Imperial Royale Hotel,
Kampala – Uganda
13th July 2016
Plot 944 Block 254 Kansanga - ggaba road, P. O. box 35684 Kampala - uganda
About this Publication
This report is a summary of the deliberations at the Working Group Retreat that was held from 24th August 2016 to 27th August 2016 to review the first draft Human Rights Defenders Protection Bill 2016, incorporate the resolutions of the consultative meeting held on 13th July 2016 and make a new draft. The workshop was organised by the Defenders' Protection Initiative (DPI) in conjunction with the National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders – Uganda (NCHRDU), the Human Rights Centre Uganda (HRCU) and Defend Defenders. It took place at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala.
http://defendersprotection.org http://hrcug.org
http://defenddefenders.org http://hrdcoalition.ug
Information on Funders
This workshop was made possible with the support of the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA)
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/about/offices-foundations/open- society-initiative-eastern-africa
i
Acronyms
1 AGM Annual General Meeting 2 AU African Union 3 CSO Civil Society Organisation 4 DPI Defenders Protection Initiative 5 EGM Extraordinary General Meeting 6 FHRI Foundation for Human Rights Initiatives
7 HRAPF Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum 8 HRCU Human Rights Centre Uganda 9 HRD Human Rights Defender 10 HRDC Human Rights Defenders' Council 11 HURINET Human Rights Network 12 ISHR International Service for Human Rights 13 LASPNET Legal Aid Service Providers' Network
14 LDC Law Development Centre 15 LGBTI Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex 16 LRC Law Reform Commission 17 NCHRDU National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders - Uganda 18 OSIEA Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa 19 UHRC Uganda Human Rights Commission 20 UK United Kingdom 21 ULS Uganda Law Society
22 UN United Nations
23 UNHRC United Nations Human Rights Council
ii
Table of Contents
About this Publication ...... i
Information on Funders ...... i
Acronyms ...... ii
Table of Contents ......
Overview and Key Outcomes ...... 1
Background ...... 1
The Retreat ...... 2
Retreat Objectives ...... 2
Observations ...... 2
Resolutions ...... 4
Annexes ...... 6
Annex 1: Agenda ...... 6
Annex 2: List of Participants ...... 7
Annex 2: Group Draft Bills ...... 9
Overview and Key Outcomes
Background The workshop was organised by four (4) civil society organisations that are at the forefront of defending the rights of human rights defenders; Defenders Protection Initiative (DPI), the Human Rights Centre Uganda (HRCU), the National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders – Uganda (NCHRDU) and Defend Defenders.
Defenders Protection Initiative contributes to the promotion and protection of human rights, good governance, and rule of law, peace and democracy by strengthening the capacity of human rights defenders (HRDs) to mainstream security, safety and protection management in their work.
The Human Rights Centre Uganda works towards creating an enabling environment for the protection and promotion of rights of human rights defenders in Uganda through capacity building, advocacy and research.
Defend Defenders (formerly the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders’ Project) works to strengthen the work of human rights defenders (HRDs) throughout the region by reducing their vulnerability to the risk of persecution and by enhancing their capacity to effectively defend human rights.
The National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders Uganda (NCHRD-U) is an umbrella organization of individuals and organizations working to promote the protection of Human Rights Defenders (HRD) in Uganda, united in our mission we provide a platform for promoting synergy, cooperation, collaboration and sharing of best practices among HRDs in Uganda to overcome challenges faced.
While these organisations work towards enabling HRDs in their duties, the environment within which HRDs operate has been increasingly challenging with the tabling and enactment of restrictive legislations, intimidation and harassment of HRDs in Uganda. The civil society organisations are working together towards the drafting and subsequent enactment of a law for the protection of the rights of HRDs in Uganda. It is envisaged that this law shall be drafted pursuant to the United Nation’s 1998 Declaration on the Right and
1
Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms using guidance of the Model Law for the Recognition and Protection of Human Rights Defenders.
The Retreat The retreat was held from Wednesday 24th August 2016 to Saturday 27th August 2016 at Imperial Golf View Hotel Entebbe. It was organised by the DPI in collaboration with NCHRDU, HRCU and Defend Defenders and sponsored by the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA).
Twenty four (24) participants attended the retreat most of them representing organisations and a few attending in their personal capacity. See Annex 2 for the full list of participants.
Retreat Objectives The purpose of the retreat was to amend the first draft of the HRD Protection Bill so as to implement the recommendations that were made in the consultative meeting that was held on 13th July 2016 at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala. The specific objectives were to:
• Amend the draft HRD Protection Bill to
◦ Incorporate recommendations that were made in the earlier consultative meeting
◦ Integrate and contextualise provisions from the Model Law for the Recognition and Protection of Human Rights Defenders
• Draw strategies for justifying the importance of and promoting the enactment of an HRD Protection Law
Observations
During the discussions in this retreat a number of observations were made which informed the amendment of the bill and the way forward in promoting it.
HRDs operate in an environment which is unsafe and insecure for them to pursue their noble duty of defending the rights of fellow citizens as a consequence of the actions of both state and none state actors. As a consequence, they need extra protection of a law. The law is therefore necessary so that it:
2
• Protects the state as a human rights defender in its own right
• Supplements state efforts to protect rights of citizens and gives it legal protection in these efforts
• Recognises HRDs as an important group in the country’s development agenda
• Sets the rules of engagement between state and none state actors on one hand and HRDs
The specific law for the protection of HRDs should address the following issues
• Provide additional protection to all HRDs include the state, organisations and individuals
• Promote the active participation of the state in the protection of HRDs
• Clearly define an HRD so that that status is not abused.
• Define the rights and duties of an HRD
Despite the fact that in the Ugandan context, the state and HRDs operate in an environment of mutual mistrust and suspicion, it was observed that the bill will have a better chance of being enacted into law if a good political argument is made for the law which emphasises a win-win position for both the state and the HRDs. In promoting the law,
• Reference should be made to the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) in relation to Uganda.
• The law, in its memorandum, should make reference to provisions in the constitution of Uganda that protect HRDs and international conventions that Uganda has ratified so as to make the case for the need for a specific law that protects HRDs
• The laws should be emphasised as a vehicle for strengthening the relationship between the government and HRDs
• The laws should be marketed in a manner that gives the government political mileage if it supports the law.
It was therefore observed that there is need to constitute a good team that will make a good political argument for the bill and promote the bill to the state, parliament and the general public.
3
The retreat was divided into three (3) groups to consider and redraft various parts of the initial draft bill taking into account the resolutions of the consultative meeting and provisions of the Model law.
Group 1 was to consider and redraft Parts I and II of the initial draft taking into account that government is unlikely to be supportive of any bill that institutes a new statutory body. In considering the protection mechanisms of the law, the group was to consider whether the mechanism should be added to existing structures within the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC).
Group 2 was to consider Parts III and IV of the initial draft bill and deal with roles of various parties in the bill, rights of HRDs, obligations of HRDs, the state and none state actors, functions and powers of various persons and institutions mentioned in the bill.
Group 3 was to consider Part V of the initial draft bill relating with miscellaneous provisions, regulations and transitional arrangements.
Resolutions
During the course of the retreat, a number of resolutions were made in regard to drafting the bill, and lobbying parliament to enact the law protecting the rights of HRDs. Below are the resolutions that were made:
1. A competent team should be selected to draw an advocacy strategy, advocacy materials, talking points and a good political argument for the law.
2. The advocacy drive should highlight the recommendations of the UPR process in relation to Uganda, the recommendations of the ACHPR and Uganda’s international obligations towards the protection of the rights of HRDs. It should also emphasize the clause in the Constitution of Uganda that makes a requirement for a law protecting HRDs.
3. The advocacy should be framed in a manner in which the government clearly sees the political mileage it stands to gain from supporting the enactment of the bill into law.
4. The collaborators should seek for the official input of the UHRC in the bill.
4
5. The consultant shall merge the various drafts and proposals that were made by the groups at the retreat into a new draft bill.
6. The new draft bill will be presented at various regional workshops to obtain input from HRDs.
5
Annexes
Annex 1: Agenda
6
Annex 2: List of Participants
Name Organisation Sex Phone Email 1 KIBUGA Dominic DPI M 0774240809 [email protected]
2 WANJALA Yona DPI M 0772837277 [email protected]
3 KABACHWEZI Estella Defend Defenders F 0782360460 [email protected]
4 AKULLO Monica Cavendish University F 0754942329 [email protected] Godiva 5 AMOLLO Rebecca FHRI F 0706515479 [email protected]
6 BAKKIDDE Berna LASPNET F 0772691316 [email protected] 0704018497 7 KIIZA Eron LBT M 0703831252 [email protected]
MIREMBE 8 Susan Chapter Four F 0782048787 [email protected]
9 NANYANGE Joannine HRAPF 0704946517 [email protected]
10 ANANGO Juliet The African Centre for Treatment and F Rehabilitation of Torture Victims 11 KIIZA Moreen Uganda Human Rights Commission F 0782911056 [email protected]
12 AJOK Violah LASPNET F 0776817212 [email protected]
13 Roselyn KARUGONJO- Consultant F 0791422625 [email protected] SEGAWA [email protected]
14 NAKIGANDA Ida Uganda Human Rights Commission F 0772617769 [email protected]
15 SERUCACA Edward NCHRDU M 0787422290 [email protected] Church 16 SEMPALA Robert Human Rights Network for Journalists M 0782336551 [email protected] – Uganda 17 WANYAMA Edrine Human Rights Network – Uganda M 0782058298 18 MUGISA Robert The Human Rights Centre Uganda M 0772843752 [email protected]
19 MUNOKOH Leah DPI F 0775254551 [email protected]
20 KOOTE Annet Uganda Law Reform Commission F 0715359363 [email protected]
21 NAMYALO Helen DPI F 0752571769 [email protected]
7
Name Organisation Sex Phone Email 22 RUHWEZA Daniel R Uganda Law Society M 0712333013 [email protected]
23 KAVUMA Tito Uganda Law Society M 0776858306 24 LENI Eva FIDA – Uganda F 0774995844 [email protected] [email protected]
8
Annex 2: Group Draft Bills
9