affairs, Matia Kasaija,
regretted that there was a 600% increase in ritual murder, from the three
reported in 2007, up to 18 cases last year.
Kasaija noted that the problem was
compounded by the increase in other crimes affecting children like
kidnapping, abduction and child stealing. Police must probe human trafficking The New Vision, 11 April 2008 www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/14/621809 [accessed 2 January 2011] The Uganda Human
Rights Commission and the Ministry of Labour are handling cases involving
allegations that some people smuggle Indians from Joyce Namutebi,
The New Vision, www.afrika.no/Detailed/15014.html [accessed 2 January 2011] In its 145-page
report, the commission was concerned that child sacrifice, child trafficking,
child labour, abduction, child soldiering, defilement, child prostitution and
abuse were persisting in Katarzyna Heath, The New
Vision, This article has been archived by World
Street Children News and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12 September 2011] Most of them flee
their homes due to abuse and neglect, their heads filled with warped views of
urban existence. In reality, these dreams are not fulfilled and the end
result is there are children working and sleeping on the streets, fending for
themselves in unsafe conditions. The children are
exposed to many dangers. Many become part of child trafficking. They are
persuaded under false pretences by elders or family 'acquaintances' that they
are moving to new places with better opportunities. Instead, they are trapped in a world of
exploitation, which exposes them to anything from child prostitution to human
sacrifices. James Karuhanga,
Senior Researcher, [accessed 2 January 2011] The harsh weather
and climatic limitations make livestock maintenance difficult both to the Karamojong and the neighboring tribes. They have to walk
long distances, disregarding national boundaries, with their animals in
search of pasture for grazing and water. This search for water and pasture
has resulted in tribal fights and a culture of cattle rustling coupled with
the Karimojong’s natural belief that all livestock
around them belongs to them, which heightens the inter-tribal clashes. This is enforced by
the fact that cattle are used as a “bride price” and the raids are a symbol
of strength and manhood in the tradition of the community. In addition, there
are continual reports of Karimojong children sold
at weekly cattle markets in Kotido, Moroto and Nakapiripirit
districts. The alarming report
reveals that child abuse is on the increase in the sub-region as desperate Karimojong parents sell their children, especially girls,
to raise money to maintain the remaining members of their families. Migration body to monitor human trafficking
impact [access information unavailable] "Many girls
are taken from Iringa and brought to major cities to work as housegirls but they end up being subjected to
prostitution and other works which they did not expect, this is internal
trafficking," she said. Many young boys,
she said, are taken to work in the mining companies, something which not only
denies their rights but also are psychosocially affected. A Hero in Hell. Former Drug Dealer Frees
Abducted Child Soldiers in Maria Sliwa,
Assist News Service ANS, Nimule, ithinkimafundamentalist.blogspot.com/2005/10/this-guy-is-just-asking-to-have-movie.html [accessed 2 January 2011] In March of this
year, a band of these small predators attacked a group of women who were
collecting firewood near the border of The children of the
LRA perform these acts at the bidding of their adult counterparts and make up
about 80 percent of the rebel group, according to the United Nations. The LRA
has kidnapped more than 20,000 children since 1988 and today its captives
constitute the largest army of child soldiers in Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 5 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/uganda [accessed 28 June 2012] Human Rights
Overview Human Rights Watch [accessed 2 January 2011] Library of Congress Call Number DT433.222
.U35 1992 lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ugtoc.html [accessed 2 January 2011] Save the Children www.boernpaaflugt.dk/Library/Annual_Reports/2003/The_Children_of_the_World/Uganda.aspx [accessed 2 January 2011] Has the world forgotten about us? That is the question raised by
children in northern least 20,000 children have been kidnapped and forced
into being child soldiers in one of the most brutal rebel armies in the
world. Jennifer Achoro was twelve years old and on her way to school when
she was kidnapped. "I had just put on my school uniform and was about to
eat breakfast, when some men from the rebel army came and asked my mother
whether we had a radio. When she said ‘No,' they forced their way into our
hut and forced me along with them." Ex-child soldier's path to hope Laura Smith-Spark, BBC News Online, 25 May
2004 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3733349.stm [accessed 2 January 2011] Ms Keitetsi says she was enlisted into Yoweri
Museveni's National Resistance Army in Child, slave, soldier Testimony provided by the Coalition to Stop
the Use of Child Soldiers, New Internationalist 337, August 2001 www.newint.org/features/2001/08/05/soldier/ [accessed 2 January 2011] HERE IS THE
TESTIMONY OF ONE UGANDAN CHILD SOLDIER - I heard later that two boys from my home
were captured and beaten because I had escaped. One of the boys was stabbed
in the hand and asked to bring the rebels to my parents’ home. They beat my
mother and brother with clubs and axes until they died. They threatened that
they’ll kill more people if I don’t come back. This was told me by a boy who
lived near my home. He told me it was my fault my mother and brother had been
killed.’ ICC: Investigate All Sides in Human Rights Watch, February 4, 2004 www.hrw.org/en/news/2004/02/04/icc-investigate-all-sides-uganda [accessed 2 January 2011] The ICC prosecutor,
Luis Moreno Ocampo, announced in According to Human
Rights Watch research, the LRA has committed widespread abuses against
civilians in Uganda, including child abductions, summary executions, torture,
rape and sexual assault, forced labor, and mutilation. Recently, LRA
abductions have reached record levels, with an estimated 10,000 children
abducted since mid-2002 and forced to fight, kill civilians, and abduct other
children. Children who fail to comply with orders are murdered, often by
other children who are forced to kill them. HRW Report - Child Soldier Use 2003 Human Rights Watch, Briefing for the 4th UN
Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict, 2004 www.hrw.org/reports/2004/childsoldiers0104/18.htm [accessed 2 January 2011] DEMOBILIZATION AND
CHILD PROTECTION PROGRAMS - Children “rescued” from the LRA by the UPDF were
kept in military confinement, sometimes for protracted periods, to gather
intelligence before being transferred to the Child Protection Unit, and then
to rehabilitation programs operated by NGOs including World Vision and the Gulu Save Our Children Organization (GUSCO).285 The 120 recruits identified
at the Lugore training camp were demobilized and
were taking part in counselling and reintegration programs. In response to
the influx of “night commuters”, child protection agencies and church groups
established programs to feed and shelter these children. Ugandan child soldier activist wins
Anti-Slavery Award Anti-Slavery International, 1 December 2000 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 12 September 2011] George Omona, Project Co-ordinator of
the Gulu Support the Children Organisation (GUSCO),
will receive the 2000 Anti-Slavery Award from the Child Labour Persists Around The World:
More Than 13 Percent Of Children 10-14 Are Employed International Labour Organisation (ILO)
News, www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/press-and-media-centre/news/WCMS_008058/lang--en/index.htm [accessed 9 September 2011] "Today's child
worker will be tomorrow's uneducated and untrained adult, forever trapped in
grinding poverty. No effort should be spared to break that vicious
circle", says ILO Director-General Michel Hansenne. Among the countries
with a high percentage of their children from 10-14 years in the work force
are: Mali, 54.5 percent; Burkina Faso, 51; Niger and Uganda, both 45;
Kenya, 41.3; Senegal, 31.4; Bangladesh, 30.1; Nigeria, 25.8; Haiti, 25;
Turkey, 24; Côte d'Ivoire, 20.5; Pakistan, 17.7; Brazil, 16.1; India, 14.4;
China, 11.6; and Egypt, 11.2. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - |
Torture in [Uganda] [other countries]Human Trafficking in [Uganda Street Children in [Uganda] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Uganda] [other countries]