Geneva, Switzerland | THE INDEPENDENT | Rwanda has stated that the situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is a major human rights challenge for the international community. In a statment at the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday, Rwanda insists, the conflict there was however started …
Read More »French court rules in favour of Uganda’s oil industry
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A court in France has dismissed a case brought against TotalEnergies by activists who sought to halt oil and gas development activities in Uganda. The six nongovernmental organizations claimed that the projects being implemented by the energy company in Uganda and Tanzania violated the human rights …
Read More »UN Human Rights Office in Uganda is superfluous: Museveni
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has defended the government’s decision to terminate the operations of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Uganda. He was responding to a query raised by a journalist at a press conference at the Uganda-South Africa investment …
Read More »UN body seeks new global consensus on safeguarding human rights
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | United Nations (UN) human rights chief Volker Turk on Monday deplored the weaponization of human rights in the context of geopolitical shifts. Turk, who took office as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights last October, was speaking at the opening of the 52nd regular session …
Read More »DPP, Justice minister push for enlargement of 48 hour constitutional provision
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is seeking a constitutional amendment that will provide a window for the enlargement of the 48 hour rule under which a suspect is supposed to be produced before court. DPP Jane Frances Abodo says that the …
Read More »Which Ugandans, which humans, whose rights does UHRC serve?
COMMENT | Olivia Nalubwama | The headline that Thursday morning was equivalent to ‘Man Bites Dog.’ Trending across multiple news feeds was the brutal arrest of torture survivors outside the offices of the national human rights institution. On February 9, five members of the Torture Survivors Movement Uganda attempted to deliver …
Read More »Tunisia rejects foreign interference after U.S. voices concern over human rights
Tunis, Tunisia | Xinhua | Tunisian President Kais Saied on Thursday rejected any form of foreign interference in the internal affairs of his country, saying Tunisia is an independent and sovereign state that fully respects the law. “We know very well what we are doing is in full respect of the …
Read More »UHRC awards UGX 67M to victims of security brutality in Acholi
Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) tribunal has awarded Shillings 67 million to seven victims of security brutality in Acholi and Lango sub-regions. The tribunal announced the awards on Monday during a session held at the Commission’s regional offices in Gulu City. The victims suffered …
Read More »Kicking out human rights
Why is Uganda on a slippery slope? COVER STORY | THE INDEPENDENT | On Feb. 08, the government announced it was not renewing the mandate of the UN Office of Human Rights in Kampala. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is mandated to promote and protect the …
Read More »Did we imagine Kakwenza’s mutilated back?
COMMENT | Olivia Nalubwama | It is now a year since a firestorm erupted in the wake of writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija’s torture ordeal in state custody. In December 2021, state agents broke into Kakwenza’s home, abducting him. In early January 2022, court ordered police to release Kakwenza – the police did …
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