SOME OF THE RIGHTS WHICH THE NRM GOVERNMENT TENDS TO ABUSE:

Protection of freedom of co-science, expression, movement, religion, assembly and association 29. (1) Every person shall have the right to- (a) Freedom of speech and expression, which shall include freedom of the press and other media: (b) Freedom of thought, conscience and belief which shall include academic freedom in institutions of learning; (c) freedom to practice any religion and manifest such practice which shall include the right to belong to and participate in the practices of any religious body or organisation in a manner consistent with this Constitution; (d) freedom to assemble and to demonstrate together with others peacefully and unarmed and to petition; and (e) freedom of association which shall include the freedom to form and join associations or unions, including trade unions and political and other civic organizations. (2) Every Ugandan shall have the right- (a) to move freely throughout Uganda and to reside and settle in any part of Uganda; (b) to enter, leave and return to, Uganda; and (c) to a passport or other travel document. Right to culture and similar rights 37. Every person has a right as applicable, to belong to, enjoy, practice, profess, maintain and promote any culture, cultural institution, language, tradition, creed or religion in community with others. Right to a clean and healthy environment 39. Every Ugandan has a right to a clean and healthy environment. Economic rights 40. (1) Parliament shall enact laws- (a) to provide for the right of persons to work under satisfactory safe and healthy conditions; (b) to ensure equal payment for equal work without discrimination: and (c) to ensure that every worker is accorded rest and reasonable working hours and periods of holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays. Right of access to information 41. (1) Every citizen has a right of access to information in the possession of the State or any other organ or agency of the State except where the release of the information is likely to prejudice the security or sovereignty of the State or interfere with the right to the privacy of any other person. (2) Parliament shall make laws prescribing the classes of information referred to in clause (1) of this article and the procedure for obtaining access to that information. Right to just and fair treatment in administrative decisions 42. Any person appearing before any administrative official or body has a right to be treated justly and fairly and shall have a right to apply to a court of law in respect of any administrative decision taken against him or her. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- US REPORT STINGS UGANDA ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES The Uganda Police, UPDF and other security forces are guilty of massive human rights violations, a new human rights report for 2011 released by the US State Department says. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, commonly known as Human Rights Reports, covers the status of human rights in countries around the world by aligning them with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The report, released last Thursday, explicitly expresses the US’ concern about increasing cases of human rights violations and limited freedoms in Uganda. It particularly faults security organs for using excessive force and live ammunition in dispersing anti-government demonstrations that rocked the country in 2011. This, the report notes, resulted in at least 10 deaths between April and May 2011. Although authorities arrested reserve police officer, Paul Mugenyi, for the April 20 killing of a two-year-old girl in Masaka, the report notes that no-one was held accountable for the other nine deaths. Previously, international rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International accused security forces of being high-handed. But the police force has often argued that it applies proportionate force. The report nevertheless revisits many flash points that give the police a bad countenance, including a 16-year-old girl in Kabale district who tragically lost her life on April 11, 2011 after police used live ammunition to disperse a strike at a secondary school. Police later arrested two of their own officers, Aggrey Arinaitwe and James Babaranda, for the student’s death. Arinaitwe was, however, released for lack of evidence, while charges against Babaranda and Mugenyi, in the Masaka incident, also seem to be hanging by a thread. ssekika@observer.ug