Our Work & Approach
We believe in a better life for children
Free Child Uganda is an NGO is a rights based non-governmental organization that works with children in conflict with the law. The NGO came into existence in June of 2016 with a core mandate of providing legal aid to children in conflict with the law. We are duly registered under the laws of Uganda and an approved legal aid service provider. Our MOU with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development gives us mandate to offer legal aid in the 7 of the remand homes including the National Rehabilitation Centre.
Legal Aid Interventions
We offer child-friendly legal aid and assistance to children in the criminal justice system that is age appropriate, responsive and effective. In doing so, we take into account the child’s level of maturity and their ability to understand the circumstances of their case. The age of criminal responsibility is 12 years. In all we do, the welfare of the child is of paramount importance.
Our Challenge: The Children Act, Cap 59 provides that, “every child shall have the right to effective legal aid”. In reality the absence of an enabling law to realize the right is a huge hurdle, our criminal justice system at present only offers State brief for capital and semi capital offences, the realization of this right for a child in the formal criminal justice system is still a far cry.
Our solution: With a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Gender, Labour & Social Development, and being registered with the Law Council, of the Ministry of Justice & Constitutional Affairs, as Legal Aid service providers, we are able to offer legal aid services to these children.
Research and Advocacy
In our advocacy work, Free Child Uganda provides expert advice, assistance, and representation to individuals who may not be able to navigate the criminal justice system most particularly Juveniles with parents and guardians being secondary beneficiaries.
Key Advocacy duties
1. Providing legal advice
2. Case assessment and strategy development
3. Courtroom representation
4. Promoting reconciliation
5. Drafting legal documents
6. Client support and advocacy
7. Legal research and analysis
8. Collaborating with other partners
Free Child Uganda gathers evidence from its interventions and uses the information and data to engage with appropriate stakeholders in the justice delivery sector to advocate for law and policy reform particularly in Child justice. While we prioritize dialogue, we also use public interest litigation and community out reaches as well as mobile legal aid clinics to promote a human rights culture and the importance of observing the rule of law We utilize different methods to contribute to an enabling environment where child rights are claimed by an informed public that demands the protection and enforcement of constitutional and human rights.
We conduct research on key access to justice and child rights issues to support our advocacy work. The research findings are used to develop position papers and policy papers for engagement with policy makers and key partners.
Rehabilitation
Resettlement of children who have been granted bail or have had their cases dismissed remains one of the biggest challenges faced by the remand homes. Often, without parents in court, the children are returned to the remand home toawait resettlement funds. We are currently providing logistical support for resettlement of such children as well as provide assistance in locating family members in conjunction with probation and/or social workers in a bid to ensure a seamless re-entry into the society.
Key to the resettlement and reintegration program is the role of the community and their readiness to accept and continue with the rehabilitation and reintegration. Often, the community is biased and the juveniles end up getting stigmatised and this is caused by lack of awareness and sensitization. This is a vicious cycle that must be broken and this calls into play the role of the probation and social welfare officers and welfare officers.