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having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948, to which Uganda is a signatory,

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having regard to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (‘Cotonou Agreement’) and in particular to Article 8(4) thereof on non-discrimination,

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having regard to the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda,

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having regard to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted on 20 November 1989, in particular to Articles 2 and 6 thereof, which explicitly stipulate the principle of non-discrimination, including on grounds of disability, and the right to life,

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having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), adopted in 2006, in particular to Article 32 thereof, which states that all parties must include disabilities and persons with disabilities in their international cooperation efforts,

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having regard to the latest resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights of persons with disabilities of 14 April 2014 and 14 July 2014,

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having regard to Article 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and Article 14 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which prohibit all forms of discrimination, as well as Articles 21 and 26 thereof, which set out the rights of people with disabilities,

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having regard to the resolution of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in developing countries, adopted on 23 November 2011,

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having regard to the World Report on Disability published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank in June 2011,

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having regard to the OHCHR report of 8 April 2016, ‘Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities considers report of Uganda’,

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having regard to United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolutions 65/186 and 64/131 on ‘Realising the Millennium Development Goals for persons with disabilities towards 2015 and beyond’,

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having regard to the EU Guidance Note on Disability and Development for EU Delegations and Services,

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having regard to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in New York on 25 September 2015,

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having regard to Uganda’s review report of 1 July 2016 on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda entitled ‘Ensuring that no one is left behind’, which was presented to the UN High-level Political Forum in New York,

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having regard to its resolution of 19 January 2006 (1) on disability and development,

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having regard to its previous resolutions on Uganda,

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having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas ‘mercy killing’in Uganda is a practice whereby parents of disabled children kill or allow them to die by starving them or denying them medical attention because of the belief that these children are better off dead than having to endure a painful and incurable disability;

B.

whereas Uganda is not the only country struggling with this problem; whereas many developing countries have made significant, though incomplete, progress on including people with disabilities in development projects;

C.

whereas some parents confess that the act of ‘mercy killing’is necessary to save disabled children from severe suffering throughout their lives; whereas despite the testimony of some mothers or survivors, the practice remains a taboo;

D.

whereas the social stigma in Uganda is so strong that the mothers and children are rejected by the community, which attributes them a low social status and denies them full participation in society; whereas there is pressure on mothers to kill their own children after years of struggling with the effort and sacrifices related to caring for a disabled child;

E.

whereas beliefs held about children born with disabilities put them at greater risk of violence and murder than non-disabled children; whereas children with disabilities remain subject to various forms of violence, discrimination and marginalisation due to negative attitudes, superstition, neglect and social norms and practices; whereas the greatest threat to children with disabilities is posed by misleading beliefs regarding their condition, including that the presence of the child will lead to more children suffering from disabilities;

F.

whereas clans and extended families put mothers under too much pressure, seeking to understand the causes of disability and casting blame on the mother; whereas, in some cases, mothers have been expelled from their husbands’ households for producing disabled children;

G.

whereas doctors and medical workers fail to understand or explain the nature and the cause of the child’s frailty, and whereas the healthcare system is not sufficiently equipped to diagnose and treat many types of disabilities that could be minimised or even eliminated; whereas the denial of basic rights to children with disabilities, such as access to healthcare, education, support and rehabilitation, severely hinders their ability to develop their full potential;

H.

whereas Uganda is one of the 162 states party to the CRPD; whereas Uganda ratified the Convention and its Optional Protocol on 25 September 2008 without reservations; whereas Uganda committed itself to accord the same rights to persons with disabilities as to all other citizens;

I.

whereas in April 2016, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities reviewed Uganda’s record on the implementation of the CRPD, and concluding observations and recommendations were drawn up, according to which ‘the Committee notes with concern that legislation and policies fail to provide protection for the rights of children with disabilities’and ‘is also concerned about the absence of information on the situation of deaf and deaf-blind children, and about measures to ensure their protection and inclusion in society’;

J.

whereas the Government of Uganda has a number of general laws and policies that contain clauses on disability; whereas the country has disability-specific legislation; whereas the definition of disability can vary from one piece of legislation to another;

K.

whereas two of the greatest obstacles to the inclusion of disabled people in Ugandan society are their invisibility and negative attitudes towards them; whereas having children with disabilities is a reason for social exclusion for the family and in particular the mothers, as children with disabilities are seen as a source of shame and weakness for the family;

L.

whereas few state-run support facilities exist for parents of disabled children in parts of rural Uganda and whereas as a consequence families, in particular single mothers, often find it difficult to adequately care for their disabled children;

M.

whereas there are no official figures available as neither the police nor the justice system in Uganda investigate the phenomenon; whereas the lack of data makes the fight against the practice of ‘mercy killing’difficult;

N.

whereas the work of civil society groups and human rights defenders is crucial to guaranteeing the rights of marginalised and vulnerable groups; whereas non-governmental organisations in Uganda are facing several difficulties and obstacles in providing services to children with disabilities and their parents; whereas many misconceptions surrounding children with disabilities pose a challenge to development efforts and the work of human rights monitors in Uganda;

O.

whereas associations for persons with disabilities have a particular role to play in representing and communicating the specific interests of people with disabilities to politicians and the general public; whereas there is a lack of information available to make the general public aware of cultural practices that stigmatise and hinder the development of persons with disabilities and their enjoyment of the same rights as all other persons in society;

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