HRCU WEEKLY UPDATE: ISSUE NO. 30 OF 2023

THE HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE UGANDA (HRCU)

WEEKLY UPDATE ON KEY EMERGING HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES WITHIN THE WORKING ENVIROMENT OF HRDS IN UGANDA

THE WEEK OF 16^TH TO 22^ND OCTOBER 2023

Dear reader,

Welcome to this new week!

In a world of shared human identity, diversity and injustice, there is the need to protect human rights and those who champion them. Human rights defenders in Uganda and across the world work tirelessly and serve as beacons of hope, reminding us of the value of promoting and protecting the dignity, equality and justice for all. It is therefore everyone’s calling to ensure that human rights are promoted and protected at all levels.

Below are some of the highlights of the stories from the past week.

ECONOMIC RIGHTS: KINGFISHER TO RESUME OIL OPERATIONS AS GOVT LIFTS SUSPENSION

The Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) lifted the suspension of works at the Kingfisher Development Area (KFDA) in Kikuube district.

Drilling and other operations at Kingfisher were indefinitely halted about a week ago after a truck belonging to one of the subcontractors at Kingfisher crashed and killed a security guard. The guard was reportedly opening the gate when he got crashed to death. The project is currently in the construction stage and is expected to start commercial production in 2025. 

The Kingfisher project has for long been dogged by a number of safety incidents - with CNOOC particularly - accused of failing to enforce strict safety standards. But now a statement from PAU said it has reviewed and realigned the safety protocols with the operator for overall improvement in the health, safety, and environment (HSE) culture and practices during operations.  

“This step has been taken after a rigorous examination of all standard procedures to ensure that the health and safety requirements are being robustly implemented by all contractors and sub-contractors. The authority has reviewed and realigned the safety protocols with the operator for overall improvement in the HSE culture and practices during operations,” PAU executive director, Ernest Rubondo said.

The oil and gas sector in Uganda is subject to one of the toughest health, safety, and environmental requirements. Operators are required to ensure that oil and gas activities are undertaken in a manner that preserves human health and installations. PAU has a directorate that is mandated to ensure that licensees take the necessary measures to prevent incidents, hazards, and accidents and limit their consequences to human health and the environment.

Licensees are required to take the necessary measures to prevent and reduce the number of accidents among employees that are likely to result in loss of time for work, disability, or fatality to the employees. Drilling of wells has been ongoing since early in January when President Museveni commissioned the exercise.

Source: https://observer.ug/news/headlines/79536-kingfisher-to-resume-oil-operations-as-govt-lifts-suspension

JUSTICE AT LAST: MARIA NAGIRINYA, KITAYIMBWA MURDERERS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON

The key suspect in the murders of Maria Nagirinya and Ronald Kitayimbwa, Compoliyamu Kasolo were sentenced to life in prison.

High Court judge, Isaac Muwata found Kasolo guilty of committing six offenses. Kasolo who opted to defend himself when asked to speak, said that he didn’t agree with the decisions of the court saying that he is to file an appeal. Johnson Lubega another suspect among the five was also sentenced to life imprisonment.

The judge said Lubega directly participated in the kidnap, murder, and robbing of Nagirinya and Kitayimbwa. The other suspect Isaac Ssenabulya pleaded guilty and was sentenced. The judge found the duo guilty of each of the six counts. They are to serve each of the sentences concurrently.

He ruled that Hassan Kisekka, Nasif Kalyango, and Sharif Mpanga only facilitated the commission of the offenses and later took the proceeds for the crimes. He also noted that there is no clear reason explanation for why accused persons committed the alleged offenses except for the motivation to get money. 

Muwata also said that the murder of the victims was gruesome and terrible and that no amount of punishment would compensate for the lives of the deceased persons. He said there is a need to punish such senseless criminals and deter others from committing similar offenses.

According to justice Muwata, Kasolo, and Lubega were not remorseful throughout the trial especially Kasolo who kept disrupting the court proceedings. When reading his judgment, he noted that Hassan Kisekka, Nasif Kalyango Sharif Mpanga, and Sadat Kateregga were remorseful and were first-time offenders and that they were not actively involved in the committing the offenses of kidnap, aggravated robbery, and murder.

The court was filled up by friends and relatives of the victims to the maximum and others were forced to stand outside others inside to observe the proceedings of court. The late Nagirinya was murdered together with his driver, Ronald Kitayimbwa on August 28, 2019, following their kidnap in Lungujja.

Nagirinya was entering her home when she was kidnapped and killed and their bodies were dumped in Mukono along Kayunga road.

Source: https://observer.ug/news/headlines/79523-nagirinya-murders-sentenced-to-life-in-prison

UK WARNS AGAINST TRAVEL TO UGANDA PARK AFTER DEADLY ATTACK

The UK government warned its citizens to avoid traveling to the Queen Elizabeth National Park where two foreign tourists, and their local guide were killed in an attack blamed on Allied Democratic Forces, a notorious militia group.

According to security reports, the trio was targeted on Tuesday last week by gunmen as they were on safari in the park and their vehicle set on fire.

Britain’s Foreign Office has now advised its nationals against all but essential travels to the park.

“If you are able to do so safely, you should consider leaving the area,” the warning read in part.

Queen Elizabeth Park shares a border with DRC and its renowned Virunga National Park, a habitat for rare mountain gorillas, and where armed groups are believed to operate.

In 2019, a US tourist and her safari guide were kidnapped by four gunmen during an evening game drive through the Ugandan park who were later recovered unharmed after a ransom was paid.

Source: https://www.kfm.co.ug/news/uk-warns-against-travel-to-uganda-park-after-deadly-attack.html

REGIONAL NEWS:

77^TH SESSION OF THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLE’S RIGHTS: HISTORIC RESOLUTION PASSED BY NGO FORUM OF AFRICA COMMISSION OF HUMAN AND PEOPLES RIGHTS TO COMBAT DISCRIMINATION BASED ON WORK AND DECENT

In a significant step toward achieving equality and justice, the NGO forum of the Africa Commission of Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) successfully passed a ground-breaking resolution aimed at addressing discrimination based on work and descent in the continent. This resolution marks a significant milestone in the ongoing struggle to protect the rights and dignity of Communities discriminated on work and descent (later referred as CDWD) across Africa. 

The ACHPR, composed of representatives from various African nations, NGOs and other stakeholder groups convened in Arusha, Tanzania from 16^th-18^th of October 2023 to deliberate on this vital issue. After extensive discussions and with a unanimous decision, the NGO forum of the Commission adopted a comprehensive resolution dedicated to combating discrimination against CDWD . 

The NGO forum acknowledged that discrimination based on work and descent is widespread across the African continent, and that multiple, aggravated and intersecting forms of discrimination impact women, children and youth, persons with disabilities and those of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity, which makes them more vulnerable to denial of their human rights on an equal basis with others. 

Source: TRUST AFRICA: https://trustafrica.org/historic-resolution-passed-by-ngo-forum-of-africa-commission-of-human-and-peoples-rights-to-combat-discrimination-based-on-work-and-descent/

INTERNATIONAL UPDATE:

UN CHIEF URGES CEASEFIRE TO END GAZA’S ‘GODAWFUL NIGHTMARE’

UN chief Antonio Guterres pleaded Saturday for a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the war between Israel and Hamas militants that has devastated much of Gaza, demanding “action to end this godawful nightmare”.

Addressing a Cairo summit as the conflict raged into its third week, Guterres said the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people was living through “a humanitarian catastrophe” with thousands dead and more than a million displaced.

“We meet in the heart of a region that is reeling in pain and one step from the precipice,” he told the meeting that included the leaders of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates as well as of Italy and Spain and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

The bloodshed began on October 7 when Hamas militants killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the first day of the raid, and took more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

Israel says around 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the area under attack.

Israel has hit back with a relentless bombing campaign, killing more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, and cut off supplies of water, electricity, fuel and food.

Source: https://www.kfm.co.ug/news/un-chief-urges-ceasefire-to-end-gazas-godawful-nightmare.html

ISRAEL WARNS GAZA AIRSTRIKES WILL INTENSIFY AND HITS WEST BANK AHEAD OF WAR’S ‘NEXT STAGE’

Israel’s military said it would increase its aerial bombardment of Gaza, and carried out a rare airstrike in the occupied West Bank, as it signaled it was readying for a new phase of war against Hamas.

As the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) prepares for a potential ground operation, it has amassed huge numbers of troops outside Gaza and pounded the densely populated enclave with near-constant airstrikes since Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on Israel.

“We will increase our strikes, minimize the risk to our troops in the next stages of the war, and we will intensify the strikes, starting from today,” Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said Saturday, adding that a ground offensive in Gaza would be launched when the conditions were right.

The IDF on Sunday launched an airstrike on the Al-Ansar mosque in the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which it said was being used by militant groups to plan for “an imminent terror attack.” It wound not say whether the strike came from a jet, in what would be the first fighter jet strike in the West Bank in nearly two decades.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, and IDF spokesman, told CNN that the military had intelligence that “suggested there was an imminent attack coming from a joint Hamas and Islamic Jihad squad,” which was making preparations from an underground command center beneath the mosque.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/22/middleeast/israel-gaza-hamas-war-sunday-intl-hnk/index.html

CONCLUDING REMARKS

1.   The right to work in safe conditions is essential for protecting the well-being and rights of workers. It not only benefits individual employees but also contributes to overall societal well-being and economic productivity by reducing workplace accidents and illnesses. Organizations, governments, and individuals must all play a role in upholding and promoting this right.

2.   The right to life is a fundamental and universal human right recognized in various international agreements, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This right emphasizes the intrinsic value of every human life and the obligation of governments and societies to protect and preserve it. Subsequently, preserving the right to life is a core principle of human rights and reflects a commitment to valuing and protecting the sanctity of life. It is a foundational principle that underpins many other human rights and is essential for creating a just and compassionate society.

3.   Human rights defenders play a critical role in relation to local, regional and international discourse. HRDs’ participation at the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights is very crucial and the resolutions passed at the 77^th session shall go a long way in influencing positive trends in the promotion and protection of human rights and the rights of human rights defenders in Africa and beyond.

4.   Terror attacks can have profound and far-reaching effects on human rights. Terrorism typically involves acts of violence or intimidation designed to create fear and disrupt the social order. In the process, it often results in the violation of various fundamental human rights such as the right to life, right to security, right to privacy among others. Therefore, It is important to emphasize that while terrorism is a clear infringement on human rights, the response to terrorism must also be carried out within the boundaries of international human rights law.

5.   Peace and ceasefires represent vital steps toward resolving conflicts and promoting stability, prosperity, and the protection of human rights. They require diplomatic efforts, international cooperation, and a commitment to peaceful conflict resolution to bring about lasting peace and security.

Thank you for reading. Happy new week.