HRCU WEEKLY UPDATE: ISSUE NO. 28 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 1ST TO 7TH
AUGUST, 2022
Dear
reader,
Welcome
to this week!
Please receive and read through the weekly updates regarding
COVID-19 and the key emerging human rights issues within the working
environment of HRDs across Uganda.
COVID-19
UPDATES
GERMAN
GOVT SUPPORTS DEVELOPMENT OF NASAL COVID-19 VACCINE
The German government will fund the development of a
nasal vaccine against COVID-19 similar to flu vaccines already available for
children.
Since the vaccine is directly applied to the nasal
mucosa using a spray, it will “take effect where the virus enters the body,”
Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger told the newspaper
Augsburger Allgemeine on Thursday, August 4, 2022.
The research project by the University Hospital of
Munich is to receive funding of almost 1.7 million euros (1.73 million U.S.
dollars) from the country’s Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF),
according to Stark-Watzinger.
The vaccine is administered without a needle, and is
therefore painless, head of the project Josef Rosenecker explained. It can also
be administered without the need for medical staff. These factors could make it
easier for patients to accept receiving the vaccine, Stark-Watzinger said.
Source: https://www.independent.co.ug/german-govt-supports-development-of-nasal-covid-19-vaccine/
KEY
EMERGING HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES
UGANDA’S
SUSPENSION OF LGBT CHARITY A ‘CLEAR WITCH-HUNT’, SAY CAMPAIGNERS
The Ugandan government suspended the country’s
leading gay rights organisation, accusing it of operating illegally in the East
African nation, in a move campaigners condemned as “a clear witch-hunt”.
The National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGO) – part of the Internal Affairs Ministry – announced on Friday August 5,
2022 that it had suspended Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) for not
registering with the authorities.
“The NGO
bureau has taken the decision to halt the operations of Smug with immediate
effect,” it said in a statement. Uganda has strict Anti-Gay legislation but
there have been no prosecutions for consensual same-sex acts in the country in
recent years.
The executive director of Smug, Frank Mugisha, said
the suspension was “a clear witch-hunt
rooted in systematic homophobia that is fuelled by anti-gay and anti-gender
movements”.
A 2012 attempt to register SMUG with the authorities
was rejected because the organization’s name was deemed “undesirable”, the NGO
bureau and the non-profit said.
PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS: GOVT’S 7-POINT PLAN TO END RIGHTS ABUSES
The new Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister,
Mr Norbert Mao, outlined a seven-point blueprint to tackle allegations of
rights abuses by mainly security forces and other State actors.
In a submission to Parliament’s Committee on Human
Rights chaired by Mr Fox Odoi, the minister endorsed a raft of proposals by
lawmakers invested in ending impunity and rights violations. Mr Mao
specifically committed to “encourage” President Museveni, his appointing
authority, on issues of human rights.
The minister, who simultaneously serves as the
president general of the Democratic Party (DP), promised to engage all
government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to protect the rights of
citizens and comply with court decisions.
Yesterday’s discussions came in the wake of findings
by the New York-based Human Rights Watch incriminating state security agencies
in the illegal arrest, detention and in some cases enforced disappearance of
citizens, mainly government critics.
The rights defenders called for the closure of
illegal detention centres, whose existence the government denies.
Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/govt-s-7-point-plan-to-end-rights-abuses-3902452
PRISON AUTHORITIES
FAIL TO PRODUCE SSEGIRINYA IN COURT
The
hearing of a case in which Kawempe North Member of Parliament Muhammad
Ssegirinya is accused of inciting violence failed to kick off after the prison
authorities failed to produce him before the magistrate’s court as planned.
Ssegirinya
was expected before Grade One Magistrate Siena Owomugisha at Buganda Road Court
on the morning of Wednesday August 03, 2022 to allow the prosecution present
witnesses in the case against him. The charges stem from a statement that
Ssegirinya posted on his Facebook page allegedly cautioning security forces
against trying to assassinate the leader of the National Unity Platform Robert
Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.
He
was expected to return to court on Wednesday, August 03, 2022. However, the
prosecution led by Ivan Kyazze said that they were told that the prison bus
had mechanical issues and asked the court for another hearing date when they
will present a second witness, a cybercrimes expert who couldn’t be allowed to
testify in the absence of an accused person.
Source:https://www.independent.co.ug/prison-authorities-fail-to-produce-ssegirinya-in-court/
NATURAL
DISASTERS Vs RIGHT TO LIFE: MBALE FLOODING DEATH TOLL INCREASES TO 29
The death toll resulting from the flooding in the Elgon sub-region increased to 29, the ministry of Relief, Disaster, and Preparedness, and Refugees revealed.
The disaster followed heavy rains that pounded Bugisu and Sebei regions on July 30, 2022, forcing several rivers to burst their banks leading to flooding and landslides in Mbale, Manafwa, Bulambuli, and Kapchorwa districts.Ministry
Hillary Onek, the
Disaster Preparedness minister, said that the number of fatalities has risen to
29 from the 23 that were previously recorded in Mbale. He says 3 new cases were
from Kapchorwa and Sironko districts respectively.
According to the
minister, up to 800 households are affected by this calamity including an
industrial park, 3 health center IIIs, 14 bridges, 7 educational institutions,
several hotels, and recreational facilities as well as agricultural
installations.
Source: https://observer.ug/news/headlines/74603-mbale-flooding-death-toll-increases-to-29
KENYA 2022 GENERAL ELECTIONS: POLLS SHOW RAILA SLIGHTLY LEADING IN KENYA PRESIDENTIAL RACE
One week before
voting, an opinion poll on Kenya’s presidential election shows former Prime Minister
Raila Odinga in front by six percentage points over Deputy President William
Ruto.
In the survey released Tuesday, August 2, 2022 by the Ipsos group, 47% of respondents said they would vote for Odinga in next week’s presidential election. Kenya's deputy president, William Ruto, was second at 41%, with George Wajackoya and David Mwaure a distant third and fourth respectively.
Nine per cent of voters were undecided. Under Kenya’s election system, a candidate needs to win 50% of the vote plus one to be declared the winner and avoid a runoff. At least 85% of more than 6,000 people sampled nationally said they were likely to vote in the August 9 election. Fifteen percent of voters said they are likely to stay away.
CONCLUDING
REMARKS
1. 1. The suspension of SMUG by the NGO Bureau brings to light the need for strict compliance in the work of NGOs in Uganda. This is in regard to the statement of NGO Bureau https://ngobureau.go.ug/en/news-and-notices/statement-on-halting-the-operations-of-sexual-minorities-uganda claiming that SMUG was not legally established.
Over the years, SMUG has been at the
forefront of amplifying and advocating for the rights of LBGTI persons in
Uganda who reportedly encounter homophobic and transphobic attitudes. It is
therefore against this background that we hope the government through the NGO
Bureau meets with SMUG and hold mutual engagements to this effect.
In the protection and promotion of
fundamental rights and freedoms, human rights organizations such as Sexual
Minorities Uganda (SMUG) are very fundamental in protecting and advocating for
rights especially the right to freedom from discrimination as provided for
under Article 2 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article
21 of the 1995 Uganda Constitution; this right requires that everyone
freely enjoys their rights regardless of sex, race, language, religion, social
standing
2. Article 4 Convention on the Rights
of the Child (CRC) mandates member States to make sure that every child fully
enjoys all their rights. Therefore announcements of the 7- point plan by
Uganda’s new Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minster Hon. Nobert Mao are
very welcome since they envision the protection and promotion of the rights of
children and further protecting them from child abuse.
3. As the citizens of Kenya head to the polls this week https://www.ifes.org/faqs/elections-kenya-2022-general-elections, HRCU hopes that peace and security shall prevail across Kenya and East Africa in general. Human rights defenders, observers and monitors are urged to continue doing their work including keeping citizens informed about the outcomes of the elections.
Together, we advocate
for a conducive working environment
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