Article 34 of the Constitution of Uganda states that all children have the right to know their parents and be cared for by them or their guardians. All orphans and vulnerable children have the right to special protection by the state.
Article 34 also says that child with a disabilities (CWDs) are entitled by law to a free education. It further says that it is the duty of parents to educate their children. The state is responsible for making the school accessible, providing ramps and lifts in place of steps and stairs, sign language interpreters, braille books for study, accessible toilets and trained special needs teachers.
CWDs are some of the most vulnerable members of society, they have rights too. These are some key recommendations identified to overcome barriers children with CWDs face to get their rights (see the 2014 report UNICEF Uganda: Study on CWDs):
- Actively consult and listen to CWDs on issues concerning them on an ongoing basis.
- Improve statistical information related to CWDs with the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
- Review and enforce the Ugandan legal and policy framework.
- Advocate for increased budget allocations to responsible Government Institutions, earmarked for CWDs in related programmes.
- Coordinate efforts among local and national Government Institutions.
- Create a national partnership on CWDs led by UNICEF Uganda and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD).
- Build the knowledge on the needs and rights of CWDs and strengthen the capacities of key stakeholders and duty-bearers.
- Mainstream the perspective of CWDs in all UNICEF Uganda programmes and surveys.
- Design and implement programmes relating to disability prevention, health and (re)habilitation, education, social norms change and awareness-raising to ensure that CWDs are visible and have full access to services.
- Partner with organizations of the Child and Disability Movement.
34. Rights of children.
(1) Subject to laws enacted in their best interests, children shall have the right to know and be cared for by their parents or those entitled by law to bring them up.
(2) A child is entitled to basic education which shall be the responsibility of the State and the parents of the child.
(3) No child shall be deprived by any person of medical treatment, education or any other social or economic benefit by reason of religious or other beliefs.
(4) Children are entitled to be protected from social or economic exploitation and shall not be employed in or required to perform work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with their education or to be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
(5) For the purposes of clause (4) of this article, children shall be persons under the age of sixteen years.
(6) A child offender who is kept in lawful custody or detention shall be kept separately from adult offenders.
(7) The law shall accord special protection to orphans and other vulnerable children
No comments :
Post a Comment