Anti-Homosexuality law in Uganda : Strong position of the ACHPR’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
Anti-Homosexuality law in Uganda : Strong position of the ACHPR’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
The position adopted by ACHPR’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders directly echoes the concerns and recommendations formulated by our organisation over the adoption of this drastic legislation :
In her press statement adopted during the ACHPR’s 15th extraordinary session, the Special Rapporteur raises concerns over the consequences of the law on the respect for human rights in Uganda. She insists in particular on the increasing feeling of insecurity among LGBTI and those defending their rights since the promulgation of the law and the publication in some newspapers of the names and photographs of persons considered as being homosexuals. She also denounces the interference in their privacy as well as the cases of intimidation, threats, harassments and acts of violence perpetrated against them. The Special Rapporteur raises concerns over the impacts of such a law on the rights of human rights defenders, affirming that several of its provisions are in contradiction with Uganda’s obligation to respect freedoms of association, assembly and expression. The Special Rapporteur urges the Ugandan authorities "to abrogate or amend the law", "to ensure that human rights defenders work in an enabling environment that is free of stigma, reprisals or criminal prosecution, as a result of their human rights protection activities, including the rights of sexual minorities", to ensure "the effective protection of all persons against discrimination and violence, regardless of their sexual orientation and to maintain an atmosphere of tolerance towards sexual minorities in the country".
In her press statement adopted during the ACHPR’s 15th extraordinary session, the Special Rapporteur raises concerns over the consequences of the law on the respect for human rights in Uganda. She insists in particular on the increasing feeling of insecurity among LGBTI and those defending their rights since the promulgation of the law and the publication in some newspapers of the names and photographs of persons considered as being homosexuals. She also denounces the interference in their privacy as well as the cases of intimidation, threats, harassments and acts of violence perpetrated against them. The Special Rapporteur raises concerns over the impacts of such a law on the rights of human rights defenders, affirming that several of its provisions are in contradiction with Uganda’s obligation to respect freedoms of association, assembly and expression. The Special Rapporteur urges the Ugandan authorities "to abrogate or amend the law", "to ensure that human rights defenders work in an enabling environment that is free of stigma, reprisals or criminal prosecution, as a result of their human rights protection activities, including the rights of sexual minorities", to ensure "the effective protection of all persons against discrimination and violence, regardless of their sexual orientation and to maintain an atmosphere of tolerance towards sexual minorities in the country".
FAO initiative brings global land cover data under one roof for the first time
17 March 2014, Rome - A new FAO database released today collects previously scattered and unharmonized land cover information from around the globe into one centralized database, marking a major improvement in information regarding the physical characteristics of the Earth's surface.
Up to now, one of the major challenges to getting a good global overview of land cover - e.g. how much land is covered by croplands, trees or forests, bare soils, etc. - has been the fact that different countries and organizations go about identifying, measuring and recording such data in diverse ways.
But for FAO's new Global Land Cover SHARE database (GLC-SHARE), data pulled from multiple sources and partners was quality-controlled and harmonized using internationally accepted definitions and standards, bringing a wealth of country-level information into one consolidated dataset spanning the entire planet.
Africa’s Declining Capacity To Manage Conflicts
By Makinde Collins
At a recent debate in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, a political think-tank with ties to Germany’s Social Democratic Party, stakeholders called on the leadership of Africa, especially ECOWAS to address its declining capacity to manage conflicts.
Although views were expressed by different panelists at the debate, Jibrin Ibrahim, a senior fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development, observed that in the past ECOWAS had achieved a lot of successes on conflict management.
He cited the successful interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone as defining moments in the capacity, history and political will of ECOWAS to intervene in crisis situations.
According to him, “When we intervened so successfully in these countries, there was a leader for the region and that leader was Nigeria. Today we find ourselves in a situation where Nigeria itself is facing its own challenges.”
Ibrahim lamented that capacity question of ECOWAS member states had also been exacerbated by the paucity of funds to finance military operations.
According to him, the crisis of governance in several ECOWAS member states has also undermined their capacity to intervene in conflict situations in the region.
Last month, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser Dasuki made a point that Nigerian troops were currently deployed in 32 states out of 36. No doubt that in addition to those deployments, the country is facing active insurgencies in some parts of the country.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please consider the environment before printing this email or any attachments.
Connect to Friends at International Meetings
Comments
Post a Comment