United Nations
Development Programme

Plot 24 Prince Charles Drive, Kololo

P.O Box 7184

Kampala, Uganda

Tel: (256) 414-233440/1/2/5

Fax: (256) 414-344801

Email: registry.ug@undp.org

Background

The respect for and the protection and promotion of human rights and equity is a core area necessary for the consolidation of good governance in Uganda.

When President Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Army/Movement took the reins of power in Uganda in 1986, the country had undergone a period of widespread human rights abuses and massive loss of civilian life.

Many civilians (estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands) lost their lives during the military dictatorship of Idi Amin (1971-79) and the in the second administration of Milton Obote (1980-85), commonly known as the Obote II regime. Many more had been subjected to arbitrary arrests, beatings, torture, and other forms of human rights abuses.

The Uganda Human Rights Commission was established in 1997 as an independent body under the provisions of Article 51 of the 1995 Constitution. Its mandate as stipulated in article 52 includes the investigation of human rights violations, visits to prisons, research and human rights education, among others.

UNDP has been involved with the Commission since May 1999 when the two-year Capacity Development Project (CDP) (UNGA/97/021) was implemented. UNDP recognized, in its second Country Cooperation Assessment Framework, that the Commission had made great strides but nevertheless required a great deal of support and further strengthening. The Commission needed increased capacity to perform its core functions of monitoring and handling complaints and investigations, at the same time that it was providing strategic leadership in key areas of strengthened human rights in the country (such as human rights education and the mainstreaming of a rights based approach in development work).

Development objectives

• Government protects and promotes human rights effectively in accordance with national, regional and international laws and treaties
• promote a rights based approach to development in the health sector focusing on neglected diseases in selected districts with the most vulnerable populations
• strengthen the capacity of the Commission to handle and resolve complaints related to the right to health with specific emphasis on neglected diseases

Key activities & expected results

• launch the report on the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) compliance with the rights based approach (RBA)
• launch the RBA guidelines
• operationalise the Right to Health Unit in the Commission as a monitoring mechanism for realisation of the right to health in Uganda with specific emphasis on the neglected diseases
• Government protects and promotes human rights effectively in accordance with national, regional, and international law (and treaties)
• rights based approach is introduced and rolled out to selected central and local government institutions including human rights desks at the districts
• capacity of UHRC staff strengthened in the handling and resolving of complaints related to the right to health with specific emphasis on neglected diseases
• popular versions of the UHRC Annual report printed and disseminated to the general population
• UHRC comments and proposals on bills before Parliament developed, circulated and discussed with the legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee
• Right to Health Unit streamlined into the UHRC structure

Implementation phase

The project is in implementation phase. Consultations with different Government and relevant institutions on the implementation of the Rights Based Approach have been carried out. Interviews to fill the post of Health Officer have been carried out and the post is soon to be filled.

UNDP trac resources: USD 150,000

Uganda Human Rights Commission