ISSUE NO.17 OF 2022
THE HUMAN RIGHTS
CENTRE UGANDA (HRCU)
WEEKLY UPDATE ON COVID-19
AND KEY EMERGING HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES WITHIN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT OF HRDS IN
UGANDA
THE WEEK OF 16TH
TO 22ND MAY 2022
Dear reader,
We welcome you to a new week and thank you for your continued effort in working towards contributing to a favorable and conducive environment for the promotion, protection, and realization of fundamental human rights and freedoms in Uganda.
In
this week’s edition, let’s begin with a look at some key headlines from last
week and then have an exclusive insight into the emerging issues within which human rights defenders operate.
Coffee
farmers and a section of Ugandans at large had the last laugh as Parliament voted to
terminate the controversial coffee agreement.
Uganda
police released its annual crime report for 2021 in which it indicated that
there was an increase in the number of crimes reported.
On
May 20, the 11th Parliament passed a Shs.48.1 trillion Budget for the
Financial Year 2022/2023.
And lastly, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni address to the Nation on the current economic situation. Please find the full speech via the link below as compiled by Daily Monitor.https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/full-speech-what-museveni-said-about-the-state-of-uganda-s-economy--3824062
COVID-19 UPDATES
COVID-19
VACCINATION DRIVE: UGANDANS SHUN COVID-19
BOOSTER DOSES
The
majority of Ugandans who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have not
received booster doses as recommended by health professionals. Records from the
Ministry of Health show that more than 10.2 million people representing 48
percent of the targeted 22 million people were fully vaccinated as of April
this year.
However, of these, only 59,542 had received booster
doses that are supposed to increase the efficacy of the vaccines, which is
believed to wane with time. This means over 10.1 million Ugandans who are fully
vaccinated have not received their booster doses.
COVID-19
RESPONSE FUNDS: MUSENERO DEFENDS SELF ON ALLEGED MISUSE OF COVID VACCINE FUNDS
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation,
Dr Monica Musenero defended herself before plenary on May 17 from allegations
that she misused funds for COVID-19 vaccine development under the Presidential
Scientific Initiative on Epidemics (PRESIDE) that she supervises.
NORTH
KOREA REPORTS 42 COVID DEATHS ON 4TH DAY OF LOCKDOWN
North Korea said on May 15 that a total of 42 people
had died as the country began its fourth day under a nationwide lockdown aimed
at stopping the impoverished country's first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak. North
Korea's admission on Thursday that it is battling an "explosive"
COVID-19 outbreak rose concerns that the virus could devastate a country with
an under-resourced health system, limited testing capabilities, and no vaccine
program.
State news agency KCNA said the country was taking
"swift state emergency measures" to control the epidemic, but there
is no sign that Pyongyang was moving to accept international offers of
vaccines.
Source:https://observer.ug/news/headlines/73638-north-korea-reports-42-covid-deaths-on-4th-day-of-lockdown
KEY EMERGING HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES
COFFEE
AGREEMENT: PARLIAMENT TERMINATES COFFEE DEAL
Coffee farmers and local exporters had the last
laugh after Parliament on the night of May 18 voted to terminate the
controversial deal that had given a single company exclusive rights to buy the
country’s coffee.
After two-and a-half hours of a bipartisan debate,
the House chaired by Speaker Anita Among adopted the Trade committee
recommendation to have the deal the government signed with Uganda Vinci Coffee
Limited terminated in public interest.
The House based their decision on mainly three major
reasons; the deal contravened multiple sections of law; the company
doesn’t have the financial capacity to undertake the project, and lacks a valid
investment licence. The House heard that the company’s investment licence
issued in 2014 expired and was not renewed in 2019.
Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/parliament-terminates-coffee-deal-3820228
SET
BACK IN PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
REQUESTS FOR MORE FUNDING
The
chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), Ms Mariam Wangadya,
said the entity is facing a funding gap, which has hindered them from fully
delivering on their mandate.
Ms
Wangadya told legislators, who were meeting the Commission in Kampala on May 16
that more funding is required to finance some of the core activities such as
investigations, tribunal hearings, research, and field work.
Ms
Wangadya also said the suspension of Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) for
close to two years has affected their activities such as investigations and
civic education. She appealed to President Museveni to process the appointments
of the new members of the commission since they are not fully staffed.
DOCUMENTATION
OF HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES: POLICE RELEASE ANNUAL CRIME REPORT
The police released its annual crime report for 2021
in which it indicated that there was an increase in the number of crimes
reported by 0.1% to 196081 cases from 195,931 cases in 2020. Releasing the
report at the Police headquarters in Naguru, the police director for Criminal
Investigations Division, AIGP Tom Magambo said thefts, assaults and domestic
violence are among crimes committed and reported in 2021.
The report indicated that there were 29317 cases of
assault representing 14.9% of all the crimes but also a decline by 4.5%
whereas there were 17533 cases of domestic violence, a decline by 0.74%
increase whereas 43583 cases of theft representing 22.2% of the total number
of crimes.
AIGP Magambo said police is now looking at
introducing an electronic case tracking system to ease the work of dealing with
criminals. The acting Traffic Police director, Lawrence Nuwabiine said the
number of people who died in road accidents increased from 3663 in 2020 to 4159
in 2021 with motorcyclists, passengers and pedestrians.
Source: https://capitalradio.co.ug/news/latest/2022-05-18-police-release-annual-crime-report/
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES AND THE RIGHT TO LIBERTY: POLICE FAILS TO TRACE 7 UGANDANS REPORTED MISSING AFTER ARREST
Police investigators
denied knowledge of the whereabouts of at least seven people whose names keep
appearing on the list of missing persons.
The missing persons
are part of another 66 cases of disappearance reported to the police by the
parliament's human rights committee in March this year for further
investigations.
They include; George
Kasumba, Agnes Nabwera, Sarah Nanyanzi, Mathew Kigozi, Mathew Kafeero Ibrahim
Chekedi and John Damulira. The victims were reportedly picked up by security
operatives from areas within Kampala, Greater Masaka, and Mukono during the
2020 campaign period.
Police director of
legal services Erasmus Twaruhukwa said that none of the cases was reported to
the police but the criminal intelligence investigations department (CIID)
commenced inquiries into the alleged disappearances upon receipt of the names.
NATIONA BUDGET FOR
THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022/2023: PARLIAMENT APPROVES SHS48 TRILLION BUDGET
The 11th Parliament on Friday passed a Shs48.1 trillion Budget for the Financial Year 2022/2023 as the country continues to smart from the Covid-19 pandemic and recent geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea region. Speaker Anita Among cautioned that the approved funds be appropriately used as the country deals with a cost of living crisis.
“We have done the appropriation. What remains now is for us to do the oversight role. We need to monitor this Shs48 trillion Budget to see what is going to come out of this money,” Speaker Among told lawmakers.
A grueling eight-hour session culminated in lawmakers giving the green light to a Budget that will be financed through the taxman’s collections (Shs25.7 trillion), grants (Shs2.1 trillion) and domestic borrowing (Shs7.1 trillion).
Source:https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/parliament-approves-shs48-trillion-budget-3823342
CONCLUDING REMARKS
1. On December 18 1992, the United
Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration
on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Article 1 of this
declaration states that,”Any act of
enforced disappearance is an offence to human dignity. It is condemned as a
denial of the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and as a grave and
flagrant violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed and developed in
international instruments in this field”. Therefore it’s important for states like Uganda to strictly
comply with the provisions of this declaration. A copy of the declaration can
be accessed via https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/declaration-protection-all-persons-enforced-disappearance
2. Human rights defenders (HRDs) and all relevant stakeholders are called upon to continue monitoring, documenting, and reporting human rights abuses and violations that happen within their communities so as to create responsiveness and a way forward towards the birth of various solutions to the same.
We thank you for reading and wish
you a happy new week.
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