Starving Uganda’s children to earn foreign exchange
Article
25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed the right to
adequate food as an indispensable element of the right of everyone. Article 6
(2) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child proclaimed that States Parties
shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the
Child. The Convention included specific
provisions for the protection of children in areas of armed conflict.
The
constitution of Uganda (1995) requires that “The state shall take appropriate
steps to encourage people to grow and store adequate food; establish national
food reserves; and encourage and promote proper nutrition through mass
education and other appropriate means in order to build a healthy state”. And
the Uganda Children’s Statute of 1996 gives children under the age of 18 the
right to adequate diet.