By Noelyn Tracy Nassuuna
International Peace Day has come and gone, but the mission of building and sustaining peace continues every single day, especially for human rights defenders (HRDs) around the world. These courageous individuals are often on the front lines, advocating for justice, equality, and human dignity in the face of adversity. Their work is crucial in addressing the root causes of conflict and promoting long-lasting peace.
By Helen Namyalo Kimbugwe and Noelyn Tracy Nassuuna
As Uganda heads toward a pivotal election season, the release of sensitive financial statements for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) like Chapter Four Uganda has sparked intense debate. These disclosures carry significant implications for donors, NGOs, and the public, shaping trust, transparency, and operational stability.
What does this mean for NGOs operating in Uganda, their donors, and the communities they serve? How can transparency be balanced with protection in such politically charged times?
To delve deeper into these issues, download the full article now and stay informed about the future of civil society in Uganda.
People who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender face a lot of persecution in Uganda as a result of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Persecution for LGBT people in Uganda is favored by laws that criminalize same sex relations and these laws are enshrined in Uganda’s Constitution and Penal Code Section 145 where any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature or permits a person to commit the offence is liable to life imprisonment. Acts of hate towards LGBT people are also demonstrated by religious groups that preach against homosexuality and cultural institutions that propagate a notion that homosexuality is un-African. <!–more–>
Homophobia in Uganda is manifested in varied ways but commonest of them are, attacking purported homosexuals in public malls and spaces, exposing in media the pictures and addresses of LGBT people, verbal abuses in especially public spaces, beating and scourging, break ins into houses and premises of known and suspected LGBT people, dismissal from jobs, subjection to corrective rape, isolation, arrests and imprisonment without trial, banishment from home, evictions, dismissal from school and a number of other attacks and violations, and hundreds of LGBT people in Uganda young and old have been victims to these attacks and violations.
Following the trend of violations, in 2014, a report dubbed ‘From Torment to Tyranny’ published by Sexual Minorities Uganda highlighted that in a period of four months between 20th December 2013 and May 2014, 162 cases of persecution of LGBT people had been recorded and that the gravity of the violations was increasing. Further, in 2017 Amnesty International in its report highlighting incidences where the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly were violated in Uganda noted that LGBT people in Uganda continue to be denied acceptance to assemble with police closing up LGBT pride parades and other assemblies.
However, amidst turbulent moments for LGBT people in Uganda, there has been a wave of Human Rights groups and individuals who have come out to support the LGBT movement in Uganda through varied ways especially relocation support for those evicted from houses, banished from homes and facing threats. Since relocation support has been at the center of the many avenues to support LGBT people, it is worthwhile through this report to assess its effectiveness and validity overtime.
