Human rights in Uganda

Uganda experiences difficulties in the achievement of international standards of human rights for all citizens. These difficulties centre upon the provision of proper sanitation facilities, internal displacement and development of adequate infrastructure. Nonetheless, Uganda is, as per the Relief Web sponsored Humanitarian Profile - 2012, making considerable developments in this area.

After a heavily contested election campaign, President Yoweri Museveni was re-elected into office and his re-election was independently verified by Amnesty International. Despite verification of the election results, Amnesty did express concerns over alleged election violence and freedom of press restrictions.

Since various rebel groups started fighting the government of President Yoweri Museveni, beginning in August 1986, about 2 million Ugandans have been displaced and tens of thousands have been killed. An estimated 67,000 children have been kidnapped by the LRA for use as child soldiers and slaves since 1987.

Signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement in 2006 due to a successful campaign executed by the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) put an end to LRA violence in Uganda.

The past conflict in the north of the country between the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has decimated the economy, retarded the development of affected areas and led to numerous gross human rights violations. These violations centred upon the poor emergency provision provided to Internally Displaced Persons fleeing their homes to avoid LRA. In the six years since the signing of hostilities agreement many of those displaced persons have returned to their homes and a rehabilitation and redevelopment programme is underway. It has been acknowledged by both the Ugandan Government and the United Nations that this is a work in progress and that considerable improvements must be made. In this regard a rehabilitation programme has been launched

In October 2009, a bill was tabled in the Ugandan Parliament entitled "Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009" calling for harsher penalties for homosexuals, up to and including the death penalty. As originally drafted and tabled this bill also requires that any citizen who suspects another person of being homosexual, is required to report the homosexual to police, or they too may receive a fine or time in prison. The proposed bill goes so far as to forbid landlords from renting to a known homosexual, and would ban any public discussion of homosexuality.

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Wikipedia