GENEVA, Switzerland – The UN mentioned Friday that its rights workplace in Uganda would shut this weekend after the federal government refused to resume an settlement that has allowed it to function there for almost twenty years.
The United Nations rights workplace in Kampala will formally shut on Saturday after the Ugandan authorities determined to not renew the Host Country Agreement, in accordance with a UN assertion.
Sub-offices in Gulu and Moroto have already closed in latest weeks, it added.
“I regret that our office in Uganda had to close after 18 years, during which we were able to work closely with civil society, people from various walks of life in Uganda, as well as engaging with State institutions for the promotion and protection of the human rights of all Ugandans,” UN rights chief Volker Turk mentioned within the assertion.
He identified that for the reason that workplace was first established in 2005, it has engaged on a spread of rights points, together with on serving to deliver Uganda’s home laws into compliance with worldwide human rights legal guidelines and requirements.
‘Serious challenges’
“Much progress has been made in the country over the years, but serious human rights challenges remain in the path to full enjoyment of human rights for all,” he mentioned.
Turk expressed specific concern concerning the rights scenario forward of Uganda’s 2026 elections, in mild of the “increasingly hostile environment in which human rights defenders, civil society actors and journalists are operating”.
He criticized the erosion of free expression, pointing to dozens of NGOs arbitrarily suspended two years in the past, in addition to an amended legislation on Computer Misuse.
The UN rights chief additionally slammed the latest passage of a “deeply discriminatory and harmful anti-homosexuality law, that is already having a negative impact on Ugandans”.
As the UN rights workplace prepares to tug out, he mentioned it was important that the federal government be certain that the nationwide human rights physique can perform successfully and independently.
“The Uganda Human Rights Commission, our long-standing partner in the protection and promotion of human rights in the country, is chronically under-funded and under-staffed, and reports of political interference in its mandate undermine its legitimacy, independence and impartiality,” Turk warned.
‘Dangerous precedent’
He urged the federal government to supply the fee with the human, technical and monetary sources it wants.
“On our part, the UN Human Rights Office remains committed to working on human rights in Uganda, in line with my global mandate,” Turk mentioned.
The Ugandan authorities didn’t instantly react.
Opposition chief Bobi Wine in the meantime mentioned the transfer confirmed Uganda’s veteran President Yoweri Museveni “does not want to be held accountable for his actions by anybody”.
“With such an office closed, Ugandans are left at the mercy of a ruthless dictator,” Wine, whose actual title is Robert Kyagulanyi, informed AFP.
Adrian Jjuuko, govt director of the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, informed AFP that the closure “is not good for Uganda”.
It “sets a dangerous precedent and the government should not have acted this way,” he added. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
