Ugandan lawyer scoops global human rights award

By Gloria Nakajubi

NICHOLAS' clear-eyed commitment to justice and non-discrimination, his passion and positivity, are infectious. 

Those who work with him and benefit from his knowledge and dedication are better off for having listened to him.

That was the description used by the Senior Researcher at the Human Rights Watch Africa Division, Maria Burnet in reference to Ugandan lawyer and human rights activist, Nicholas Opiyo after he was announced as one of the awardees for this year’s Human Rights Watch (HRW) award.

According to a statement released by Human Rights Watch, the Alison Des Forges award is celebrates individuals who put their lives on the line to protect the dignity and rights of others and this year, awardees are from Uganda, Syria, Malaysia and Azerbaijan.

“The Alison Des Forges Award honors people who work courageously and selflessly to defend human rights, often in dangerous situations and at great personal sacrifice,” said Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch.

Who is Opiyo

Opiyo grew up in Gulu, Northern Uganda, at the height of the deadly Lord’s Resistance Army conflict, trekking long distances to avoid abduction by the LRA. 

The conflict is known for extreme brutality meted by both government and rebel forces, which have abducted thousands of civilians including Opiyo’s sister, who spent several years with the LRA before escaping to serve as soldiers, laborers, or sex slaves. 

After attending law school in Uganda, Opiyo channeled his childhood experience into a passion for defending human rights for all. 

Opiyo has worked on a broad range of critical human rights issues in Uganda, and was a key leader in drafting and advocating for Uganda’s law criminalizing torture. 

In his practice, he has a diverse clientele, including anti-corruption and pro-democracy activists, the former LRA Commander Thomas Kwoyelo, and social media activists. 

He created Chapter Four Uganda in 2013 to sustain and allow him to take on high-profile litigation challenging new laws that restrict freedom of assembly and expression, among other rights issues. 

He is currently involved in challenging the Public Order Management Act and Anti-Pornography Act, which restrict people’s basic rights, and is defending several human rights activists facing criminal charges in Uganda. 

The award is named after Dr. Alison Des Forges who was a senior adviser at Human Rights Watch for almost two decades and died in a plane crash in New York State on February 12, 2009. Des Forges was the world’s leading expert on Rwanda, the 1994 genocide, and its aftermath. 

The Human Rights Watch annual award honors her outstanding commitment to, and defense of, human rights.

The four 2015 awardees  and two from the previous year will be honored at the Voices for Justice Human Rights Watch annual dinners held in more than 20 cities worldwide in November 2015 and March-April 2016. 

 Opiyo will be honoured in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.

Additional reporting by HRW