Human rights boss woos CSOs to lead fight against rights violations

The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) chairperson, Med Kaggwa has appealed to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to join and lead effort in fighting human rights' violations.

Speaking at the launch of a five-year sh355b programme for civil societies on Wednesday; Kaggwa said the pressure which civil societies put against violation of human rights can have a significant impact.

"Without fear or favour, I want to say that some of the changes happening in government institutions today are a result of the noise which we have been making for years," he said.

Kaggwa also advised the civil societies to work with UHRC in areas of violations of human rights, arguing that he has access to many people and places where people's rights can be violated.

He made the remarks while responding to a discussion by a panel of experts who made presentations on the opportunities and challenges of democratic governance in Uganda.  The launch was organized by the funders, Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) at a function held in Bugolobi, Kamapala.

The experts who included former ethics minister Miria Matembe, human rights lawyer Nicholas Opio, Margret Sekagya and Kabumba Busingye, a law don at Makerere University had argued that it was not easy for civil servants to work with government institutions.

UHRC has in the past made several reports highlighting human rights abuses on suspects in the Police cells and Prison. One of its recent reports implicated the Police in the torture of suspects implicated in the murder of AIGP, Felix Kaweesi who was brutally murdered in March last year. 

According DGF, the second phase of the programme running from 2018 to 2022 is intended to strengthen democratic governance.

Speaking at the function, Henk Jan Bakker, the Netherlands Ambassador to Uganda and the chairperson of the DGF Board encouraged the civil societies to cooperate with the state while executing their roles. He said working with the state will help civil societies to realise their goals.

DGF was founded in 2011 to coordinate donor funds for promoting good governance in Uganda constitutes seven development partners: Austria, Demark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden and the European Unions.