The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, has summoned the Prime Minister and party leaders in the House to discuss and try to resolve the unending allegations of human rights violations in the country.
The meeting scheduled for Friday, will also involve the Ministers for Security and Internal Affairs, the Leader of the Opposition and the Government and Opposition Whips and the Shadow Minister of Security.
Tayebwa’s decision follows a concern over continued human rights violations raised by the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, during plenary sitting on Wednesday, 28 September 2022.
Mpuuga, said that despite several concerns raised on human rights violations, forced disappearances and torture seem to be getting worse.
He said that no action has been taken since May when he presented names and contacts of persons reported missing, and asked government to at least declare them dead and avail their remains.
He added that the ministers responsible for Security and Internal Affairs have not reported on the same despite orders by the House to do so.
“From the Opposition side, in the first and second sessions, the most critical matter was human rights abuses, forced disappearances and torture. Despite government commitment that abductions and forced disappearances are under control, the devil is back,” said Mpuuga.
He wondered if the President was aware of the continued human rights violations having condemned murders and disappearances of citizens while chief guest at the commemoration of the disappearance and murder of the first Chief Minister of Uganda, Benedicto Kiwanuka in the 1970s.
Deputy Speaker, Tayebwa, said that failure by government to take action against human rights violations taints the image of Parliament, saying that MPs made recommendations on the recently adopted reports on human rights violations and state of prisons.
“We extensively discussed this matter a month ago because we handled two critical reports. There was a commitment here, that indeed some of these issues were glaring and they were making us look ugly and this report was signed by members from both sides, we never even had a minority report.
The meeting will be held at Parliament Building.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
