Journalists should be treated like Human Beings and their Rights should be respected.

By Teddy Namayanja,

Public Relations Officer – Foundation for Human Rights Initiative

After visiting Andrew Lwanga, a journalist attached to WBS TV on the 14^th of Jan 2015 in Nsambya hospital where he was admitted after being badly beaten by the District Police Commander Old Kampala Joram Mwesigye, I haven’t stopped wondering and questioning why the police continuously treat journalists in such inhumane manner when doing their job.

We all know that the media has and continues to do tremendous work in fulfilling its overall mandate of playing a watchdog role over society by informing and educating the public through providing the population with a forum to express their views on different issues ranging from good governance, accountability and democracy among others. If the police continue to suffocate their (journalist’s) working environment, how best can they then execute their work when they are caged?

Lwanga was only the latest victim joining a long list of journalists brutalized by law enforcement officers simply for doing their job as the fourth estate----keep watch over power holders.

Since 2009, media freedom has been characterized by increased incidents of violence and harassment against journalists especially by security agencies. Human Rights Network for Journalists (HRNJ) has documented over 400 cases of attacks on journalists reported to the police. However, the files seem to have gone cold with no investigations.  This high level of impunity is threatening the media industry as journalists; denied the opportunity to do their job, flee to safer jobs. This flight and lack of scrutiny might be celebrated by the power holders as a victory in the short term but it is only a pyric victory and the long term cost to society is immeasurable. 

Uganda's Juvenile Justice System in Urgent need of Reforms

By Denis Angeri

Project Support, Alternatives to Imprisonment in East Africa

Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI)

The Ugandan Government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in the years 1990 and 1994 respectively.

By signing this treaty, Uganda is obligated to enact legislation and provide policy framework that is aimed at protecting the rights of the child and providing guidance on interventions focusing on children. While the legal and policy framework with regard to child rights in Uganda has improved tremendously with coming into force of the Children’s Act in 2005, which domesticated the provisions of the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, more still needs to be done to improve the juvenile justice system.

One major area is the implementation of Diversion, which is the channeling of children from the criminal justice system into programmes that make them accountable for their actions. Children who are in conflict with the law and those at risk of coming in conflict with the law may be diverted to some of the following programmes; placement under a supervision and guidance order placing the child under the supervision and guidance of a mentor or peer role model; the issue of compulsory school attendance; the issue of positive peer association; the issue of a good behaviour order requiring a child to abide by an agreement made between the child and his parents to comply with certain standards of behavior; compulsory attendance at a specified centre or place for a specified vocational or educational purpose for a period; restitution of a specified object to a victim; referral to appear at victim-offender mediation or other restorative justice involving family members; referral to a counseling or therapeutic intervention and from  prohibition orders against the child visiting, frequenting or appearing at a specified place

In selecting a specific diversion option for a particular child at a police station or court, consideration should  be given to the child’s cultural, religious and linguistic background;  the child’s educational level, cognitive ability, domestic and environmental circumstances.

In addition, it is important that proportionality of the option recommended or selected to the offence is taken into account in balancing the same with the interests of the society, the child’s age and developmental needs and any other peculiar circumstances relating to the child including whether the child is a repeat offender. Diversion programmes focus on the child and not the offence so as to help the child be accountable and to reform. The goal is rehabilitation of the offender and prevention of further offences by addressing factors that contribute to criminal behaviour.

An example of diversion project was conducted in Mbale district by Children Justice Initiative (CJI) in partnership with Mbale diocese. As a result, many children were diverted from the formal criminal justice system and many children related cases were handled at the family level. This project promoted counseling and caution as best ways to correct children rather than the formal criminal justice system. This diversion pilot scheme used specially trained advocates as mediators to establish a community based alternatives project in Mbale. Government should therefore partner with the Civil Society Organizations to promote diversion and other forms of alternatives to the criminal justice system for children

What is required urgently are standardized guidelines and procedures for protection of children in the juvenile justice system, and amendments to the Children’s Act to entrench Diversion to shield the child offender from a generally punitive and adversarial criminal justice system. This also ensures that criminal charges are withdrawn and no criminal records are maintained on children, thus facilitating rehabilitation and reintegration. The Constitution provides that every child has a right not to be detained, except as a measure of last resort, and when detained, to be held for the shortest appropriate period of time; and separate from adults and in conditions that take account of the child’s sex and age. 
It is frustrating that the proposed amendments to the Children’s Act barely entrench Diversion in the juvenile justice system

Revenge isn't Justice; The Death Penalty should be abolished in Uganda

By Cynthia Ampairwe 

Fourth year Law student, Makerere University, also an intern at FHRI

Makerere University

 

Today, one of the most debated issues in the Criminal Justice system is the issue of capital punishment or the death penalty. Over the years, a number of countries have abolished the death penalty.  However, Uganda still recognizes its imposition for the most serious offences. It is for this reason that this has become one of the major areas of contention especially in the Human Rights perspective. It is a topic of interest not only to the lawyers but also to the public at large. The article therefore presents the current situation in Uganda as regards the abolition of the death penalty. It presents the major reasons that have been given in support of the death penalty; deterrence and retribution. It goes ahead to show how these arguments have not been effective in other countries as well as Uganda. Conversely, more convincing arguments have been raised for its abolition amongst which is the argument that it is a violation of human rights. The article also presents a brief on Jeremy Bentham’s theory of punishment.  Finally, this article points the way forward. The author argues that publicity and the need for a constitutional review should be the major concerns as we move towards total abolition of the death penalty in Uganda.

INTRODUCTION.

 History shows that the view of every nation regarding the infliction of the death punishment have, in the process of time undergone significant changes. There is a growing trend towards the universal abolition of the death penalty and a restriction in the scope and use of capital punishment over the last fifty years.[1] Of the 198 states in the world, 58 retain the death penalty, 98 are abolitionist for all crimes, 7 are abolitionist for ordinary crimes, and 35 are abolitionist in practice (retaining the death penalty but having not executed anyone during the past 10 years).[2]

The vast majority of countries in Africa have moved away from the death penalty while a small, isolated group continues to cling to state-sanctioned killing. 16 of the member states of the African Union are abolitionist in law. Gabon is the latest country to abolish the death penalty; others include Angola, Burundi, Senegal, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Togo, and Mauritius.[3]

During the year (2013), many states across Africa took small but significant steps towards abolition. New constitutions were drafted in Ghana and Sierra Leone to end capital punishment, Both Benin and Comoros are considering new penal codes that would abolish the death penalty for all crimes. However, there was still an increase in executions in 2013. Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia were behind more than 90% of the 64 reported executions carried out in Africa in 2013. They are also accounted for two-thirds of all reported death sentences in the region with dramatic increases especially in Nigeria and Somalia.[4]

The Role of Access to Justice in Sustainable Development

Presentation by Mrs. Maria Kaddu Busuulwa,    
Senior Legal Associate,FHRI.

at the East African Academy in Arusha, Tanzania from 4th - 5th 2014

Qtn: How will access to justice in Uganda work towards the attainment of SDGs?

Scope of discussion

·         What is access to justice?

·         What are the Sustainable development goals (SDGs)-summary

·         What should access to justice entail/what should it be in reality and how will it lead towards the development/sustainability of SDGs.

What is access to justice?

Ø  According to United States Institute of Peace, access to justice is more than improving an individual’s access to courts or guaranteeing legal representation. Access to justice is defined as the ability of people to seek and obtain a remedy through formal or informal institutions of justice for grievances in compliance with human rights standards.

What is Sustainable development and/or Sustainable development goals?

Ø  There are many definitions of sustainable development, including this landmark one which first appeared in 1987: — from the World Commission on Environment and Development’s (the Brundtland Commission) report "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Ø  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the other hand refer to an agreement of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 (Rio+20), to develop a set of future international development goals. The proposal contains 17 goals with 169 targets covering a broad range of sustainable development issues, including ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests.

Ø  Goal 16 talks about access to justice. It seeks to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 

Uganda still in need of stronger child protection mechanisms

By Denis Angeri 

Project Support, Alternatives Project   

Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI)

Uganda has ratified a number of international and regional treaties and conventions including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which legally obliges the state to protect the rights of all children including those who are in conflict and in contact with the law.
At the national level the Children’s Act Cap. 59, has put in place full safeguards for the rights of all children in the country. The adoption of the Children’s Act was a giant stride forward in harmonising national laws with international treaties which Uganda has signed and ratified.
The Children’s Act has immensely improved the lives of many Ugandan children. It guarantees their rights to health and medical care, of which are the responsibility of the parents, the extended family and the government. The provisions of the Children’s Act also empower the police to caution and release child offenders without recourse to formal hearings thus taking on a more rehabilitative approach.
The legal framework also supports separate juvenile courts, although in practice such courts are not “separate” from the usual criminal courts that are used by adults.
Nonetheless, there are still a number of problems to surmount. Uganda’s severe economic and social difficulties have prevented the full realization of children’s rights, and there is concern over the inadequate enforcement of legislation to ensure the ‘physical and mental integrity’ of all children.
Street children are of particular concern. Today’s toxic combination of economic and social factors is forcing more and more children to continue pouring into the streets throughout the country. According to a report released by Human Rights Watch on 17 July 2014 titled Where Do You Want Us to Go?’ Abuses against Street Children in Uganda, Uganda is failing to protect particularly homeless children against police abuse and other violence. Street children throughout Uganda’s urban centers face violence, and physical and sexual abuse.
A considerable percentage of children appearing before the juvenile courts are street children with some arrested for committing crimes, and some taken in to be ‘processed’ by the care and protection system.
Although the care and protection system is conceptually separate from the criminal justice system, the two systems appear to merge in practice. Both groups of children are picked up and held in the same police cells, and are treated similarly at courts. Rights and advocacy groups, especially ANPPCAN, are alarmed about the physical and sexual abuse of Ugandan street children and the increasing burden of HIV/AIDS on orphans that prematurely forces them into adult roles; coupled with inadequate access to education, especially for girl children.

Letter to The President on Election Rigging

His Excellency, President Y.K. Museveni

P. O. Box 25497, Kampala


UGANDA

Dear Mr. President:

RE: RESPONSE TO YOUR LETTER ON ELECTION RIGGING IN UGANDA, 1961 - 2014

Reference is made to your letter dated 25^th May 2014 [1] on ‘election rigging in Uganda, 1961 – 2014’ which was widely carried by the media.  Your letter made special reference to the allegedly “stolen” Luweero Woman MP by-election held on 22^nd May 2014 and went on to question the credibility of elections in Uganda and the independence of the current Electoral Commission. Whereas the Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) observed the Luweero Woman MP by-election, we take exception to the allegations around vote rigging carried in your letter.  Our team of observers who monitored the Luweero by-election noted a number of issues that your letter doesn’t generally seem to address.  Issues around missing names on the voters register, heavy police clampdown on opposition rallies as well as vote-buying especially during the campaign period. The myriad of electoral challenges in Uganda, some of which you highlight call for the passage of substantive electoral reforms to restore trust of all stakeholders.

Going by the language and content of your letter, CCEDU wishes to acknowledge and appreciate your new stance on reforming the electoral system in Uganda.  We are very optimistic that you are equally interested in and committed to ensuring that among other things, the broader electoral reform proposals that have been on the table since 2005 are considered and passed in order to remedy what you described as ‘a collapsed system’ and avert scenarios where people who should not have been elected are elected because of ‘sectarian intoxication’ or because of ‘cheating’. 

CCEDU remains the broadest active civil society coalition on issues of elections in Uganda, bringing together over 700 member organizations spread across the country. CCEDU has since its formation in 2009 worked towards promoting a social and political system that enhances fair, equitable and transparent electoral processes. In the aftermath of the 2011 general elections, CCEDU developed a Citizens’ Electoral Reform Agenda. The agenda calls for: the restoration of presidential term limits; putting in place a clean and credible voters register; instituting mechanisms to guarantee the independence and credibility of the Electoral Commission; streamlining the role of security forces in elections; the introduction of campaign spending caps among others. These and many more reform proposals are being fronted by voices across the civic and political spectrum.  Your Excellency, recent opinion polls also indicate that it is the hope of many Ugandans that sooner rather than later, the government and the opposition political parties will dialogue and agree on the proposed electoral reforms with the aim of safeguarding electoral processes to ensure that the 2016 general elections are free and fair.

Press release on Ngobi’s execution in China.

On the 24^th June 2014 China executed Ngobi Ham Andrew one of the many Ugandans held on death row for drug related offence.  This is the second execution of a Ugandan by Chinese government in 2014 and its only one month since the last execution of Omar Ddamulira.

Execution was carried out just a month after his sentence had been confirmed by the highest court in China with only a five days’ notice issued to his relatives of the intention to execute Ngobi. With a few days’ notice it was impossible for the convict to challenge the legitimacy of his execution violating his right to appeal the execution.

As a universal trend toward abolition of the death penalty is overwhelming, China, which retains the death penalty and carries out executions regularly, is now a peculiar country and becoming more and more isolated from the international community.  Moreover it is 11 years since Uganda’s last execution, qualifying it a de-facto moratorium and a clear indication of the increasing respect on the right to life.

The penalty of death is the ultimate punishment which violates right to life, the most fundamental human right and whether to exercise the penalty or not can never remain a domestic issue.

Foundation for Human Rights Initiative strongly condemns these executions and will continue its struggle to abolish death penalty and to ensure that Ugandans committing offences in retentionist states are repatriated to serve their sentences in Uganda. 

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

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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.