Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports

Uganda

Bricks
Bricks
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Cattle
Cattle
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Charcoal
Charcoal
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Coffee
Coffee
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Fish
Fish
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Gold
Gold
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Rice
Rice
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Sand
Sand
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Stones
Stones
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Sugarcane
Sugarcane
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Tea
Tea
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Tobacco
Tobacco
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Vanilla
Vanilla
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Uganda
2023 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor:

Minimal Advancement – Efforts Made but Regression in Practice that Delayed Advancement

In 2023, Uganda made minimal advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions secured 18 convictions for child trafficking. Moreover, the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Coordination Office for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons developed a new strategy to strengthen the effectiveness and coordination of public awareness campaigns on human trafficking. In addition, the Accelerating Action for the Elimination of Child Labor in Supply Chains project was renewed for a second phase to reach more districts and partners, while also strengthening the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development's Child Labor Unit. However, despite new initiatives to address child labor, Uganda is assessed as having made only minimal advancement because the government failed to provide any funding toward the operational activities of the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development, preventing the ministry from conducting labor inspections. In addition, a United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo reported that the Government of Uganda provided active support to the March 23 Movement, a non-state armed group which forcibly recruited and used child soldiers in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Uganda's laws addressing the minimum age for hazardous work also do not meet the international standard because the Employment of Children Regulations permits a commissioner to allow children ages 12 and older, who are enrolled in an educational training or apprenticeship program, to engage in hazardous work. Moreover, Uganda's law only guarantees free education through the primary level, even though international standards require free basic education through lower secondary school. Lastly, the lack of a centralized supervisory authority, along with inadequate funding, training, and resources, hampered the capacity of law enforcement agencies to conduct child labor inspections and investigations.

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