In August 2022, Joy for Children- Uganda met with members to parliament to seek their support and recommendations to support the process of enacting the bill into law, results of the meetings included drafting of the bill, drafting of the motion seeking for leave of parliament to present a private members bill, choosing the mover and creating awareness about the bill.
It is therefore against this background that Joy for Children- Uganda to conducted a follow up meeting with the parliamentarians to track progress on status of the bill as per the last engagement and strategize on the way forward.
Objectives
· To track progress on the status of the sexual offences bill as per last engagement
· To seek support from Parliamentarians on the motion to seek leave of parliament to present a private members bill on the floor of parliament
· To strategize on the way forward on enactment of the bill
Outcomes
· Improved collaboration and partnerships for CSOs working towards promoting children”s rights
· The meeting provided the members of parliament need to understand the key areas that made the bill not to be accented to and they pledged to attend in big numbers to defend the bill when its reintroduced on the flow of parliament
· Increased commitment and support from parliamentarians to support the
enactment of the bill
· Following this meeting the Parliament gave permission to Hon Sarah Adeke the woman MP of Soroti District to reintroduce the bill on the flow of parliament which was seconded by Hon Sarah Opendi , Hon Amos Okot, Hon Sarah Najuma among others. The mover will now wait for to formally table the bill for parliamentary scrutiny at a date to be determined by the speakers office.
