Paris-Geneva-Kampala,
September 25, 2017 - As Parliament of
Uganda discusses the constitutional amendment to lift presidential age limit,
the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT), FHRI
and Chapter Four Uganda call upon authorities to refrain from further hindering
the right to freedom of speech, association and peaceful assembly.
On September 20, 2017, police raided
the premises of ActionAid Uganda (AAU) and Great Lakes Institute for Strategic
Studies (GLISS) in Kampala as well as the house of GLISS Executive Director,
Mr. Godbar Tumushabe. ActionAid
Uganda works to foster human rights and fight poverty in the country. GLISS is
an independent policy think tank actively involved in regional public policy
and human rights issues in the Great Lakes sub-region.
Search warrants included allegations
of “illicit transfer of funds for funding unlawful activities”. ActionAid
Uganda premises have since been sealed off and several documents, electronic
equipment and bank related documents were seized from both organisations.
Searches were carried out overnight until the next day at both organisations and
were supposed to resume at ActionAid Uganda premises on September 25, 2017 at
10:00 am.
Our organisations believe that the
raid of the two NGOs merely aim at sanctioning their human rights activities. Moreover,
both organisations have been critical of the constitutional amendment to lift
presidential age limit to allow President Yoweri Museveni, 73, to run for
another term in 2021.
“Ugandan
authorities are using preventive arrests and detention to stifle critical
voices and intimidate human rights defenders. Authorities must put
an end to any form of harassment, including at the judicial level, against
civil society organisations and ensure that they are able to carry out their
human rights activities without fear of retaliation”, said our organisations.
The
Observatory, FHRI and Chapter Four Uganda urge Ugandan authorities to uphold their
international obligations and ensure full respect for freedoms of expression, association
and peaceful assembly.
Context:
Several demonstrations planned in
Kampala on September 21, 2017, as the motion was supposed to be discussed in
Parliament, were contained by police forces who arrested several protesters. On
that day, 28 youths were arrested at Makerere University and later detained in
Wandegeya and Central police stations. 27 of them were released on bond the
next day. One of them remained in detention at Central police station until
September 25, 2017, on allegations of assault.
The same day, Mr. Erias Lukwago, Lord Mayor of
Kampala, was briefly arrested on suspicion that he was going to lead a protest
to Parliament. Earlier on, on September 18, 2017, the police fired teargas to
disperse a group of youth activists protesting the constitutional amendment in
front of the Parliament.
The Observatory for the Protection
of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this program is to
prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH
and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human
Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
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