Uganda Human Rights body blocked from international meetings 

Mariam Wangadya, Chairperson Uganda Human Rights Commission has told Parliament that Uganda has been blocked from physically attending human rights meetings in Geneva, following closure of the Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights in Uganda & come June 2024, Uganda’s human rights status is expected to be downgraded.

Wangadya made the remarks while appearing before the Legal & Parliamentary Affairs Committee to present the Commission’s 2024/25 budget.

During the meeting, Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East) accused the Commission of being silent when Gov’t sent away Democratic Government Facility (DGF) and Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights yet these were key funders to the Commission & now, the Commission is lamenting about limited funding.

“The UHRC is reading from the book of lamentations, but that book of lamentations I believe is partly contributed to by the Commission. Because I know the Commission used to benefit from DGF when Government closed DGF on flimsy grounds, the Commission was silent. I know the Commission was getting funding from the UN High Commission for Human Rights, the Government closed it, the Commission kept quiet and yet you know that funding from this Government to the Commission wouldn’t be adequate,” said Winfried Niwagaba.

Hon Nuwagaba Winfried

Wangadya however denied accusations of being silent as Government chased away the UN High Commission for Human Rights & DGF saying there were several petitions written by the Commission to make a case why the UN body should stay, but instead, she was warned against obstructing the Government’s decision.

“I wish you knew what we went through, the battles we fought so that this office would stay and the meetings which were held and the last one was in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attended by Cabinet Ministers, I was invited. I had written several petitions, trying to make a case for the office to stay. Actually, I was lectured, that is what it (meeting) turned out to be. I was lectured on why this office must go and I must not be an obstacle. And these were decisions taken by the Government, other than pleading that let this office stay, there was nothing more we could do,” said Wangadya.

The state of human rights in Uganda remains wanting as Ugandans accuse the body of not doing it’s mandate!