Summary Records - CRC - Uganda - CRC/C/SR.410 (1997)

Distr.

GENERAL

CRC/C/SR.410
12 December 1997

ENGLISH
Original: FRENCH

Summary record of the 410th meeting : Uganda. 12/12/97.

CRC/C/SR.410. (Summary Record)

Convention Abbreviation: CRC

COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Sixteenth session

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 410th MEETING

Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva,
on Tuesday, 30 September 1997, at 10 a.m.

Chairperson: Miss MASON

CONTENTS

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF STATES PARTIES

Initial report of Uganda (continued)

This record is subject to correction.

The meeting was called to order at 10.15 a.m.

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF STATES PARTIES (agenda item 4)
(continued)

Initial report of Uganda (CRC/C/3/Add.40; HRI/CORE/1/Add.69; CRC/C/Q/UGA/1 (list of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the initial report of Uganda); written replies by the Government of Uganda concerning the list of issues (in-session document, in English only))

1. At the invitation of the Chairperson, the Ugandan delegation resumed its places at the Committee table.

2. The CHAIRPERSON invited the delegation to explain Uganda's needs regarding assistance to child victims of the unrest in the north of the country. She would also like to know more about the attitude of Ugandan society to the general principles set forth in the Convention. Were they well accepted or were they regarded as an attempt to impose Western values?

3. Mrs. SARDENBERG expressed concern about the discriminatory attitudes that appeared to exist with respect to some categories of children, including young girls, disabled children and orphans, and requested clarification as to how the Government intended to remedy that problem. She would also like to know what was being done to ensure that the views of the child were taken into account, in conformity with article 12 of the Convention, and pointed out that the aim was to strike a balance between the prerogatives of the parents and those of the children within the family. Furthermore, she would welcome more information about the training of medical personnel working with children and about the activities and composition of the task force on adolescent health referred to the Government's written replies. Lastly, she wished to underline the importance of the dissemination of the State party's initial report as a policy instrument for the mobilization and sensitization of the population.

4. Mrs. OUEDRAOGO, referring to the general principles, asked for some clarification about the measures taken by the Ugandan Government to stop the discrimination of which women living in rural areas continued to be victims because of the application of customary law, which restricted their rights concerning adoption, marriage, divorce, inheritance and ownership of real property. She would also like to know the results of the study carried out on the status of young girls.

5. Regarding the best interests of the child, she welcomed the measures taken to give effect to that principle and emphasized the need to address the negative aspects of custom in that regard. The Government maintained that the family was an institution that served as an effective safety net, but was that always the case? What means of recourse were available to the child if a problem arose?

6. Concerning the right to life, survival and development, she asked what measures were being taken to ensure the immunization of children, particularly in rural and more remote areas. She applauded the implementation of the National Programme of Action for Children, but wondered whether the ambitious
goals set for the year 2000 could be attained with the resources available. She would appreciate details about the progress achieved to date and about any difficulties encountered.

7. Concerning respect for the views of the child, she welcomed the efforts made in that regard and encouraged the Government to pursue the Child-to-Child Programme implemented by the Ministry of Education, as well as the "Toto" campaign, referred to in paragraph 16 of the Government's written replies, which sought to ensure the participation of children in the country's political life. She felt, moreover, that awareness-raising and training activities were necessary to change parental attitudes.

8. With regard to civil rights and freedoms, she inquired about the reasons for the laxity in the registration of births and deaths and the delays in adopting the project elaborated to remedy the situation. She would also like to have more information about the status of children born outside marriage. Was the mother allowed to give her name to such children when the father did not recognize them? Did such children have the right of inheritance? In addition, she would like to know whether a child could be deprived of his or her nationality or change his or her name, and, if so, under what circumstances.

9. Mr. RABAH emphasized the importance of the registration of births and deaths, particularly in rural areas, since that was apparently where 90 per cent of the Ugandan population lived. He would also like the delegation to provide more specific information concerning child labour, cases of ill-treatment in the home or at school and the ways in which children could ensure that their views were taken into account within the family. He also inquired whether the application of the rules of Islamic law concerning adoption posed any problems. Lastly, he would like to know more about the juvenile justice system, and in particular about the length of detention and forms of rehabilitation. In that regard, he wondered whether police officers, judges and social workers dealing with children received appropriate training.

10. Mrs. PALME asked whether the Ugandan Government had instituted programmes aimed specifically at sensitizing rural populations to the principle of non-discrimination. Concerning the very alarming situation in the north of the country, she would like to know what measures had been taken with a view to protecting the children against abduction, forced displacement and physical abuse. It would be useful, in her view, to develop the community-based support services providing psychological and therapeutic care for children in that region and pointed out that the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) could cooperate with the Ugandan Government in that field.

11. Mrs. KARP asked whether specific reference was made to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the compulsory school curriculum and in the national legislation. Concerning statistical activities, she emphasized the need to compile unified indicators for all the areas covered by the Convention, such as child protection, violations of children's rights and the situation of disabled children, and asked what steps the Government was intending to take in that regard. She would also like to know whether there
were any non-judicial procedures enabling children to resolve promptly and without trauma any problems they might encounter in the home, at school or in health-care institutions.

12. Regarding the definition of the child, she noted some discrepancies in the law concerning the age of majority and age of criminal responsibility as between boys and girls, and asked for more details about the age for marriage, which was apparently 18 years unless otherwise decided by the parents. In that regard, the population needed to be informed about the risks of early marriage and early pregnancies.

13. Concerning child abuse, and especially sexual abuse, she felt that the law should seek to define assault in terms of an attack on the child's physical integrity rather than in terms of its outcome and should exclude the idea of "defilement", which made the child a double victim by exposing him or her to social stigmatization. Structures offering assistance to help the child testify should also be provided. She would like to know, in addition, whether corporal punishment was prohibited in schools and the local courts.

14. On the question of schooling, she noted that free education for families with four children marked a considerable step forward, but wondered what the situation was regarding larger families and how it was viewed by parents. Noting that only 1 per cent of disabled children of school age attended institutions providing a general education, she inquired as to what the Government intended to do to improve that situation and to promote the integration of disabled children within society. She would also like the Ugandan delegation to explain the Government's position regarding the possibility of recruiting children into the armed forces from the age
of 13 years and how far that provision was compatible with the Convention.

15. Concerning the administration of juvenile justice, she asked whether the rules of procedure of Uganda's only children's court, situated in Kampala, could be applied to the ordinary courts which had to deal with cases involving children. She also asked whether social workers and probation officers participated in the hearing of cases that were not referred to the Kampala court. Lastly, she would like information about the findings of the studies concerning adolescent health, children affected by the war and child labour.

16. Mrs. PALME inquired as to whether the Ugandan authorities were planning to ratify International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 138 on the minimum age for admission for employment and whether they were making efforts to identify and eliminate the most intolerable forms of child labour.

17. The CHAIRPERSON said that she would appreciate clarification about the provision in the new Children's Statute empowering the police to deal with certain cases involving children in an informal manner on the basis of the criteria laid down by the Office of the Inspector General of Government.

18. Mrs. KARP, referring to the phenomenon of street children, asked whether the Government was drawing up programmes to deal with the problem of child prostitution and implementing the World Summit Plan of Action.

19. Ms. MUKWAYA (Uganda), replying to a question asked at the previous meeting, said that, as a result of the problems which had occurred in the north, her country, as a member of the Organization of African Unity, had decided not to appeal to the international community as a whole, but to call for African machinery to be put in place. She recalled that there were several eminent political personalities on the African continent who could provide their assistance.

20. Mr. KAKAMA (Uganda) said that steps had been taken to harmonize the content of the laws with the Convention insofar as the definition of the child was concerned. Further efforts were, of course, needed to make the Convention more widely known, as well as to improve the training of professionals dealing with children, including medical personnel, and it should be pointed out that the shortcomings in that area were due to the country's difficult situation. It was because of the economic situation, moreover, that the National Programme of Action for Children could not be implemented completely, but the measures taken were nevertheless being pursued. The progress which had been made could be gauged from the updated statistics published within the framework of the National Programme of Action.

21. The family had played a very positive role during the difficult periods which the country had experienced by ensuring effective protection of children, and while the family, as an institution, had now been somewhat weakened because of several factors (poverty, the AIDS pandemic, rural outmigration), the Government was endeavouring to provide it with the means
to continue to play its role.

22. A member of the Committee had asked for information about three current studies. The study on child labour had been completed; a seminar on the same subject had been organized, and its recommendations had been taken into account by the relevant ministries and reflected, for example, in a programme elaborated with the assistance of UNICEF. The study on psychological and social aid for child victims of the war was continuing. His delegation was not aware of the third study mentioned. The Government of Uganda was considering the possibility of ratifying ILO Convention No. 138, but before doing so it nevertheless wished to study the child labour situation in the country and take certain measures. With regard to adoption, the Children's Statute governed all cases of national or intercountry adoption.

23. Mr. ONEK (Uganda), responding to the question as to why the State provided primary education completely free of charge only to some children, said that under the Ugandan Constitution primary education was free and compulsory for all. However, since the Government had been unable, because of lack of resources, to apply that principle immediately and fully, it had decided to implement it progressively. Initially, therefore, it guaranteed completely free primary education to four children per family, two of them, where possible, being girls. If a family had a disabled child, that child was provided for as a matter of priority. At the time of enrolment, the parents had to go to the school and the authorities could at that point make sure that no child was neglected. Children whose primary education was not fully covered by the Government nevertheless went to school, entering the same classes and having the same teachers as other children. In their case, the Government bore the cost of providing the school premises and teachers. The curricula were established at the national level. Concerning access to secondary education, the Government was drawing upon the experiences of neighbouring countries and making progress within available resources. Orphans were catered for by local and national support facilities, and above all by the social community. The same applied to disabled children; measures were being taken to identify such children and integrate them into ordinary schools rather than placing them in specialized institutions. In training centres, teachers were trained to work with classes including both disabled and non-disabled children. The school curricula were designed to sensitize children to their needs, rights and responsibilities and to prepare them to perform their role as citizens.

24. Ms. MUTEBI (Uganda) said that, while the Convention was not often referred to in the legislation, it nevertheless had a great influence. It could be seen, for example, from the preparatory work for the Children's Statute that the principles to be applied and the objectives to be attained were those contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Charter. Moreover, anyone could invoke the Convention before the courts.

25. With regard to sex offences, the Law Reform Commission, basing itself in part on a UNICEF project, had begun work on the definition of the offences of rape and defilement. Numerous problems had to be examined in depth, including the question of the age to be retained in the definition of what constituted defilement of a juvenile, the question of the treatment of evidence and the question of the precise definition of rape. A seminar had been held on the latter question, where it had been suggested that it would be appropriate to include boys as well as girls in the provisions concerning rape. Furthermore, the Constitution provided that persons were considered to be children until the age of 18 years and that the legal age at which boys and girls could marry without parental consent, whatever their religion or the customs of their community, was also 18 years.

26. With regard to complaints procedures and courts accessible to children, the Children's Statute provided for each district to have a family and children's court, where the procedures would be informal, the judges would not wear robes and police officers would not be in uniform, the trial being held in camera, around a table. Where a child was charged with an adult, the trial took place in an ordinary court which tried the offence but did not pass sentence on the juvenile. The penalty would be determined by the court dealing with cases involving children, which would, of course, allow the child to benefit from the provisions applicable to juveniles (for example, the fact that a juvenile could not be sentenced to a prison term of more than three years). Furthermore, the Resistance Council (RC) courts were courts of first instance, which existed from the village to the district level. It could therefore be said that the administration of juvenile justice was also assured at the village level.

27. Concerning the registration of births, the law provided that children must be included on the registers kept by services of the sub-county or urban authorities. While it was true that the law had not always been strictly observed in the past because of the problems experienced by the country, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs had initiated a project to revive and strengthen the registration of births. Ugandan law made no distinction between children born inside marriage and those born outside marriage.

28. Children who were threatened or whose rights were infringed could always turn to various people in their village, such as members of the Resistance Council or probation officers and social workers. Under the Children's Statute, children could not be held criminally responsible before the age
of 12 years; if a child committed a reprehensible act before that age, the child would be taken into charge by the probation officers and social workers. If the latter's remedial efforts failed, the child could be placed by court order in a rehabilitation centre. If a child was found guilty of a minor civil or criminal offence, the case would be heard by an RC court, which would endeavour to find a solution other than imprisonment. In less serious cases, the police were entitled to admonish the child, but their powers stopped there, the general aim being to deal with such matters in a proportional and balanced manner.

29. Lastly, there were few discriminatory practices affecting women in Uganda. The only area where strong discrimination persisted was in regard to inheritance. Non-governmental organizations were active in that area and efforts were being made to sensitize men to the issue.

30. Ms. MUKWAYA (Uganda) added that the principle of non-discrimination was embodied in the Constitution (chapter IV, article 21) and that an equal opportunities commission was about to be established. She wished to draw the Committee's attention to the inevitable slowness of legislative proceedings in general, the passing of a good law being a lengthy process that could not be completed overnight. A certain amount of time would therefore be needed for all laws to be brought into conformity with the Convention.

31. Ms. OCAGO (Uganda), referring to the availability and centralization of statistics, said that data were collected at the grass-roots level, in the villages, and then transmitted to the various branches of the administrative structure including the overall coordinating body, the National Council for Children. Updated and disaggregated data concerning education, health and child care and protection were thus available, although their quality could still be improved. The various studies and research projects on street children in Uganda had provided more information about boys than girls and
for that reason it had been proposed to undertake research on girls living in the streets, many of whom engaged in prostitution, which was a matter of increasing concern. Once that study had been completed, it should be possible to draw up a plan of action incorporating the proposals made at the 1990 World Summit for Children, even though Uganda had not participated therein.

32. Ms. MUKWAYA (Uganda) said that the problem of minorities did not arise in the country and that the few isolated tribes were not discriminated against, at least not openly. The system of local councils, consisting of nine members sharing various functions, made it possible to circulate the necessary information and it was at the level of the district - which retained 65 per cent of revenue collected - that the services were provided, planning carried out and information disseminated.

33. Mr. SEMPANGI (Uganda) said that the Convention on the Rights of the Child had been well received in Uganda, and that, after the trauma of the years of deprivation of freedom and arbitrariness, the Children's Statute marked a return to the rule of law. The Convention had an educative value and brought awareness of the social, emotional and psychological dimensions of the development of the child at a time when traditional structures were no longer able - in particular because of the poverty that was causing the disappearance of the extended family - to carry out certain functions, for example providing sex education and dealing with cases of attempted defilement within the community.

34. Mr. KAKAMA (Uganda) said that the legislation on the Children's Statute included a provision whereby custody was decided having regard to the child's best interests. The court which had to decide whether the child was to be placed in the custody of the mother or of the father based its decision on the results of careful inquiries to determine which of the two parents was best able to look after the child.

35. With regard to the participation of children, he emphasized that the initiatives launched during the presidential campaign, such as the creation of the parliament for children, had not been an electoral manoeuvre but had been inspired by a genuine concern to sensitize the public to the fact that children had opinions and needed to contribute effectively to national life. A compilation of the ideas expressed by those children had, moreover, been disseminated on a large scale. Such initiatives would be pursued and the implementation of the children's recommendations would be followed up at the district level. Under the Constitution, a child could hold a job only after the age of 16 years, a provision that applied equally to enrolment into the armed forces, which was regarded as employment.

36. It was now forbidden to administer corporal punishment, including caning in schools, but that was a practice of long-standing and it would be some time before it actually disappeared. Lastly, one aspect of the strategy to combat child abuse was to intervene with families through the system of local councils, and particularly the secretaries for children's affairs, who received any complaints and took steps to ensure the protection and well-being of children within the community.

37. Ms. MUKWAYA (Uganda) said that the new Constitution provided for only two levels of local administration, at the district and sub-county level, and that an information secretary was appointed to ensure the flow of information between the district and the villages. In addition, there was a State official in each district responsible for children's affairs and for the implementation of the plan of action for children and collection of the funds that the district decided to allocate for that purpose. In that regard, attention should be drawn to the considerable role played by UNICEF on behalf of Ugandan children.

38. Concerning the steps which the Ugandan Government intended to take to protect children in the north of the country, she pointed out that, unlike what had happened in the 1970s and 1980s, the violence prevailing in that region had not come from the State. In that regard, the Government did not intend to appeal for aid from the international community since that would be tantamount to granting common criminals the status of freedom fighters. However, her Government had not prevented observers from going to the north of the country to see for themselves what atrocities were being committed against children by individuals belonging to the same tribal group. It was also trying to negotiate with the opposing forces to achieve a solution to the conflict, but John Kony and his group were killers and had to be treated as such. Recently, within the framework of the negotiations that had taken place under the auspices of Nelson Mandela, the Sudan had promised to permit the entry of a UNICEF mission to recover children who had been abducted by those rebels in northern Uganda and kept as slaves. On the ground, however, the UNICEF mission had found that the children had been moved and were being used as bait. The Organization of African Unity was doing what it could to make the Sudanese Government understand that those children were innocent and the Government of Uganda, for its part, was doing everything within its power to protect the population in the north. The financial effort the Ugandan Government had to make to provide for the safety of people and property was reducing the resources that could otherwise be used to strengthen social services, but as long as the war continued in that part of the country, any reduction in the defence budget was impossible. In that regard, the Committee and the international community should appeal to the rebels to agree with the Ugandan Government on the points it was prepared to discuss. Lastly, concerning the treatment of traumatized children, action was being taken in the districts concerned by locally recruited officials, but that action was still insufficient.

39. The CHAIRPERSON invited the members of the Committee to ask the Ugandan delegation any remaining questions before moving on to formulate their concluding observations.

40. Mr. KOLOSOV asked whether it would be possible, using the good offices of the Organization of African Unity, to make the rules of international humanitarian law known to all the parties to the conflict and to ensure that they were aware of the fact that by violating those rules they were committing an international crime. It might be appropriate for the Committee, in its concluding observations, to express its concern about the violations of international humanitarian law perpetrated against children in the area of the military conflict and invite all the parties to that conflict to comply with the obligation to respect the rules of international humanitarian law throughout the territory of the State party.

41. Mrs. SARDENBERG agreed with Mr. Kolosov and added that the Committee could express its support for the initiative taken by UNICEF and call for the immediate cessation of the kidnappings and the immediate release of all the children being held prisoner. She appreciated the explanations provided by the Ugandan delegation concerning the harmonization of the law following the adoption of the new Constitution and the Children's Statute and encouraged the Government to continue in that direction, notwithstanding the inevitable difficulties. Furthermore, it was important, in her view, not only to modernize the data collection system but also to use the data collected to formulate measures aimed at remedying the situation as revealed by those data.

42. She welcomed the fact that Uganda was thinking of acceding to ILO Convention No. 138 concerning the minimum age for admission to employment, especially considering that the Children's Statute did not deal with the question of child labour and that the international community, through the ILO, was currently endeavouring to prohibit extreme forms of child labour. Furthermore, regarding the situation of the family, the Government could offer training for adults in the rights of the child and provide allowances for poor families and female heads of household, of which there were a great many in Uganda.

43. She also wished to emphasize the importance, under the Convention, of carefully monitoring the conditions in establishments for disabled children, abandoned children and orphans, and of periodically reviewing decisions on child placement. Lastly, she welcomed the abolition of corporal punishment but felt that practical consideration should be given to conducting a public information campaign on the subject.

44. Mrs. OUEDRAOGO asked what difficulties were still being encountered in promoting children's right to freedom of expression in Uganda and what steps were being taken to overcome them. She also wished to know what steps were being taken by the Ugandan Government, in view of the advances in information technology, to limit children's access to certain information that might be dangerous for their development and welfare, and whether it was at the same time availing itself of the opportunities provided by such technology to promote the rights of the child through the dissemination of information. In addition, she inquired as to what efforts were being made by Uganda to give effect to the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women inviting it to provide training for family life in the education system and to launch campaigns aimed at dissuading young people from starting a family too early.

45. She was furthermore concerned about the problem of the ill-treatment and sexual abuse of which some children were victims, and asked whether specific measures had been taken or were being considered to remedy that problem. In addition, she asked whether it was common in Uganda for a father to avail himself of his right to take his child away from the mother as of the age of seven years, whether that practice was really beneficial for the child's integration within society and whether it was truly consistent with the principle of the best interests of the child. She also noted with concern that no measures were provided to meet the needs of a child whose mother was in prison once the child, at the age of 18 months, was taken away from the mother. She also asked what penalties were incurred by parents who abandoned their children and what steps were being taken by the Government to discourage that practice. Lastly, she noted with concern that no governmental authority had as yet directly addressed the problem of street children, but hoped that they could now be taken in charge by an appropriate body.

46. Mrs. PALME associated herself with the comments of Mr. Kolosov and Mrs. Sardenberg on the impact of the conflict in the north of the country. While that situation was understandably very difficult to handle, Uganda should in her view spare no effort to ensure that the children affected by the conflict were provided with social and psychological care and protection. She welcomed the reduction in the infant mortality rate but was concerned about the scale of the problem of malnutrition in the country. She further noted with concern that 50 per cent of early childhood deaths were attributable to contaminated water and felt that it would be desirable for some of the specialized agencies to join UNICEF in making resources available to Uganda to provide for the children's survival. Lastly, she recommended that the Ugandan Government should consider ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

47. Mrs. KARP expressed concern about the gap that existed between the law, which was often unclear, and actual practice. The enrolment of children into the armed forces, for example, seemed to be interpreted in Uganda as a form of work coming under the rule governing the minimum age for admission to employment, namely 16 years, and it even appeared that children could be enlisted into the army at age 13 with their parents' consent. She therefore inquired as to what measures were being taken to apply the provisions of the Convention, whereby enrolment into the armed forces was prohibited for persons under 18 years of age. She would also like to have more information about the ban on corporal punishment in schools and within the family, and about the conciliation arrangements in place. She further asked whether the fact of prohibiting early marriages by law was leading to changes in practice. Lastly, she was concerned about the fact that public opinion in Uganda did not always appear to make a clear distinction between child victims and child perpetrators of criminal acts and wondered whether measures were being taken to prevent brutalities from being committed by the police against street children.

48. Mr. RABAH said that he would like to have more information about the administration of juvenile justice in Uganda, and especially about conditions of pre-trial detention. Were there statistics on juvenile offenders and what measures were being taken for their reintegration into society?

49. Mrs. SARDENBERG urged the Ugandan Government to ensure that the National Council for Children was strengthened. That body should be able to encourage more training and awareness-raising activities. The local authorities should, in addition, have adequate resources for work on behalf of children. Lastly, she felt that the provisions relating to the general principles should be implemented in a broader context.

50. Mrs. OUEDRAOGO welcomed the fruitful dialogue with the Ugandan delegation. She noted that Uganda was undertaking numerous activities to implement the Convention and hoped that it would pursue its efforts in that direction.

51. Mrs. KARP congratulated the Ugandan Government on the commitment it had made in favour of children and hoped that that commitment would be reflected in budgetary terms.

52. Mrs. PALME likewise congratulated the Ugandan authorities on their efforts to realize the values enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly with respect to children in the north of the country and child victims of armed conflicts.

53. The CHAIRPERSON invited the Ugandan delegation to reply to the last questions posed by members of the Committee and then, since little time remained, to make its final comments on the dialogue with the Committee.

54. Ms. MUKWAYA (Uganda) said that, with regard to the enrolment of children into the armed forces, the Ugandan Government would endeavour to respect the future amendment to the Constitution, which in accordance with the Children's Statute provided for the non-enrolment of young people under 18 years of age. Her delegation had mentioned the shortcomings in, and constraints upon, the implementation of the Convention in Uganda, as well as the measures taken to deal with them. In that regard, her Government was aware of the situation of the children in the northern part of the country: the President had addressed an appeal to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on that subject and a dialogue had been established between the Governments of the Sudan and Uganda on the question, with a view both to facilitating the return of all the children in captivity and to providing financial assistance for the families and children affected by the conflict. Uganda was committed to making every effort, within available resources, to give effect to the provisions of the Convention, which remained the legal instrument and guide for action to ensure the well-being of children. In that regard, Uganda had, for example, established a National Programme of Action as part of the follow-up to the 1990 World Summit for Children. The realization of the principal objectives of that programme (reduction of the infant mortality rate, primary education for all, safe water supply) called for the development of institutional infrastructure and social services and Uganda therefore needed international assistance particularly in that field. In conclusion, she wished to thank the Committee for having given her delegation the opportunity to discuss the problems of children in Uganda.

55. The CHAIRPERSON said she regretted that, for reasons beyond the control of the delegation and the Committee, it had not been possible to schedule more than two meetings to consider Uganda's initial report. She noted with satisfaction that important measures were being taken to implement the Convention in Uganda, but emphasized that considerable progress still had to be made and that the participation of non-governmental organizations was essential in that respect. In conclusion, she urged the Ugandan Government to pursue its efforts on behalf of all children in Uganda.

The meeting rose at 1.05 p.m.

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