Uganda 
Controversy over Ugandan child soldiers trials

afrol News, 4 March - Two boys, aged 14 and 16, are charged with treason in Ugandan tribunals. As child soldiers for the brutal LRA rebels, they have committed gruesome crimes, but they were themselves abducted and forced to act violently. Human rights groups therefore demand charges against them be dropped.

- The government of Uganda should drop treason charges against two boys formerly abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the US-based group Human Rights Watch said today. The group on several occasions has defended the rights of child soldiers all over Africa.

The boys, aged 14 and 16, were charged with treason in late 2002. One will next appear in court on 6 March in Moyo, while the other is set to appear in a Gulu court on 20 March. According to Ugandan law, treason is a capital offence, although the death penalty may not be imposed upon those below the age of 18 at the time of the offence. 

A representative from the human rights group had met with the boys in Gulu on 6 February. "Treason is a very serious charge and should not be used against children who have been abducted by force and compelled to commit acts of violence," said Jo Becker of Human Rights Watch. "The government should immediately drop the treason charges and ensure that these boys have access to rehabilitation assistance." 

In a letter sent to the Minister of Justice on 19 February, the group urged the government to immediately drop the treason charges, and release them to a rehabilitation centre. The group also called on the government to issue a public statement that children will not be subject to treason charges, and to ensure that such a statement is broadly disseminated throughout northern Uganda. 

In northern Uganda, at least 20,000 children have been abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) during the course of the 16-year conflict with the government, with approximately 5,000 taken since June 2002. 

The LRA rebels have fought a brutal war against the government, holding the local population hostage. According to reports from humanitarian organisations in the area earlier this year, the LRA rebels "continue to abduct and kill women and children, loot property and terrorise the civilian population." 

Over 800,000 people were now displaced and affected by crop failure in the five districts and are in desperate need of food aid assistance due to the extreme insecurity in the area. This continued situation has caused a mood of bitter hatred against the LRA rebels, which are seen as villains throughout Uganda.

Given the cruelties regularly committed by LRA rebels, Ugandans generally agree rebels should be treated harshly. When the question comes to LRA child soldiers, the picture however becomes more complex. The abducted children often are set to do the cruellest acts to convert them to uninhibited fighters. 

But, they are of cause victims. As the case of child soldiers has been given a face by Ugandan author China Keitesi ('My Life as A child Soldier'), Ugandans are slowly becoming more comprehensive of viewpoint presented by international human rights groups.

- The imposition of treason charges against former abductees runs contrary to Uganda's international legal obligations, said Mr Becker of Human Rights Watch. "It may also discourage children currently in LRA captivity from seeking escape or surrendering to the Ugandan army." 

The group further noted that the charge of treason in these cases appeared to be arbitrarily imposed, "since thousands of children with similar experiences have not been similarly charged, and have been able to receive rehabilitation assistance and to return to their communities." 

Uganda has recently acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Under this protocol, the government of Uganda is obliged to provide former child soldiers with assistance for their physical and psychological recovery and their social reintegration. 

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