Security in north improved, but child protection still an issue - Unicef

Despite improved security in northern Uganda, fear and deprivation continue to plague children in the region, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) announced in a report on Friday. According to Unicef's latest report on the humanitarian crisis in Uganda, better security had allowed some displaced families to move from large camps to smaller settlements closer to their homes, and some 30,000 people in Lira District to return to their villages. However, the 20-year insurgency by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) still deprives the local population - mostly children and women - of "their rights to access basic healthcare, safe water, education, protection and shelter," the report said. Since 1988, when the LRA took over leadership of two-year-old rebellion against the Ugandan government, it has terrorised the civilian population by abducting boys and girls into a life of violence, forced combat and servitude. "Many abducted girls are allocated to officers in a form of institutional rape," the report said. "Of an estimated 25,000 children (7,500 girls) abducted by the LRA since the start of the conflict, some 1,000 are 'child mothers' who conceived children of their own while in captivity." The conflict is concentrated in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Lira and Apac, where close to two million people live in 200 camps, relying heavily on humanitarian assistance to survive. The report said that in March, more than 13,000 children, or "night commuters", in Gulu, Kitgum and Kalongo districts trekked daily from their homes to the relative safety of urban centres. Other factors made daily life a misery for the region's children, including inadequate accommodation; lack of water and sanitation facilities; absence of caregivers; abuse and dysfunction. "Children in more stable family situations were less likely to 'commute'," according to Unicef. On average, the night commuters walked 3kms, although some walked as many as 8kms each way. While the number of night commuters had decreased in March, the agency reiterated that phasing out support for these children could only occur in the context of improved security. The report also catalogued at least 12 instances of abduction during March in Lalogi sub-county, Koch Goma sub-county, and Bobi sub-county, all in Gulu District.