The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Uganda has undertaken training of members of the Justice, Law, and Order Sector (JLOS) from the Karamoja region on existing and new legislation to protect human rights. The three-day training is organized in partnership with the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) to strengthen the capacity of JLOS institutions in the region and to share how human rights can be better protected through the application of existing and new legislations.
The training has benefited 26 participants (23 males and 3 females) drawn from the nine districts of Abim, Amudat, Kaabong, Karenga, Kotido, Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit, Napak, and Moroto.
The training sessions focused are on the general introduction to human rights; state obligation under international human rights law, practical aspects of human rights- human rights violations, abuses and crimes, individual responsibility under the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act and Human Rights Enforcement Act and redress and enforcement of sexual and gender-based violence through the Domestic Violence Act.
The Resident District Commissioner thanked the UN Human Rights Office for availing resources to ensure JLOS actors are able to meet and engage to deal with human rights abuses. In noting the five pillars of the rule of law, he stated that observance and enforcement of laws and policies remains a big challenge which in turn leads to human rights abuses. He said that in as much as the actors are aware of the laws, some individuals opt to enforce the laws negatively, thus affecting members of the community. He further noted that “some judicial officers are doing a great disservice by interpreting the laws in their own interest and not for what it is intended to achieve.” He noted that there was nothing wrong with the JLOS institutions but individuals who serve in those institutions sometimes do not act in a professional manner. He concluded by calling upon the participants to put on a human face as they undertake their jobs in enforcement and interpretation of the law.