1STHUMAN RIGHTS CHILDREN’S SYMPOSIUM IN MITYANA Background: The world over, children are subjected to physical or emotional forms of abuse which affect their development. These include Child labor, Child neglect and abandonment, Child Sacrifice, Child trafficking and abduction, Child sexual harassment and abuse; Child pornography, prostitution, and child marriages. According to UNICEF’s report on state of the children 2011, 4 out 10 children between 5 – 15 years are involved in child labour. These violations are perpetuated by people that would otherwise be protecting the children such as parents, guardians or caretakers, teachers and worse still children rights Organizations1.There is consensus that some children are more vulnerable to abuses, such as orphans, children with any form of disability, children from poor backgrounds, and mostly girl children .It is against this background of such vulnerability that the 1945 UN convention on Human Rights recognized the need for states to respect and uphold rights of children. It is noted that the violations of Children’s rights is apparently high especially in developing countries and in Uganda mainly in central region, cases of child sexual harassment , child neglect and abandonment, child sacrifice, and child labour are the most significant abuses commonly reported and recorded in the media and courts of law. UBOS April 2016 unveiled that about 42% in rural were in employment, at least 51% of children in the central region and 40% in the western region indication the two regions have the highest levels of child labour. These occurrences are rampant despite the existence of the legal and institutional frameworks that include the Constitution of Uganda which puts emphasis on upholding the rights, protection, duties and responsibilities of Children. The state also recognizes the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC/African Children’s Charter) as a regional instrument on the protection of the rights of children and several other national and regional policies and laws. The Government of Uganda has also established departments and ministries that ensure that children rights are protected such as the Police family unit and protection, the district probation and social welfare department’s and the ministry of Gender, labour and social development and recognizes the role of Civil Societies; NGOs and Public sector in promoting the rights of children. Justification of the symposium The Symposium will give participants a unique opportunity to share their project success stories, gaps, challenges and to present their Interventions and research papers on children rights which will be useful information for practitioners in evaluating the past and determining the future. This will also provide a platform for sharing knowledge in which non-profit organizations have been instrumental fronting children’s rights and social justice, thus giving participants chance to analyze different strategies employed by practitioners that can be replicated but also it will empower other CSOs to develop discourses. Experiences presented in all discussions will form a basis to develop an agenda on the promotion and protection of the rights of children in Mityana and Uganda as a whole. Objectives Symposium 1) Bringing together leading CSOs, activists, government bodies, religious leaders, development partners, academic scientists, researchers and the academia to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of child abuse. 2)

Provide a premier interdisciplinary platform for various stakeholders to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the fields of child human rights promotion.

3) Provide an opportunity for networking and development of a data base of children rights focused CSO, resources and partners in a joint source.

About the Symposium The Symposium is organised by Mityana Uganda Charity in collaboration with Mityana District Local government (senior probation office) with financial support from Wellington College - UK. The Theme of the event is“Protection of Children’s Rights – A Call for Action”. The event will be held in Mityana district on 19th October 2016 at Enro Hotel (www.enrohotel.com) Mityana’s best hotel. It is the first symposium of this kind to be held in Mityana District and the theme was purposely chosen to call for immediate action to reach all affected children and design preventive measures by various stakeholders. It is expected to attract over 200 participants from all sectors of children rights including CSOs, donors, researchers, policy makers and practitioners; both from, public and private sectors to discuss the state of children rights in the country and Mityana in particular, to share their project success stories, gaps, challenges and to present research papers on children rights. Persons will assemble to coordinate, exchange, and disseminate information, to explore or clarify on children rights status and knowledge. The event organising committee is contacting potential participants operating in the field of human rights through different avenues to collectively combine efforts and ideas for the success of the symposium, the committee is looking forward to a stimulating event where stakeholders can come together and consider how best to protect children from being maltreated and maximize their wellbeing. The symposium will be divided into 3 sessions according the tracks below and presentations will include both oral and posters. The presentations will largely focus on research papers, policy Analysis or projects implemented focusing on any or multiple children rights concerns such as; Child labour, Child Sacrifice, Child sale, trafficking and abduction; Child abandonment and Neglect, Child harassment and abuse; Child pornography and prostitution, child marriages. There will be a symposium steering committee with a chair who will guide the entire programme and each session will have a moderator who will guide the presentations throughout the session. After the symposium there will be dissemination and publications of the discussions through manuscript/monograph in the media and a published symposium report on the MUC website. These papers will serve to develop an agenda on the promotion and protection of the rights of children in Mityana and in Uganda Presentation Tracks The Symposium will be organized basing on 3 broad tracks. Track A: Promoting protective factors and preventive child maltreatment Track C: Engaging parents, Youths and their communities in Child protection Track B: Building a Research Agenda to Inform and Improve Policy practices and implementation Call for contribution/abstracts All honorable stakeholders and authors are encouraged to contribute to and help shape the symposium through submission of their research papers and e-posters with focus on the Tracks above. Abstracts should not be more than 350 word and preferably on one page. All abstracts should be sent to [email protected] or [email protected]

The symposium organizing committee solicits contributions of abstracts, papers and e-posters that will address the theme and topics/tracks of the conference, including figures, tables and references of novel research materials. Steering committee There is still an opportunity for civil society organizations, district representatives, human rights activist, researchers and the legal fraternity to join the organizing committee which will have its secretariat at Mityana Uganda Charity head offices. The committee will effectively work with all the stakeholders to coordinate and offer guidance to all the other sub-committees that will meet once a month to review progress on all the arrangements and ensure overall success the event. Registration structure: No. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Category Students Individuals Institutions, CSOs, NGOs, (4 participants) Space for stall (exhibition) deadline -30th/Aug/16

Fees 5,000 shs 10,000 shs 112,000 shs 150,000 shs

Benefits of registration The registration fees will enable the participant to get a symposium ID, access the symposium venue, stationary, meals and interact with different stakeholders including donors, policy makers, Human rights experts and project implementers.

Key dates: Activity Stakeholders Meeting with CSOs and Partners Submission for Papers/Abstracts Review & Refining selected presentations (feedback sent)

Time-Frame 2nd August 2016 1st – 31st August 2016 5th – 10th September 2016

Final feedback to Presenters

14th September 2016

Registration Starts

15th September 2016

Production of Final Symposium Programme Symposium Date

1st September 2016 19th October 2016

Symposium Sponsorship and Exhibitor Opportunities The event organisers are offering an opportunity to become a symposium sponsor or exhibitor. A request form will be provided to all stakeholders for financial contribute towards the symposium. An exhibition space will be provided and exhibitors will have to register in advance. Those interested in either sponsoring the event or exhibiting at the event, can requested for a form through [email protected] or [email protected]