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Dear Mr. President,

We, the undersigned national and international civil society organisations, write to express our appreciation that you recently appointed commissioners to the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC). Now that it is properly staffed, we call upon the government to implement key recommendations of the UHRC and ensure it operates independently and without political interference.  We also write to request that you expeditiously appoint credible, independent commissioners to the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) so that this body can also carry out its work, as mandated by the Constitution of Uganda. The EOC's lack of commissioners impedes the protection and promotion of human rights in Uganda and must be urgently addressed.

Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC)

As you are aware, the UHRC, established by Article 51 of the Constitution, was without commissioners from November 2008 to May 2009. As a result, the commission has been unable to adjudicate compensation determinations for victims of human rights abuses and to ensure that information and investigations by the UHRC are presented to the public. Now that the commissioners are in place, the UHRC has an opportunity to provide relief and redress for Ugandans who have been the victims of human rights abuse.

We urge the government to comply with the UHRC's previous recommendations, which, to our disappointment, have so far been ignored. These key recommendations include enacting a law criminalizing torture; granting UHRC staff unannounced access to all areas of detention, including military barracks and ungazetted locations such as the JATT headquarters on Kololo Hill Road; promptly awarding compensation determined by the UHRC; and completing the establishment of the District Human Rights Committees. Today, over 1 billion shillings [454,000 USD] remains unpaid to victims of human rights abuses since 2003.

The government's compliance with the recommendations of the UHRC is crucial to the protection of human rights in Uganda.  We ask you to ensure that the commission remains a strong, credible and independent voice on behalf of victims of human rights abuse.

Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)

Because of a lack of commissioners, the EOC is unable to carry out its constitutionally mandated work. In 2007, Parliament passed the Equal Opportunities Commission Act, as required under article 32(2) of the Constitution. This act legalizes affirmative action in favour of marginalized groups and fulfils the government's 2006 National Equal Opportunities Policy.

The vital purpose of the EOC is to fight discrimination on the basis of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, creed, religion, social or economic standing, political opinion, disability, gender, age or any other reason created by history, tradition or custom. The functions of the EOC include inter alia monitoring and evaluating and ensuring that policies, laws, programmes and customs of organs of the state at all levels are compliant with the requirement for affirmative action in favour of marginalised groups. The EOC has the power to hear complaints of discrimination and marginalization of individuals and groups and to order redress for these groups.

The 2005 amendment to the Uganda Constitution provided that the EOC should be established within one year of the amendment. However, despite the 2007 Equal Opportunities Commission Act and the allocation of budgetary resources for the EOC, the government has not appointed commissioners. The constitutionally enshrined principle of affirmative action in favour of marginalised groups therefore exists only on paper. The needs of the most vulnerable  groups - women, children, people affected or living with HIV/AIDS, ethnic minorities, and the elderly, among others - risk neglect and violation without the EOC's proper functioning.

The Ugandan state has a duty to guarantee and respect institutions charged with the responsibility of promoting human rights by providing them with resources to function effectively.

We therefore call upon you to:

  1. Respect the compensation determinations of the different bodies and expedite the process of compensating victims of human rights violations.
  2. Allow UHRC staff unannounced visits to any place of a reported detention, gazetted or ungazetted, including military barracks.
  3. Increase facilitation of the commissions to enable them to exercise their constitutional mandates.
  4. Implement past and future recommendations of the UHRC to facilitate promotion and protection of human rights in accordance with international human rights law.
  5. Immediately appoint commissioners of sound and independent judgment to the Equal Opportunities Commission.

We look forward to further dialogue with you and your staff about these important human rights issues.

Sincerely,

Livingstone Sewanyana,
Foundation for Human Rights Initiative

Mohammed Ndifuna,
Human Rights Network

Georgette Gagnon,
Africa Director, Human Rights Watch

CC:
Hon. Dr. Edward Khiddu Makubuya
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and Attorney General

Hon. Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi
Speaker of Parliament  

Hon. Medi Kaggwa,
Chairperson, Uganda Human Rights Commission

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