The EDM states:
That this House condemns the abhorrent practice of child sacrifice in Uganda; notes with concern that between 2006 and 2010 only one person was found guilty despite 83 criminal cases and an estimated 900 murders of young people through child sacrifice; and urges the Ugandan government to implement the terms of both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which it has signed and to implement the recommendations of the Jubilee Campaign and Kyampasi Childcare Ministries' Child Sacrifice in Uganda report.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Mr. Cash MP will be meeting with the petition creator, Hollie Harrington, and fellow members of the APPG (MPs and peers) in the upcoming months to discuss how to best drive this campaign forward.
This campaign has also received very positive support from Martin Shearman, the British High Commissioner in Kampala. He notes that the the Ugandan government just announced the establishment a ministerial task force and a national plan of action, due by the end of the year. The High Commissioners office will also be working closely with local NGOs to promote and support Ugandan efforts to end the practice of child sacrifice.
So thank you and congratulations to all who signed this petition. But while this is certainly a huge leap forward in the fight to end child sacrifice, there is still more to be done. Keep your eye out for more campaigns and more actions!
Why This Is Important
We are calling on the UK government to act out against a horrifying new danger for children that is spreading through Uganda: ritual child sacrifices.
We have chosen to ask MP Bill Cash, member of the British Parliament, to be our voice in this fight to help stop this awful practice. Having been the chairman for the All-Party Parliamentary Uganda Group since 1988 and with his strong interests in this area of the developing world, we hope Mr. Cash will be able to use his insight and experience to make a real impact in stopping ritual child sacrifices by speaking out publicly about the subject and raising the issue in the Prime Minister's Questions time.
The rise of this shocking ritual seems to come hand-in-hand with the growth of the Uganda's economy over the last 3 years. As the act is believed by some to bring wealth and good fortune, rich business men and the economic elite are approaching witch doctors and paying them vast sums of money for the 'ultimate sacrifice' - a child.
The mutilated bodies of children have been found by roadsides and ditches and as witch doctors do not usually use their own children for these rituals, parents and families now have to keep a close eye on their child at all times to ensure they aren't kidnapped as the next 'sacrifice' and murdered in the most brutal of ways.
The Ugandan police force seem hugely inactive or unwillingly to prosecute these widely known witch doctors. The BBC have exposed one who failed to kill a young boy but left him with horrific injuries, yet even after the child identified the man clearly and even after showing the undercover footage to the authorities, the perpetrator was still released without charges - see here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15267792 With accusations of corruption, inaction and slow investigations within the police force, we ask Bill Cash to raise this topic at Prime Minister's Questions time, speak out about these atrocities and and urge the Ugandan Government to stamp out any and all corruption in the police, crack down on witch doctors, regulate and investigate their practices, and guarantee the prosecution of those guilty. We also ask for the consideration of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APGG) to investigate any means they have to apply pressure on the Ugandan government over this subject.
This is not an age-old tradition in Uganda. On the contrary, it is a scarily new phenomenon that seems to be based purely on greed. Witch doctors, who are often highly revered and even feared in societies, are 'cashing-in' in this new economic climate by charging huge amounts for this act. Ironically, as Uganda becomes more modern, the barbaric act of child sacrifice is on the rise.
We need to put an end to this NOW.
Thank you.
BBC: READ AND WATCH
Where child sacrifice is a business
By Chris Rogers BBC News, Kampala
By Chris Rogers BBC News, Kampala
Child sacrifice deal offered to undercover reporter
Uncovering the busness of child scarifice in Uganda
This is an older BBC newsnight programme, reported by Tim Whewell, from 2010, but it shows even more insight into the rapid growth of the child sacrificing 'business'
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