KAMPALA, Uganda (UGNEWSLINE) – The Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Mr. Alex Asiimwe, has called for renewed urgency, stronger coordination and practical actions to accelerate the elimination of child labour, slavery and trafficking in Uganda.
This was during the 13th Meeting of the National Steering Committee on Elimination of Child Labour held today at Hotel La Vena, in Seguku.
In his opening remarks delivered by Ms. Judith Auma, Manager Labour Inspections and Enforcement at the Ministry, Mr. Asiimwe said child labour remains a critical challenge that undermines national development efforts, denies children their right to education, health and protection, and perpetuates cycles of poverty and vulnerability.
He noted that nearly 138 million children remain in child labour worldwide, 54 million of whom are engaged in hazardous work, according to the ILO-UNICEF Global Estimates of Child Labour 2024. In Uganda, 6.2 million children (40 percent of the 15.7 million aged 5-17 years) are engaged in child labour, with more boys (50.4 percent) than girls (49.6 percent) working, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics National Labour Force Survey 2021.
Mr. Asiimwe urged the Committee to critically review progress from the previous engagements, identify implementation gaps and agree on practical actions with clear responsibilities and realistic timelines. He emphasised the need to strengthen the link between national policy and action at district, community and workplace levels, and underscored the importance of responsible business conduct and human rights due diligence in supply chains.
“Identification of a child labour risk should lead to corrective action and effective remediation, rather than simply termination of a supplier relationship or displacement of the affected child from one form of work to another,” he said.
Mr. Asiimwe reaffirmed the Government of Uganda’s commitment to using recommendations from the meeting to inform the review and implementation of the National Action Plan on the Elimination of Child Labour (NAP II 2020/21–2024/25). He pledged continued strengthening of coordination across government, particularly with the ministries responsible for education, finance, local government and social protection.
The Committee comprises representatives from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, development partners, Civil Society Organisations and implementing partners on Ending Child Labour, Slavery and Trafficking.
