Recall of envoy over girls abuse report is ridiculous

The story, ‘Envoy in trouble over report on abuse of girls” in the New Vision of Tuesday, May 15, awakened my nerves to the challenges that our government needs to address so as to streamline the externalisation of labour and to guarantee safety and protection of rights of citizens working abroad.

Uganda is one of the countries with the youngest populations in the world, with more than 78 per cent of its population below 30 years and bout 56 per cent below 18 years (according to the 2014 Uganda Population and Housing Census report published in 2016).

About 23 per cent of Uganda’s population is youthful (aged 15-30). This youthful population means that the country is presented with an opportunity for abundant and cheap labour force that can drive the envisioned growth and transformation.

The potential presented by the current demographic profile is neutralised by a high dependency ratio of young people due to the high levels of unemployment and the skills gap arising from the mismatch between education acquired and the skills required on the labour market. Consequently, many graduates remain unemployed, under employed or in disguised employment.

One of the latest resorts for young people seeking employment has been going abroad and the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries is the destination.
Many Ugandans are employed as housemaids, taxi drivers, supermarket attendants, cleaners and security guards, among others, in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and other Arab countries.

Many companies are involved in the recruitment process to export Ugandan labour to those countries. The government has come up with some guidelines and arrangements to enable smooth movement of labour from Uganda to the different countries in need of such labour.

In 2016, the government temporarily banned the exportation of Ugandan labour over reports of mistreatment in the countries that were cited.
There are, however, mixed reports on whether or not that ban was effective because research has showed that companies continued to recruit and send out people during the ban period.

As Uganda Youth Network (UYONET), the main concern is whether our government has memoranda of understanding (MoU) with the different countries where Ugandans work and the protection measures in the MoUs signed with the respective governments in the countries where Ugandan labour is exported.

UYONET and youth rights partners are also strongly disturbed by the lack of strong and institutionalised frameworks under which companies recruiting Ugandan labour for export operate hence leaving room for gross extortion of young people by some of these companies and violations of their rights at places of work abroad.

The Constitution guarantees the protection of the rights of citizens within and outside the country. International statutes also provide ground rules for engagement. But the Executive is less committed to enforce the national and international instruments.
It is very disturbing that the Executive is quick to act on the diplomatic flaws of the envoy (with due respect to diplomatic procedure), but has been less committal on ensuring safety and protection of rights of citizens that has led to reported deaths, mental illnesses, sexual exploitation and abuses and other gross violations of the rights of citizens.

What matters most to our government? Is it the diplomatic outlook it presents to labour importing countries or the lives and rights of its citizens in those countries?
What if the envoy has shared her concerns with the different authorities, but felt the abuse was too much and maybe the intervention of MPs as people’s representatives was critical? Our government needs to put the lives and rights of Ugandans first before anything else.

Ms Akello is the advocacy, communication and membership manager, Uganda Youth Network