Pure Good Governance: If I were to make a wish at this year's civil soci...

Pure Good Governance: If I were to make a wish at this year's civil soci...: It is not surprising that the Civil Society Organisations (CSO) fair has become one of the biggest annual events in Uganda where NGOs and...

UCT researcher breaks new ground on state regulation of NGOs in Eastern & Southern Africa

Rel. State regulation of NGOs in Eastern & Southern Africa

Research by the University of Cape Town PhD graduate Livingstone Sewanyana, breaks new ground on state regulation of NGOs looked at from an historical, continental and global context. The thesis, Towards an Enabling NGO Regulatory Framework in Uganda: Comparative Experiences from Eastern and Southern Africa examines the development of voluntary organisations in British colonial East Africa and their fluctuating fortunes after the formerly colonised countries gained independence. This is in order to “explore the most appropriate model for the regulation of NGOs in Eastern and Southern Africa; one that enables active participation and allows for participatory democracy to thrive”, says Dr Sewanyana. According to Dr Sewanyana Participatory Democracy obligates states to promote public participation and public contestation. States must allow civic autonomy while ensuring transparency and public accountability in public governance. Domestic human rights NGOs are a recent phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa. While states tolerate them, the urge to regulate them without stifling them poses a dilemma. How to strike a balance remains a difficulty to many states, and this necessitates an in depth inquiry into the matter. Using standards set by democratic constitutionalism and international human rights instruments as the basis for critical analysis, Dr Sewanyana’s findings show that state regulation alongside self-regulation is a preferred model because it allows for full freedom of association and expands the civic space. Such a model says Dr Sewanyana “Could also be appropriate for use in other African countries”. A human rights lawyer, dedicated to promoting the respect of human rights worldwide, Dr Sewanyana’s professional life has been devoted to the cause of human rights in Africa. Most recently, his efforts saw him receive the 2013 Pan Africa Human Rights Award. Dr Sewanyana holds an LLB (Hons) from Makerere University, and an LLM, with distinction in International Human Rights Law, from Essex. Dr Sewanyana will receive his PhD during UCT’s Faculty of Law graduation ceremony on Friday, 13 June 2014, making him the first in his family to graduate at UCT and at a South African institution in general.  He is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, Uganda’s leading NGO, a position he’d held since 1992. ENDS Issued by: UCT Communication and Marketing Department Mologadi Makwela Media Liaison Officer Communication and Marketing Department University of Cape Town Welgelegen, Upper Chapel Road Extension Rosebank Tel: (021) 650 5427  Fax: (021) 650 5628 Cell: (078) 258 3965(078) 258 3965 E-mail: loga.makwela@uct.ac.za Website: www.uct.ac.za  Follow us on twitter: @UCT_news

Call

Send SMS

Add to Skype

You'll need Skype CreditFree via Skype

Pure Good Governance: The taste of democracy is not just in the name, bu...

Pure Good Governance: The taste of democracy is not just in the name, bu...: As I approached the first polling station to witness the opening of the poll I noticed something conspicuous; over fifty armed ...

Electoral Reforms in Uganda

Over the years, various democracies around the world have proposed for some form of electoral reforms. Such democracies include; the UK, USA, India among others.

 In Uganda, Electoral Reforms are currently being advocated for by the Opposition parties and Civil Society organizations.  Electoral Reforms are usually mentioned in the same sentence as presidential term limits. Various campaigns have been run in the field of advocating for Presidential Term limits. Unfortunately, many of these campaigns have been unsuccessful and various advocates have been tear gassed, tortured and imprisoned. 

On the 25th of February 2014, the Citizen’s Coalition for Electoral Democracy (CCEDU) in Uganda presented two Electoral Reforms Drafts Bills; the Electoral Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2014, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and Critical Areas and Reforms towards reforming Uganda’s Electoral Commission to the Deputy Attorney General Hon. Fred Ruhindi at the Attorney General’s Chambers on Parliamentary Avenue.

Later, on the 19^th March 2014, the team presented the same proposals to the committee of Legal and Parliamentary affairs at Eureka Hotel in Ntinda.

The proposed bills propose various changes. For instance, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill among others seeks to rename and reconstitute the Electoral Commission as an Independent Electoral Commission, to provide for the process of identifying and selecting persons who may be appointed as members to the commission, to provide for the independence and impartiality of the Commission and to provide the procedure for removing members of the Electoral Commission which is similar to the removal of Judges of the High Court. It therefore seeks the amendment of article 60 of the Constitution, replacement of article 62 and to add miscellaneous amendments to the constitution (inserting “Independent” immediately before “Electoral Commission”).

The 2nd National Legal Aid Conference scheduled for 22nd and 23rd May 2014

THEME: "ACCESSIBLE AND EFFECTIVE LEGAL AID: THE KEY TO UNLOCKING UGANDA’S DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL"

1.0.            Introduction

Access to justice is clearly reiterated as an inalienable right in international and regional human rights instruments.[1] The ICCPR elaborates access to justice as including the right to legal assistance[2] and Uganda’s Constitution further gives entitlement for an accused person charged with a capital offense to be represented in court at state expense.[3] In a number of respects, the national legal framework including the Poor Persons Defence Act; the Advocates (Amendment) Act; the Advocates (Pro bono Services to Indigent Persons) Regulations; and the Advocates (Student Practice) Rules provide for this right by way of legal aid service provision.

Access to justice through effective provision of legal aid services is more than just improving the ability of people (especially the indigent) to seek and obtain a remedy through formal or informal institutions of justice delivery. It is also a fundamental characteristic of good governance – the backbone on which development processes are based to ensure that services are equitably delivered to citizens and that peace reigns in the nation.

Read together, all the above mentioned legislations create a foundation for providing state sponsored legal aid; registration and regulation of legal aid service provision; provision of legal aid in legal practice; and provision of legal assistance as part of legal training. In spite of such existing frameworks, legal aid services are still uncoordinated, inaccessible, and not appropriately aligned to the national strategic objectives aimed at unlocking Uganda’s development.

2.0.            Background

Legal Aid Service Providers (LASPs) in Uganda use various mechanisms to deliver efficient and affordable justice such as alternative dispute resolution, legal and human rights awareness and paralegals. This has enabled poor and marginalised people to enforce, and defend their rights and those of their beneficiaries, protect their property, get legal representation and assistance in criminal matters; and know their rights. Legal aid has further contributed to poverty reduction by enabling poor women seeking a livelihood to provide family maintenance, poor widows to secure their land and ensure that they continue to have basic necessities and reduce their vulnerability, removed juveniles from the criminal justice system to enable them continue to receive an education, and ensured that poor and vulnerable workers’ rights are defended.[4]

It is evident that amidst such efforts, Uganda’s economy has moved from recovery to growth based on short to medium-term planning over the last three decades. Several complementary policies have been implemented including the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs), the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP), and Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP). In 2007, Government further adopted a National Development Planning Framework which provides for a 30-year vision to be implemented through three 10-year plans; six 5-year National Development Plans (NDPs); Sector Investment Plans (SIPs); Local Government Development Plans (LGDPs); Annual work plans; and Budgets. All this has been done to ensure development paths and strategies towards “A Transformed Ugandan Society from a Peasant to a Modern and Prosperous Country.

As a result, the Vision 2040 was also conceptualised around strengthening the fundamentals of the economy to harness the abundant opportunities around the country. Among other objectives, this vision aims at consolidating the tenets of good governance which include constitutional democracy; protection of human rights; the rule of law; free and fair political and electoral processes; transparency and accountability; Government effectiveness and regulatory quality; as well as citizens’ participation in the development processes. There is commitment to strengthening the coordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation systems at national, sector and local governments so that they are fully harmonised. In doing this government ensures the participation of all players including private sector, media, civil society, cultural leaders, religious leaders and citizens.[5]

In the same regard, the first 5-year National Development Plan was launched in April 2010 with focus, among other strategic objectives, on enhancing access to justice for all (particularly the poor and marginalised persons). It proposes strategic interventions of developing and implementing a policy and framework for countrywide provision of legal aid as well as integrating innovative pilot and low cost models for aid. So far, a Draft National Legal Aid Policy has been developed with proposals for provision of legal advice and assistance in both criminal and civil cases by advocates, bar-course students and law graduates awaiting enrolment (under the supervision of an advocate), students at Law school clinics and accredited paralegals.[6]

Legal aid is currently provided by state actors such as the Judiciary through court circuits and the Justice Centres; the Uganda Police through the Community Liaison Office and the Child and Family Protection Unit; Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development through the Probation and Welfare Office and the Community Development Office; Uganda Prisons Services; Uganda Human Rights Commission; Administrator General’s Office; and Local Council Courts. On the other hand, Non-state Legal Aid Service Providers[7] (LASPs) also provide services in civil and criminal matters such as legal advice, counselling, alternative dispute resolution, human rights awareness, prison decongestion, and where feasible engage in court representation. These LASPs are coordinated under the Legal Aid Service Network (LASPNET) which was only established in 2004. However, the Uganda Law Society (ULS) has also enhanced access to justice by coordinating the Pro Bono scheme and the Legal Aid Project.