"TO THEM, WE'RE NOT EVEN HUMAN" Marginalised Human Rights Defenders in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania DefendDefenders – 1 "To Them, We're Not Even Human": Marginalised Human Rights Defenders in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania Published December 2018 DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) | Human Rights House | Plot 1853 | Lulume Road Nsambya | P.O. Box 70356 | Kampala | Uganda | Phone: +256 393 265 820 | +256 414 510 263 Email: [email protected] | [email protected] Web: https://www.defenddefenders.org The publication is available online in PDF format at www.defenddefenders.org/our-publications Research for this report was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and Bread for the World. Report by David Meffe, Shirin Choudhary, Cristina Orsini, Stéphanie Bacher, Nephtaly Abassa Byenda, Thomas Kleinveld, and Estella Kabachwezi, with contributions from Nicolas Agostini, Siri Berge Engerud, Memory Bandera, and Hassan Shire. Cover Photo by David Meffe. Attribution should be made to DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project). This report is distributed at no charge. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You are free to share, copy, distribute, and transmit the work under the following conditions: • Attribution: you must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in a way that suggests they endorse you or your use of the work); • Non-Commercial: you may not use this work for commercial purposes; • No Derivatives: you may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. 2 – "To Them, We're Not Even Human": Marginalised Human Rights Defenders in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania "To Them, We're Not Even Human" Marginalised Human Rights Defenders in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania DefendDefenders – 3 If you defend the rights of others you are putting yourself in line for confrontation with the government, they look at you as part of people that are against the state. You become part of their focus, and sometimes you are killed. - Ugandan Human Rights Defender, February 2018 "These people need to be protected or they will be extinguished from history. They have no access to education, health facilities, water, nothing. No access to legal support. They have their own way of life, but the government has increasingly interfered with their life." - Tanzanian Human Rights Defender, August 2018 "We have this beautiful new Constitution, and now it is time for us to test it, and the petitions in the Supreme Court to decriminalise homosexuality will allow us to see whether this document actually holds itself up." - Kenyan Human Rights Defender, September 2018 "My struggle and pain have given women courage. When one woman stands, other women know that we can all do it. No one can subjugate me because I am a woman." - Tanzanian Human Rights Defender, August 2018 Table of Contents Foreword 7 About DefendDefenders 8 Executive Summary 9 Methodology 11 Part 1 – Indigenous Minority Human Rights Defenders 12 • Uganda – Empty Acknowledgement: Western Uganda and the Batwa 14 • Kenya – Diversity and Devolution: the Forgotten People of Turkana 20 • Tanzania – Lands Apart: Forcibly Displacing the Maasai 24 • Conclusion and Recommendations 30 Part 2 – Women Human Rights Defenders 34 • Uganda – An Increasingly Restricted Legal Environment 35 • Kenya – The Price of Challenging Patriarchy 41 • Tanzania – Operating in a Restricted Civic Space 47 • Conclusion and Recommendations 54 Part 3 – LGBT+ Human Rights Defenders 58 • Uganda – An Uphill Battle 60 • Kenya – Towards Decriminalisation 68 • Tanzania – An Uncertain Future 74 • Conclusion and Recommendations 80 Acronyms ACHPR African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights AHA Anti-Homosexuality Act APA Anti-Pornography Act CBO Community-based Organisation CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CHESA Community Health Education Services and Advocacy CSO Civil Society Organisation EAC East African Community EACJ East African Court of Justice FGM Female Genital Mutilation HRAPF Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum HRD Human Rights Defender ICC International Criminal Court ITGNC Intersex, Transgender, and Gender Non-conforming KBH Sisters Kazi Busara na Hekima Sisters KFCB Kenyan Film Classification Board KP Key Populations LGBT+ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Other Sexual Minorities MP Member of Parliament MSM Men Who Have Sex with Men NGLHRC National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OBC Ortello Business Corporation PAHRDN Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network POMA Public Order Management Act PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder SGBV Sexual and Gender-based Violence SMUG Sexual Minorities Uganda UN HRC United Nations Human Rights Council WHRD Women Human Rights Defender WMA Wildlife Management Area Foreword The East and Horn of Africa sub-region is sometimes the scene of startling contradictions. Bloody land conflicts are often set in areas of stunning natural beauty. Pervasive patriarchy thrives in societies built on the labour of strong women. Rich traditions and power structures are often eclipsed by colonial-era legislation or policies meant to subjugate rather than empower. Amid these juxtapositions are human rights defenders (HRDs) who strive to promote and protect human rights in a shrinking civic space. While fighting for their economic, social, political, and cultural rights, HRDs face opposition from a range of actors who disregard the rights of the people. Over the last 13 years, DefendDefenders has supported countless HRDs working in all walks of life, from environmentalists to those struggling for the rights of people with disabilities. While the efforts of all HRDs are important and deserving of protection, some groups of HRDs are further marginalised and vulnerable to threats, harassment, and social exclusion, simply because of who they are. This is especially the case for those working with indigenous minorities, women's rights, and the rights of sexual minorities. In addition to the everyday struggles of being HRDs, these defenders show courage while being systematically pushed to the margins of public discourse and protection mechanisms. We, at DefendDefenders, are also guilty of this oversight, but it is our intention that this report highlights the struggles of these marginalised HRDs, identify existing human rights and protection gaps, and make recommendations to address them. This report will also serve as a means to identify best practices in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and contrast the effectiveness of HRD strategies to mainstream marginalised issues. Through these methods, it should become clear that despite the challenges facing marginalised HRDs, even small measures can significantly reduce their vulnerability and help create an environment where they can work without fear of persecution. Grassroots activists are the backbone of establishing sustainable human rights systems in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. This is evermore important as 2018 marks the 70 year anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 20 year anniversary of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. Only by examining the challenges of the most marginalised HRDs can we begin to create a unified human rights movement that sees all issues as equally deserving of a seat at the table. We would like to express our thanks to every respondent that took time to share their experiences with us, and reiterate our solidarity in their daily struggle for justice and equality. No matter how lonely the road may seem at times, know that you are never forgotten and never alone. Hassan Shire Executive Director of DefendDefenders Chairperson of the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network About DefendDefenders Established in 2005, DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) seeks to strengthen the work of human rights defenders (HRDs) throughout the sub-region by reducing their vulnerability to the risk of persecution by enhancing their capacity to effectively defend human rights. DefendDefenders focuses its work on Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia (with Somaliland), South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. DefendDefenders serves as the secretariat of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, which represents hundreds of members consisting of individual HRDs, human rights organisations, and national coalitions that envision a sub-region in which the human rights of every citizen as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are respected and upheld. DefendDefenders also serves as the secretariat of the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network (PAHRDN). The network was formed as a result of deliberations at the All African Human Rights Defenders Conference (Johannesburg +10) hosted in April 2009 in Kampala, Uganda. The five sub- regional networks forming the PAHRDN are: the North Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (hosted by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies in Tunis), the West African Human Rights Defenders Network (Lomé, Togo), the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (hosted by the International Commission of Jurists in Johannesburg, South Africa), the Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (Douala, Cameroon), and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders