The United States and European embassies in Kampala have been urged to engage the government of Uganda so that it can renew the mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the country.
The urge is contained in a press release issued jointly by the Youth for Green Communities (YGC) and the Community Transformation Foundation Network (COTFONE) both operating in Uganda on behalf of 47 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) based in Africa, Europe, the US and Asia.
The petition emanates from the February 2023 announcement in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified the OHCHR that its mandate in the country would not be renewed.
This non-renewal has now raised the eyebrows of the organisations saying the OHCHR had made a milestone in promoting and protecting Ugandans against human rights violations.
“While the Government of Uganda justifies its decision on the basis of the country’s own sufficient capacity to monitor rights compliance, the [CSOs] signatories are concerned that the closure of the UN Office will worsen human rights violations in the country. Embassies must react to the planned closure of the Office of the United Nations observers for Human Rights in Uganda,” the organisations write in the petition to the embassies.
The Coordinator of the COTFONE, Yisito Kayinga Muddu, claims that since the closure of the OHCHR, threats against human rights defenders have allegedly increased.
He says the situation especially of human rights defenders working on the negative impacts of oil extraction projects in Uganda has been repeatedly denounced by the OHCHR itself and the United Nations Special Procedures.
“The shutdown of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Uganda has hindered the efforts to enhance coordination mechanisms for grassroots environmental and human rights organisations and defenders. The threats against human rights defenders have grown but despite these concerns, there has been a limited response to the issues at hand,” Muddu said.
Brighton Aryampa, the Chief Executive Officer YGC, fears that if the government of Uganda does not renew the mandate of the OHCHR, the country will slip to human rights violations especially against oil host communities.
“The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Uganda has since its creation laid down baby steps for the respect of human rights in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life. Unless the mandate [of OHCHR] is renewed and extended, it will be a setback in ensuring all Ugandans, especially those in oil and other local communities, enjoy equal protection of the law,” he says.
In a press release by YGC Communication Officer, Ms Norah Luyiga, the organisations request the embassies to engage the Ugandan government so that it halts the planned closure of the OHCHR adding that international reactions could also assist resists any attempt to dilute the State obligations or the OHCHR mandate during the negotiations on its renewal.
The signatory organisations include those from Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, Eswatini, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Gambia and Sierra Leone in Africa.
Those in Europe are in countries like Switzerland, France, Netherlands and Albania; Guatemala in North America and India in Asia.
