Uganda: Developing and Implementing National Preventive Measures and Mechanisms

Thursday, June 12, 2008

As part of its five year torture prevention programme in Uganda, the APT co-organised a national OPCAT seminar on the 17 and 18 June. The event assessed the process of OPCAT ratification by Uganda and discussed the implementation of the OPCAT if Uganda ratifies, including the establishment & designation of a National Preventive Mechanism. A resolution to establish a Working Group on Torture was adopted, to which APT will serve as an advisor.

 

Date:
17-20 June 2008
Place:
Uganda
Partners:

African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV)

Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC)

Purpose:
The prevention of torture in Uganda by the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) and the subsequent implementation.
Activities:
In 2006, the APT began a five-year torture prevention programme in Uganda in partnership with two key local human rights actors, the African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV) and the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC). The initial event of this programme was the organisation of a training workshop on monitoring places of detention for civil society organizations and the UHRC in November 2006.

From 17 to 18 June, the APT organised a national OPCAT seminar jointly with the UHRC and in collaboration with the ACTV. The seminar objectives were to:
  • Familiarise interested stakeholders with OPCAT through information sharing on OPCAT
  • Assess the process of OPCAT ratification by Uganda
  • Discuss the implementation of the OPCAT if Uganda ratifies, including the establishment & designation of a National Preventive Mechanism
  • Establish strategies towards effective torture prevention in Uganda including criminalisation of torture
About 40 key stakeholders, including representatives from state institutions, parliamentary bodies, UHRC, government ministries, academic institutions, the judiciary as well as Civil Society organisations (CSOs) attended the meeting. The local office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was also associated as resource person.

After the seminar, on the 19 and 20 June 2008, the APT and its partners took the opportunity of being in the country to advocate for OPCAT ratification and implementation. Therefore, a joint APT/UHRC/ACTV delegation met with government officials and other relevant stakeholders including the Speaker of Parliament, the Secretary of the Uganda Law Reform Commission, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Deputy Attorney General as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Outcome:
  • Increased knowledge on the part of national actors of the OPCAT and its implications.
  • Concrete recommendations and strategies to speed up the OPCAT ratification process and for its effective implementation thereafter. In this regard, the seminar adopted a resolution establishing a Working Group on Torture with the mandate, among others, to:
    • Advocate for the effective implementation of the UN CAT in Uganda, including the adoption and implementation of a specific anti-torture bill;
    • Advocate for the ratification and implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (OPCAT);
  • The APT will continue to provide strategic support to its partners in Uganda for the prevention of torture in Uganda including timely ratification and effective implementation of the OPCAT. To this end the APT will serve as an advisor to the newly established Working Group on Torture.
Documents:
Download the full Seminar Report
Contact Person:
Jean-Baptiste Niyizurugero, APT Africa Programme Officer

Image removed.

Left to right: Jean Baptiste Niyizurugero, APT Africa Programme Officer; Honorable Edward K. Ssekandi, Speaker of Parliament and Ms. Roselyn Karugonjo Segawa, UHRC Director Monitoring and Inspections.