Lawyers root for UHRC
Oct 17, 2003
THE Uganda Law Society has opposed the Cabinet proposal to scrap the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) and merge it with the office of the Inspector General of Government (IGG).
By Henry Mukasa
THE Uganda Law Society has opposed the Cabinet proposal to scrap the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) and merge it with the office of the Inspector General of Government (IGG).
The society, through its human rights committee, said the Commission is the only tool through which the Government, its institutions and citizens observe human rights.
They said the importance of the Commission outweighs the benefits of scrapping it ‘to save costs’ as advanced by the Government.
“If the rationale is to save costs, we consider that human rights cannot be purchased at any cost,†the lawyers said in a statement signed by Deo Rubumba.
The lawyers said it was wrong for the Government to equate the UHRC to other Government commissions.
They stated that through its investigations and complaint process, educational and training initiatives, the UHRC ensures the protection of rights and freedoms of citizens especially the vulnerable, tortured and illegally detained.
They argued that such roles cannot be executed by the IGG whose office already has a load which ‘is more than the IGG can handle.’
“The declaration of wealth alone by leaders is still much a challenge to the IGG’s office and we are yet to see its success,†Rubumba said.
“The proposal will in fact stifle the operations of the IGG and kill human rights issues,†he added.
Rubumba said the situation will be worsened by Cabinet’s similar proposal to the Constitutional Review Commission to take away the IGG’s power to prosecute suspects.â€
The Cabinet presented the proposals last month.
THE Uganda Law Society has opposed the Cabinet proposal to scrap the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) and merge it with the office of the Inspector General of Government (IGG).
The society, through its human rights committee, said the Commission is the only tool through which the Government, its institutions and citizens observe human rights.
They said the importance of the Commission outweighs the benefits of scrapping it ‘to save costs’ as advanced by the Government.
“If the rationale is to save costs, we consider that human rights cannot be purchased at any cost,†the lawyers said in a statement signed by Deo Rubumba.
The lawyers said it was wrong for the Government to equate the UHRC to other Government commissions.
They stated that through its investigations and complaint process, educational and training initiatives, the UHRC ensures the protection of rights and freedoms of citizens especially the vulnerable, tortured and illegally detained.
They argued that such roles cannot be executed by the IGG whose office already has a load which ‘is more than the IGG can handle.’
“The declaration of wealth alone by leaders is still much a challenge to the IGG’s office and we are yet to see its success,†Rubumba said.
“The proposal will in fact stifle the operations of the IGG and kill human rights issues,†he added.
Rubumba said the situation will be worsened by Cabinet’s similar proposal to the Constitutional Review Commission to take away the IGG’s power to prosecute suspects.â€
The Cabinet presented the proposals last month.