Uganda

Abstract

Africa is no stranger to injustices meted out on children. Child sacrifice, albino murders and child soldiers are common occurrences in sub-Saharan Africa. Children are a common sight in stone quarries, mines and commercial agricultural plantations despite the existence of legislation forbidding this. Africa’s civil and criminal justice systems are characterized by delays in delivering justice and hence denying justice to many. Children particularly suffer within such a system. As witnesses, they sometimes do not receive the protection they deserve. As accused, they are sometimes held in solitary confinement instead of rehabilitation centers. Poverty and rebel groups have further exacerbated the problem. The Lord’s Resistance Army, for example, has abducted many children into their ranks and forced them to become killers against their will. Though defeated from Northern Uganda, the rebel group has moved to Central African Republic where they continue to wreak havoc on children.