The rights of a child in conflict with and contact with the law aim to support full respect for, and implementation of, the principles and standards on child justice as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and corresponding international and regional standards. Uganda is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the same have been domesticated in our laws through the Constitution.
Despite having a robust legal framework, Uganda is currently placed at 12/52 by the African Child Policy Forum and is described as a fairly child friendly country, there in lies an opportunity to scale up our advocacy work to move Uganda to the bracket of a Child friendly African Government. With the amendment of the Children Act, Cap 59, A Child in the criminal justice system now has a right to effective legal aid.