'Govt committed to protection, promotion of human rights'
Dec 12, 2023
The founders of NRM/NRA went to the bush mainly to address abuses of human rights of the regimes.
Minister of State for Agriculture Fred Bwino Kyakulaga (3rd right) flagging off a wallk conducted by Human Rights Defenders. (Photos by Donald Kiirya)
Donald Kiirya
Journalist @New Vision
_____________________________ The chairperson National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders-Uganda Robert Kirenga (2nd right) joined by other Human Rights defenders in a march arround Jinja City as they were commemorating the International Human Rights Defenders Day The Principal Environment Officer of Jinja City Ernest Nabihamba (left) greeting the Minister of State for Agriculture Fred Bwino Kyakulaga (2nd left) as they were going to flag off a wallk that was conducted by Human Rights Defenders during celebrations of the International Human Rights Defenders Day at Busoga Square in Jinja. Looking on is NCHRD-U chairperson Robert Kirenga (right) and Jinja district RDC Richard Gulume (2nd right).
Agriculture state minister Fred Bwino Kyakulaga has echoed the Government's commitment to the protection and promotion of the human rights of Ugandans.
Kyakulaga, who represented Third Deputy Prime Minister Rukia Nakadama during the commemoration of the International Human Rights Defenders Day at Busoga Square in Jinja city on Saturday, told Human Rights Defenders at an event that the central government remains committed to fulfilling its human rights obligations following Uganda’s Constitution.
“The founders of NRM/NRA went to the bush mainly to address abuses of human rights of the regimes, then, and if you remember, as soon as the NRA/NRM assumed power, it constituted a commission of inquiry into matters of human rights from that period and backward,” he said.
“Out of that effort, our Human Rights Commission was born and it deals with human rights complaints in the Country,” Kyakulaga said.
He said human rights defenders are entrenched in the 1995 Constitution, which means that state and non-state actors should work hand in hand in protecting and promoting human rights in the Country.
Robert Kirenga, the executive director of the National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders Uganda (NCHRD-U), revealed that human rights defenders are still chasing the Human Rights Defenders Bill with the help of Kumi Municipality Member of Parliament Silas Aogon whom they expect to re-table it in Parliament.
Kirenga said according to the Uganda Human Rights Commission report, statistics show that the Police are the top violators of human rights in the country despite the Human Rights Policy being in place.
Margaret Akullo Elem, a board member of NCHRD-U who represented NCHRD-U board chairperson Margaret Ssekagya, said they planted a variety of tree species at Busoga Square in Jinja and they will monitor their growth.
Part of other activities done during the day includes blood donation, HIV/AIDS testing and counseling plus screening for breast and cervical cancer.
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