REMARKS BY JOVAH KAMATEEKA, MP, CHAIRPERSON OF THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AT THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCH OF THE

HUMAN RIGHTS CHECKLIST

Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda Your Excellency the British High Commissioner to Uganda The United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission Fellow Members of Parliament Members of the Uganda Human Rights Commission Civil Society Organisations Ladies and Gentlemen Aung San Suu Kyi once remarked that within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A
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most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man. Sixteen months ago the Human Rights Committee of the Parliament of Uganda was created as one of the standing committees in the Parliament of Uganda. This was a land mark achievement and questions lingered as to how the committee would function. In rule 174 of the Rules of Procedure, the committee was given a wide mandate which can be

summarised as ensuring the adoption of a Human Rights Based Approach to Legislation and to act as a watchdog to ensure human rights compliance in the country and timely and accurate country reporting on human rights issues to treaty monitoring bodies.

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It was a bold step by the Parliament of Uganda to create a specific committee to address the dire need for human rights compliance. The wide mandate given to the committee required that, we as members, have a clear sense of direction on how to proceed given the enormous business handled in Parliament which includes Bills, policy matters/statements, petitions and motions. There was therefore urgent need to come up with a simple criterion against which an assessment of human rights compliance can be made. To address this need, the Committee, with the help of the British High Commission, embarked on developing a checklist to provide certainty to the Members of Parliament and the Executive on what they need to comply with before introducing any business in the House. Ladies and gentlemen, the duty to promote and protect human rights is a noble one which squarely rests with us as leaders and various stakeholders in this room today. It is a duty we have to embrace for the good of our country. If we make choices to ignore this noble duty then we threaten the very foundation that this country and government is built on.

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The great and inspiring Universal Declaration of Human Rights was born of an increased sense of responsibility by the international community for the promotion and protection of mans basic rights and freedoms. The world has come to a clear realization of the fact that freedom, justice and world peace can only be assured through the international promotion and protection of these rights and freedoms. Indeed our own Constitution has an entire Bill of Rights under Chapter IV. Therefore, as members of the committee on human rights, we urge our colleagues in Parliament and other stakeholder that initiate legislation and policies for consideration in the plenary and those that implement the same to bear this fact in mind while executing their various mandates. It is only then that we shall contribute to the building and strengthening of a just and fair nation where everybody has equal freedoms and rights. Rt. Hon. Speaker, we would like to specially thank the British High Commission in Kampala for holding our arm in our time of need by sponsoring this ground breaking publication. We are most grateful. As a committee, we would like to thank the Uganda Human Rights Commission, the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, the Human Rights Network (HURINET), the
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Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, M/s Wadda, Tumwesigye & Company Advocates and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for their commitment, support and encouragement during the

development of this ground breaking piece of work. Ladies and gentlemen here present, the committee would like to pay special tribute to the Speaker of the 9 th Parliament of the Republic of Uganda, Rt. Hon. Rebecca A. Kadaga, for

spearheading the creation of the Committee, her continued encouragement and support in its work. May we put our hands together in applause to the Rt. Hon. Speaker for her

commitment to the full realisation of equal rights and dignity for all Ugandans. We cannot fail to recognise the efforts made by the

Government in creating a fairly enabling environment for the people of Uganda to enjoy their rights to a certain extent. We thank the Government for creating and facilitating the national institution, the Uganda Human Rights Commission that has distinguished itself as the best in the region; for creating human rights desks in some institutions, especially the security forces. We especially note the major improvements made by
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the Uganda Prisons Services save for the chronic overcrowding which in itself is an abuse of several rights. We urge government to strengthen these desks and to ensure that similar desks are created in all Government departments and that they are all operationalized. We urge the Uganda Police Force to work on its public image because good work is marred by those outrageous abuses that we see every so often in the media. It is important that the civil force, primarily established to maintain law and order so that individuals can enjoy their lives/rights in a dignified manner that creates mutual respect and confidence between itself and the people they serve. We urge Ugandans though to learn to respect the rule of law and to respect the rights of others; to know that rights are accompanied by duties and obligations. Article 43 of the Constitution enjoins us not to overstep the rights of others while enjoying our rights. We further urge the Police that the shoot to kill policy must be reviewed as it is unconstitutional. All persons in Uganda are presumed innocent until proved guilty by a court of law and we
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know that there is a likelihood of shooting innocent persons, which is totally unacceptable. We urge government to endeavour to be up to date with reporting to the treaty monitoring bodies and to involve parliament in this role. In conclusion, let our voices be heard and let these voices translate into action. To this end, Martin Niemller once famously quipped that First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. Ladies and gentlemen, let us not wait for the situation to degenerate or for the situation to directly affect us the leaders of this country before we can raise an alarm or make a contribution to the enjoyment of human rights in our own
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country. Let not the persons out of this country take bolder steps to help us than we can take. As a committee, we have made a humble contribution by preparing and presenting this checklist to you. We have laid a brick in the construction of the walls of this country but together we can build this nation to its true description as the pearl of Africa. Together we can win. I therefore urge all stakeholders in this country to comply with the uniform standard set by this checklist while initiating policies and legislation for it is upon this standard that we as a committee shall hold them to account. I thank you for giving me your attention FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY It is now my singular honour and privilege to invite you, Rt. Hon Speaker to make your remarks and to officially launch the Parliamentary Checklist for human rights compliance.

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