ISSUE NO.19 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 30TH MAY TO 5TH
JUNE, 2022
Dear
reader,
Welcome to a new week and a new month of June 2022.
Please receive and read through the weekly updates compiled from last week which we will begin by congratulating Ms. Primah Kwagala a prominent human rights defender for winning the European Union (EU) Human Rights Defenders Award for 2022. Primah Kwagala is recognized for her tremendous and immense contribution toward the advancement and promotion of women’s rights, health rights, and provision of pro bono services through different initiatives like the Women’s Pro Bono Initiative.
Image source: https://twitter.com/EUinUG/status/1532010798100381698/photo/1
COVID-19 UPDATES
COVID-19 DEATHS IN
AFRICA EXPECTED TO FALL BY 94 PCT IN 2022: WHO ANALYSIS
COVID-19
deaths in the African region are expected to decline by almost 94 percent in
2022 compared with 2021 which was the pandemic’s most lethal year, said the World
Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday, June 2, 2022, citing a new WHO analysis.
The
analysis, which was published last week in the scientific journal, the Lancet
Global Health, suggested that around 23,000 deaths are expected by the end of
2022 if current variants and transmission dynamics remain constant, as cases
are estimated to drop by a little over a quarter this year, read a statement by
the WHO regional office for Africa.
=KEY EMERGING HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES
MARTYRS DAY CELEBRATIONS: MARTYRS DAY: MUSEVENI CAUTIONS ON VIOLENCE
President Museveni cautioned Ugandans against
resorting to violence to solve misunderstandings. The President’s message was
delivered by Vice President Jessica Alupo at the Anglican Shrine, and Prime
Minister Robinah Nabbanja at the Catholic Shrine during celebrations to mark
Martyrs’ Day yesterday at Namugongo in Wakiso District.
Mr Museveni said using violence does not provide
solutions, but instead exacerbates problems.The martyrs, 23 from the Anglican
Church and 22 from the Catholic Church, were killed after they refused to
renonce their Christian faith.
President Museveni also stressed the need for the
faithful to follow God’s commandments.
Source:https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/martyrs-day-museveni-cautions-on-violence-3838474
RIGHT
TO APPLY FOR BAIL: COURT SET TO HEAR MP'S SSEGIRINYA, SSEWANYANA BAIL APPEAL
The Court of Appeal set June 24, 2022 to
hear an application filed by Kawempe North MP Muhammad Ssegirinya and Makindye
West MP Allan Sewanyana challenging the decision by the Masaka High Court to
deny them bail in two different occasions.
The group is currently on remand at Luzira
Maximum prison since September 2021, after being charged with murder, attempted
murder, terrorism and abetting terrorism.
The Masaka High Court has on two separate occasions
denied them bail on grounds that they face capital offenses and that they were
likely to interfere with investigations, despite clocking the mandatory six
months on remand without trial.
They were committed by the Masaka Chief Magistrate
Court in March this year for trial, but the state keeps on amending the
charge sheet to include fresh charges.
KARAMOJA CONFLICTS: ARMY DENIES KILLING 400 IN KARAMOJA IN AERIAL BOMBARDMENT
The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) denied
media reports accusing the army of killing over 400 people in Moroto district
during aerial bombings.
Early last week, local media quoted Emmanuel Chero,
chairperson of Karamoja Youth Agenda Vision 2040 alleging that UPDF carried out
aerial bombings in Nakabaat and Lotisan areas which left more than 400 people
dead.
Chero claimed when armed rustlers killed three
geologists and soldiers, the government deployed troops to hunt down the
killers. He, however, said that the soldiers turned their anger against
residents and started dropping bombs on manyattas (community homes), killing
innocent people.
Source:https://observer.ug/news/headlines/73851-army-denies-killing-400-in-karamoja-in-aerial-bombardment
PROMOTING
THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION: UN AGENCIES LAUNCH CAMPAIGN TO INCREASE GIRL ENROLLMENT
IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
United Nations agencies in Uganda launched a new
campaign aimed at increasing the enrollment of girls in secondary schools. The
UN agencies included UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNFPA, UN Women, and UNICEF. The campaign
dubbed, ‘Education Plus Initiative’ aims to accelerate action and investments
to prevent HIV among young women.
According to the organizers of the campaign, if
girls complete secondary school, they would be able to avoid teenage
pregnancies, and also the rate of HIV new infections would drop.
Currently, national data shows that 42 percent of
the 1.4 million people estimated to be living with HIV in the country are aged
between 15-24 years, many of whom are females.
KettyLamaro, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry
of Education said the campaign aims at improving the rate at which girls
complete secondary school.
LOCAL
NGOS ASK GOV’T TO INCREASE FUNDING OF THEIR LOCAL FUNDS
The non-government organizations have called upon
the government to increase funding of their local funds which are 8 percent saying
since the outbreak of COVID-19, accessing international funds is now a
challenge.
Speaking to the media during the launch of the
localization strategy dubbed, ‘education cannot wait’,’ Mr. Henry Muyanja, the
country coordinator for the street child said it’s now the right time to start
intervening with local funds to see that they continue with their support
towards vulnerable Ugandans.
“Through localization, we want the government to
increase funds allocated to local actors through local funders to see that we
close the gap of shrinking international funds,” he said.
He added that to accelerate the localization agenda
in Uganda, it is essential that, going forward, stakeholders collectively
prioritize the inclusion of local and national actors in all aspects.
Source:https://www.kfm.co.ug/news/local-ngos-ask-govt-to-increase-funding-of-their-local-funds.html
REGIONAL
UPDATE
PUTIN,
AFRICAN UNION DISCUSS SANCTIONS, FOOD ACCESS FOR AFRICA
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed
political, trade, and economic cooperation, as well as the impact of Western
sanctions with the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) and Senegalese
President MackySall in the southern Russian city of Sochi on June 3,2022.
Putin and Sall addressed a wide range of cooperation
issues, including the importance of enhancing political dialogue as well as
economic and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and African countries, the
Kremlin said. Putin said that Russia was ready to develop humanitarian ties
with African countries, mentioning Russia’s strong interest in African culture.
Source:https://www.independent.co.ug/putin-au-discuss-sanctions-food-access-for-africa/
CONCLUDING
REMARKS
1. The right to apply for bail is a
constitutional right provided for under Article 23 (6) of the 1995 Uganda Constitution. The right to
apply for bail is derived from the Presumption of Innocence and the Right to Liberty which
is largely part of the rule of law. Therefore, the bail process must uphold
these principles to ensure the enjoyment of fundamental rights like the right
to a fair hearing.
2. The Education
Plus Initiative’ campaign recently launched by the United Nations Agencies in
Uganda is highly welcomed as it will incredibly support and enhance the promotion
of girl child education and the right to education as provided for under
Article 30 of the 1995 Uganda Constitution.
3. As new cases
of COVID-19 continue to be reported in the country, HRDs and the general public
are here by advised to be vigilant and also uplift the observation of the set
safety guidelines that include washing hands, wearing a face mask, and maintain
a safe distance of at least 2metres and also get a booster dose especially
for adults that are above 50 years of age.
We thank you for
reading and wish you a happy new week
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