UHRC will soon have new commissioners
Apr 06, 2009
EDITOR—Our attention has been drawn to a letter entitled, “Has UHRC closed shop?†published on April 2. This follows an earlier one entitled, “Has UHRC wound up?†published on January 20 by the same writer.
EDITOR—Our attention has been drawn to a letter entitled, “Has UHRC closed shop?†published on April 2. This follows an earlier one entitled, “Has UHRC wound up?†published on January 20 by the same writer.
We wish to clarify as follows:
- The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) reiterates its earlier position that whereas the term of office of the chairperson and the six commissioners who form the policy body of UHRC expired in November 2008, the Commission has continued to carry out its numerous functions as stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995).
Activities of the Commission that have continued to be performed to date include receiving and investigating reports of human rights violations, inspecting places of detention to assess the condition of inmates; educating and sensitising the public through workshops and radio programmes and monitoring Government compliance with international instruments on human rights, among others.
The Commission therefore wishes to allay the fears of the public that staff at the UHRC are carrying out their duties normally as required and earning what they duly deserve for their efforts as per their employment terms.
Although the Commission is not currently in position to hold tribunal hearings which can only be conducted and presided over by commissioners, the staff of the Commission continue to carry out their duties to fulfil the other mandates of the Commission.
Tribunal hearings will resume as soon as new commissioners are appointed. We also wish to assure the public that the process of appointing new commissioners is in advanced stages and we expect to have new members in place soon.
Margaret Ejang
For Secretary to the Commission /Uganda Human Rights Commission
We wish to clarify as follows:
- The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) reiterates its earlier position that whereas the term of office of the chairperson and the six commissioners who form the policy body of UHRC expired in November 2008, the Commission has continued to carry out its numerous functions as stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995).
Activities of the Commission that have continued to be performed to date include receiving and investigating reports of human rights violations, inspecting places of detention to assess the condition of inmates; educating and sensitising the public through workshops and radio programmes and monitoring Government compliance with international instruments on human rights, among others.
The Commission therefore wishes to allay the fears of the public that staff at the UHRC are carrying out their duties normally as required and earning what they duly deserve for their efforts as per their employment terms.
Although the Commission is not currently in position to hold tribunal hearings which can only be conducted and presided over by commissioners, the staff of the Commission continue to carry out their duties to fulfil the other mandates of the Commission.
Tribunal hearings will resume as soon as new commissioners are appointed. We also wish to assure the public that the process of appointing new commissioners is in advanced stages and we expect to have new members in place soon.
Margaret Ejang
For Secretary to the Commission /Uganda Human Rights Commission