HRCU WEEKLY UPDATE: ISSUE NO. 40 OF 2022
THE HUMAN RIGHTS
CENTRE UGANDA (HRCU)
WEEKLY UPDATE ON KEY
EMERGING HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES WITHIN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT OF HRDS IN UGANDA
THE WEEK OF 31ST
OCTOBER TO 6TH NOVEMBER 2022
Dear
reader,
Welcome
to this new week.
Please receive and read through this week’s updates
containing some of the key issues that emerged last week, beginning with a look
at the Ebola disease.
HEALTH WATCH
EBOLA: PRIVATE HEALTHCARE CLINICS
CAN SET UP ISOLATION CENTRES
Private
hospitals and clinics in Kampala have been urged to set up isolation units as
the Ebola outbreak first announced in September, continues to ravage Uganda.
Cumulative cases have now risen to 129 and by Monday, 2183 contacts of
these cases were being followed up by the Ministry of Health.
Grace
Kiwanuka, the Executive Director of Uganda Healthcare Federation says chances are
highest that some of the contacts who test positive will initially seek care
from private facilities since this outbreak is happening just at the same time
when the country is experiencing a surge in malaria cases.
Source: https://www.independent.co.ug/ebola-private-healthcare-clinics-can-set-up-isolation-centres/
MUSEVENI: THERE WILL
BE NO EBOLA LOCKDOWN
President
Yoweri Museveni on Friday last week ruled out an Ebola lockdown, urging the
public to concentrate on work.
“People
should go ahead and concentrate on their work without worry,” Museveni said in
a tweet.
The
president, however, said the public should be more vigilant and observe the
standard operating procedures put in place to control the Ebola spread. Some
health experts were calling for a lockdown of the Ugandan capital of Kampala to
contain the spread of the disease.
The World Health Organization called
for international support for Uganda to contain the spread of Ebola.
Figures from Uganda’s Ministry of Health
show that as of Oct. 26, the country has registered 115 confirmed cases and 32
deaths since the outbreak was announced on Sept. 20. The figures also show that
2,168 people are listed for follow-up because they are contacts to confirmed
Ebola cases.
Source: https://www.independent.co.ug/museveni-rules-out-ebola-lockdown/
ROAD ACCIDENTS AND THE
RIGHT TO LIFE: 257 PEOPLE DIED IN ROAD ACCIDENTS IN OCTOBER, 2022.
A
total of 257 people died in road accidents which occurred in the last month of
October 2022 while 975 survived the accidents with injuries.
The
latest traffic police report shows that a
total of 1378 road crashes were registered last month across the country.
Out
of these, 227 accidents were fatal, 705 accidents were serious while 446
accidents were minor. 1232 people were involved in the accidents
that occurred between 1st October and 29th of the same month.
Faridah
Nampiima the traffic police spokesperson attributed accidents to over speeding,
reckless driving and flouting of traffic rules by motorists.
Nampiima
revealed that these road carnages involved motorcycles, public service vehicles
and trucks.
In
addition, 33086 drivers were arrested for violating traffic and road safety
rules and were issued with EPS fines during the operations.
She
cautioned drivers to always be mindful whenever they are on the road, adding
that now that the festive season is drawing closer, accidents are expected to
increase.
Source:https://capitalradio.co.ug/news/2022-11-01-257-people-died-in-road-accidents-in-october/
ADDRESSING
HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES: CABINET SETS UP COMMITTEE TO FIGHT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE
Government
has established a nine-member sub-committee to address human rights abuse.
The
decision was reached during the October 31 cabinet meeting chaired by President
Museveni.
The Minister for
Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mr Norbert Mao, who will chair the
subcommittee, said it would: “…provide an institutional framework at a
strategic level to spearhead a coordinated and holistic approach to human
rights.”
Mr Mao will be deputised by Internal Affairs minister Kahinda Otafiire. Other members are the Attorney General, Secretary General of NRM, ministers of Defence, ICT, Gender, Labour and Social Development, Security, among others.
Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the Minister of Information and National Guidance, said the subcommittee would strengthen monitoring and reporting issues on human rights.
The committee comes
in the wake of numerous reports of human rights abuses, where state apparatus,
especially security agencies have been implicated.
The Opposition has
repeatedly accused the State of illegal and arbitrary arrests, torture and
enforced disappearances.
THE
RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: POLL OBSERVERS WARN GOVT ON COMPUTER MISUSE LAW
Election observers have warned the Government of
Uganda against using the computer misuse law to restrict the freedom of
expression of citizens on social media and other online platforms. This was
during the launch of the report titled ‘State of Civic Space in Uganda 2022’ in
Kampala by Alliance for Finance Monitoring (ACFIM).
The Executive Director of ACFIM, Mr Henry Muguzi,
said government should exhibit a degree of tolerance to dissenting voices that
have found refuge on online spaces.
“The computer
misuse law is the recent spanner in the works of shrinking of all available
spaces for citizens to engage with people in power,” he said. Mr Muguzi
added that as election observers, they think the law was enacted to intimidate
free speech, which they say is not good for democracy.
The Computer Misuse Act, which was assented to last
month by President Museveni, introduces punitive measures against Internet
users who send malicious and unsolicited information as well as share that
about children without the consent of their parents or guardians. Section 23(A)
of the law creates the offence of hate speech, which includes the writing,
sending or sharing of any information through a computer, which is likely to
ridicule, degrade or demean another person, group of persons, tribe, ethnicity,
religion, or gender. If convicted, one faces seven years imprisonment or a fine
of Shs10m
A
CALL FOR THE PROMOTION OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION: MUSEVENI URGES FEMALE JUDGES
TO SUPPORT UNIVERSAL EDUCATION
President Yoweri Museveni has asked female judges to
support free universal education so as to keep girls in school.
Museveni made the remarks while addressing the 17th
International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ)- Africa Region Conference at
the Commonwealth Resort Hotel, Munyonyo.
The three-day conference drew female judges and
magistrates from 13 countries including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana,
Nigeria, Zambia, Ethiopia, and South Africa among others.
In his speech, Museveni urged the women's movement
under the judiciary to support efforts by the Uganda government to provide free
universal education, saying that this is one of the ways to keep girls in
school and consolidate gains made in uplifting women in Africa.
“We are
struggling to change society and we are passing through two ways. One way is
universal education for everybody to go to school. This one is not well
understood by the advocates…you people who advocate for women's rights, you
don’t support me. I am always fighting alone,” Museveni said.
The International Association of Women Judges is a
worldwide association that was formed in 1991 as a forum through, which women
judges from all over the world can convene, share experiences and seek
solutions that collectively influence global and domestic jurisprudence.
Source: https://observer.ug/news/headlines/75708-museveni-urges-female-judges-to-support-universal-education
CONCLUDING
REMARKS
1.
The establishment of a Standing Committee on Human
Rights by the Cabinet is a great move that will further support the work of HRDs in protecting and promoting fundamental rights and freedoms. HRDs are also
encouraged to closely work with this committee in order to advance its main
objective.
2.
Remarks by President Museveni urging female judges
to support universal education during the addressing the 17th
International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) - Africa Region Conference at
the Commonwealth Resort Hotel, Munyonyo, are highly welcomed and commendable.
Female judges who at most are referred to as Women Human Rights Defenders, play
a vital role in advancing human rights including the right to education.
We thank you for reading. Happy new
week
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