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Uganda

The greatest humanitarian and human rights crisis facing the people of Uganda continues to be the effects of the long-term conflict in the North between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and Ugandan military forces The conflict has lead to the murder of tens of thousands of people by both sides over the course of the last 22 years, and the uprooting of around two million people in Northern Uganda alone. The most recent figures available report that, as of February 2008, 1,168,501 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Northern Uganda remain in camps plus transit sites. The IDPs who have returned home are as yet not receiving the resettlement packages which had been promised by the governments and are often facing situations which are even worse than those they had experienced in the camps, notably as a result of a lack of infrastructure in return areas. The LRA has been widely accused of committing atrocities, including torching homes and camps for the displaced, killings, rape and the abduction of children for military conscription and sexual slavery. The Acholi population of the region has also suffered from significant violations at the hands of Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF).

Violence against women is a significant problem in the whole of Uganda and SGBV has been particularly rife in Northern Uganda as a result of the conflict. The perpetrators of these violations, whether government soldiers, members of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, or ordinary citizens, are largely granted impunity as a result of social and cultural barriers and state failure to uphold its responsibilities to ensure redress and to guarantee that legal routes are made available to the survivors.1 The justice, law and order sector in the region is non-functional.

The peace talks between the LRA and Museveni’s government, which began in July 2006 and saw the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CHA) in August of that year, have stalled over recent months, and the CHA has expired. The LRA leader, Joseph Kony, has demonstrated little commitment to the peace talks, through lack of attendance and cooperation with mediators. He finally refused to sign the Final Peace Deal on the 10th April. As a result, the peace process and the predicament of Northern Uganda’s IDPs appear increasingly uncertain. Parallel to this have been reports of renewed human rights violations being committed at the hands of the LRA notably in neighbouring countries.2
Despite the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2005, interest in domestic trials for serious crimes committed in northern Uganda gained momentum during the peace talks as a substitute. However, there remain serious concerns about the capacity of the national justice system to offer effective prosecutions and convictions in fair trials, which meet international standards of due process.3

In Karamoja, the UPDF has continued to torture, arbitrarily detain and unlawfully kill civilians during law enforcement activities aimed at disarming the region’s cattle raiders. The authorities have attempted to clamp down on these violations and the UPDF’s record has slightly improved, but as of yet their efforts have not been sufficient. 4

Mass arbitrary arrests of vagrants and criminals also took place in Kampala in the run-up to the November 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).5

Freedom of assembly and association by political activists continues to be threatened by the police imposed bans on holding rallies in certain key, central or symbolic areas of the capital. The police, which under the recent Police Act have been charged with the duty of providing security during demonstrations, have often used these provisions as an excuse to break up demonstrations, notably by members of the opposition or peaceful protests calling for government accountability on human rights issues. On several occasions the police forces have used very heavy handed tactics to deal with protestors.

The controversial Land Amendment Bill continues to create a lot of unease throughout the country. In some regions, notably in the Kayungu district in central Uganda, it is believed that tenants are being forcefully evicted from the land in order to ensure that they are no longer there when the bill comes into being. UPDF soldiers have been involved in illegal land evictions.

Uganda’s record regarding HRDs has definitely improved in recent years nevertheless recent repression against minority rights activism and constraints on freedom of expression are of concern.
Minority rights activists, notably members of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations, continue to be harassed and subjected to verbal and legal attacks by the authorities. ‘Carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature’is  a crime in Uganda; in recent months certain members of the government have sought to further entrench legislation, notably the country’s draconian sodomy law, against homosexuality. In November 2007 representatives from sexual minority groups were prevented from talking in the designated ‘speaker’s corner’ at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Furthermore, the government took no action against the Red Pepper tabloid which in September 2007 printed an article naming a list of 50 ‘prominent’ homosexuals and giving their contact details. In March 2008 one of the young men who had been named by Red Pepper- known as ‘Stevie’ -was murdered. Sexual Minority Rights Uganda (SMUG) has informed the Network that their attempts to investigate the case have been thwarted. The activists have in fact been intimidated- received anonymous threats notably by text messages- warning them not to investigate the case any further. In February 2008, a coalition of 120 religious leaders called on the government of Uganda to protect the human rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) citizens in the East African nation. 6 Over the course of the last month, attacks on activists have once again increased. On 4th June 2008, three LGBTI human rights defenders, Valentine Kalende, of Freedom and Roam Uganda, Julian Pepe Onziema, of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and Mukwaya Usaam, a member of the Ugandan LGBTI community, were arbitrarily arrested at a HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting where they were protesting against the current failure of the government to offer HIV/AIDS prevention programs and treatment to LGBTI persons in Uganda. They have been charged with criminal trespass and released on bail pending trial.
In March 2008 the Ugandan government banned a workshop for sex workers from all over East Africa which was aimed at raising awareness amongst sex workers of their rights. The Ethics minister, Nsaba Buturo claimed that it was illegal and a vice which was not in tune with the Ugandan way of life. The venue of the workshop was therefore moved to Nairobi. According to SMUG, one Ugandan transgender sex worker who was supposed to attend the workshop was denied a passport when she went to the immigration authorities. ‘Brenda’ was in fact told by the authorities that ‘transformed people’ could not get passports.

Legislative and administrative measures in Uganda continues to limit the space accorded to critical reporting as does government interference with the legitimate work of journalists and broadcasters, notably through public statements, intimidation, threats and arbitrary police actions against those seen as errant or too critical of the government.
Sedition laws and other criminal laws continue to be used against journalists who are seen as overtly critical of the authorities or are willing to tackle certain ‘taboo’ issues, notably the government’s war against terrorism.
Several journalists were beaten and sustained significant injuries when they covered the peaceful Mabira demonstration in April 2007 during which members of the public were demonstrating against Government’s proposed give away of parts of the Mabira forest to an investor. On the 26th-27th April 2008 the Ugandan security agents arrested one of the country’s leading political journalists, Andrew Mwenda, Managing editor of the Independent,  apparently as a results of a series of articles published in the news magazine which reported on the cases of 17 people who had allegedly been tortured in illegal detention centers known as safe houses. Security services raided the offices of the magazine, confiscating key equipment in their supposed attempt to find incriminating material. Mr Mwenda has not yet been charged but he was interrogated for several hours by Criminal Investigators and is likely to be charged with sedition and being in possession with seditious material.7
The authorities exert at times more subtle constraints on the media- notably calling talk show hosts and telling them who should appear on their shows, or using the Broadcasting Council as a means through which to dismiss presenters who host guests or tackle issues which are deemed unacceptable or ‘immoral’. In august 2007 a talk show host on a private radio station was dismissed after he invited a gay rights activist onto his program.
Many of the cases brought against journalists are never heard till their conclusion but several journalists are forced to continue to report to court nevertheless. The government and ministry of information continue to claim that government monitoring activities are for security reasons.