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Uganda the Pearl Of Africa is now blocked from attending International Human Rights summits and meetings especially in Geneva where the UN Human Rights Headquarters are housed.
This heartbreaking revelation was made by the Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission Mariam Wangadya who also said that in June this year, the country’s human rights status will be downgraded.
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Uganda two years ago announced that it will not renew its mandate with the United Nations on Human Rights on grounds that it has a well and organized Uganda Human Rights Commission so it needed no International office in Uganda and consequently the UN Human Rights Offices closed down in August 2023.
Wangadya now says that the decision to block Uganda from all International Human Rights Commission stem from Museveni government’s decision to close down the UN human rights offices in Uganda. Incase the Uganda Human Rights bosses are invited, they only attend virtual meetings not physical meetings in Geneva.
Mariam Wangadya, Chairperson @UHRC_UGANDA 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… pic.twitter.com/dv8dUOkZxa
— Parliament Watch (@pwatchug) April 8, 2024
Wangadya however denied accusations of being silent as Government chased away 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 Government’s decision.
“I wish you knew what we went through, the battels we fought so that this office would stay and the meetings which were held and the last one was in 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 Government, other than pleading that let this office stay, there was nothing more we could do,” said Wangadya.
“All the meetings that we used to attend, there are some key ones like in Addis Ababa, the headquarters of African Union, Geneva all those have stopped. And it is one of the reasons come June 2024, we are going to be downgraded in the status. We were invited to travel to Geneva… https://t.co/2Ei9TILvRv
— Parliament Watch (@pwatchug) April 8, 2024
Over the years, Uganda has been in the news for torturing prisoners, abducting opposition supporters and unlawful detention of suspects. The National Unity Platform and Bobi Wine have been on the forefront in exposing Uganda’s Human rights abuses following abductions of their supporters whom some are in jail while others are not known where they are for 3 years now.
Mariam Wangadya, Chairperson @UHRC_UGANDA also denied allegations that her Commission is the yellowest in the Commission’s history, wondering why @UHRC_UGANDA's alleged allegiance to NRM isn’t reciprocated in funding it receives from Gov't, but instead, the body has resorted to… pic.twitter.com/6K7DADTtFL
— Parliament Watch (@pwatchug) April 8, 2024
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