TITLE: UGANDA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994 AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE DATE: FEBRUARY 1995 UGANDA President Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) continued to rule Uganda through the National Resistance Council (NRC) and an appointed Cabinet since taking power in 1986. The President dominated the Government, the NRC, and the extended transition process to constitutional government. In March citizens elected individual members to a Constituent Assembly charged with debating and ratifying a constitution. The elections were open to all candidates and internationally recognized as reflecting the will of Ugandans, although political parties were not permitted to sponsor candidates. At the end of the year, the Constituent Assembly had still not completed its work, and the Government extended the Constituent Assembly's mandate for an additional 6 months to June 1995. The National Resistance Army (NRA) remains the key internal and external security force. In rebuilding the police force, the Government reduced the NRA from 90,000 members in 1990 to under 50,000 in 1994. The Army, along with local defense units (LDU's), assists the police in rural areas. The LDU's operate without a clear legal mandate. The professionalism of the Ugandan police continued to improve, but police committed some human rights abuses, and much of the force remains ill-trained, poorly equipped, and corrupt. In August the Government established a home guard force to assist with the counterinsurgency effort. Beginning in February, the Government faced a renewed insurgency threat in the north from a group calling itself the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, which committed egregious human rights abuses, including murder, rape, and kidnaping. In countering the threat, there were also credible reports that the NRA and LDU's committed serious violations, including extrajudicial killings in March and detention of civilians without charge. Primarily based on agriculture, the economy showed strong growth--about 4 percent--in 1993-94. Coffee remained the chief export crop and foreign exchange earner, but modest increases in tobacco, cotton, and tea exports also contributed to the improved outlook. Despite massive rural poverty, the Government continued to implement a tough economic reform program. Uganda also continued to depend heavily on foreign aid, which amounted to 60 percent of government spending in 1993-94. Although the Government continued to pledge support for democracy and respect for human rights, it also carefully controlled the steps toward constitutional change. The Government maintained prohibitions on certain political party activities and limited freedoms of speech, press, and peaceful assembly. It arrested two politicians in March and two journalists in October on spurious sedition charges, and in August and September prohibited three seminars on constitutional issues. In the renewed insurgency in the north, the LRA rebels committed most of the human rights abuses against civilians. In response to the threat, the NRA committed a number of serious abuses. Elsewhere, army and police officials sometimes tortured criminal suspects, particularly after arrest, and beatings during interrogation were common. The Government, the NRA, and the police took measures to increase the discipline, training, and, in some instances, punishment of security officials. Both police and NRA officials responsible for human rights abuses were prosecuted for such violations, but the disciplinary measures varied from one command or magistrate to another. Discrimination against women, domestic violence, and the rape of women and children remained serious social problems. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from: a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing There were no known instances of political killings. However, in the insurgency fighting there were a number of extrajudicial killings by both the NRA and insurgent forces (see Section 1.g.). There were also a few reported incidents in which village Resistance Council (RC-1) and LDU personnel tortured or killed criminal suspects. For example, in November in Mengo, two RC-1 officials and an LDU member reportedly tortured a suspected thief to death. In handling an antitax demonstration in Iganga in January, during which angry demonstrators tried to overrun a police station, the police used excessive force by firing into the crowd, killing two persons. However, press reports indicated that the police did not shoot unprovoked into the crowd. The Government received the results of the official investigation of the incident on December 30. b. Disappearance There were no reports of disappearances. c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment NRA officials and police commonly beat suspected criminals, usually at the time of arrest or interrogation, and often for the purpose of forcing confessions. There were also credible reports of isolated incidents in which security forces used other forms of torture. The Government investigated some reported cases and tried and punished some offenders. There were instances of mobs attacking suspected thieves and other offenders caught committing a crime. These mobs engaged in stonings, beatings, and other forms of mistreatment, such as tying the suspect's wrists and ankles together behind the back. The authorities rarely prosecuted persons engaged in administering mob justice. Prison conditions remain harsh, due primarily to the nation's poverty and budgetary restrictions. Uganda maintains two prison systems; one state-funded and run by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a second rural-based under the Ministry of Local Government. Conditions are particularly harsh in the local prisons which receive no central government funding. These local administrative prisons, together with military prisons, have a very high mortality rate from overcrowding, diseases spread by unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and AIDS, a disease which is pandemic among the general population. In 1993 there were 508 prison deaths. Juveniles are kept in prison with adults. Women have segregated prisons, with female staff, and as a result rape does not appear to be a problem among women prisoners. Pretrial detainees comprise over half of the prison population. In August there were 11,761 total prisoners, of which 4,253 had been convicted, with over 7,500 held in pretrial detention. In October, primarily to ease the overcrowding, the President pardoned 800 prisoners, including the terminally sick, the aged, and breast-feeding mothers, but excluded those charged with capital offenses. The U.N. Development Program and nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) have started programs for training wardens, counseling prisoners, and providing supplementary food and drugs for AIDS victims in prison. The Government permitted full access to prisons by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and local NGO's, principally the Foundation for Human Rights Initiatives (FHRI) and the Law Society. Prison authorities require advance notification of visits, a process that is often subject to administrative delays. d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile Under Ugandan law, a suspect must be charged within 24 hours of arrest and be brought to trial or released on bail within 240 days (480 days for a capital offense). The authorities enforced neither requirement. Other extant laws, such as the Public Order and Security Act of 1967 (the Detention Order), provide for unlimited detention without charge, but these laws have never been invoked by the NRM Government. Legal and human rights groups sharply criticized the excessive length of detention without trial, in many cases amounting to several years. Acknowledging the problem, the Constituent Assembly reduced the length of detention to a maximum of 120 days (360 for a capital offense) in the projected new constitution. The Government detained both civilians and military personnel on suspicion of treason but did not formally charge anyone with treason in 1994. The NRA detained approximately 170 civilians in northern Uganda for suspected collaboration with the LRA. Of these, it released 34 in October and November and 70 in early December. Some persons had been held since February. The Government permitted both the ICRC and Amnesty International to visit the detainees. The NRA held 26 rebel prisoners in Gulu at year's end. The Government also temporarily detained journalists and political party leaders (see Sections 2.a. and 2.b.). The Government does not use exile as a means of political control. A presidential amnesty for former rebels remains in effect although those who return may be prosecuted for criminal acts they may have committed in the past. Several prominent Ugandans returned from exile in 1994, including Sam Luwero, a former insurgent leader of the Uganda National Liberation Army, Aggrey Awori, a former ambassador, who was elected to the Constituent Assembly in March, Major General Yusuf Gowon, Chief of Staff under Idi Amin, and Col. William Omaria, Minister of State for Internal Affairs under former president Milton Obote. e. Denial of Fair Public Trial Pending anticipated constitutional changes, the regular court system consists of magistrates courts, the High Court, and a Supreme Court. The military maintains an independent system of courts-martial for military offenders. The civilian judicial system contains procedural safeguards, including the granting of bail and appeals to higher courts. While the judiciary is generally independent, the President has extensive legal powers, including the power to appoint the four members of the Judicial Service Commission which makes recommendations on High Court and Supreme Court appointments. The Commission must concur in the dismissal of a magistrate. In addition to the regular court system, the village RC-1's have the authority to settle traditional civil disputes, including land ownership and payment of debts. The RC-1 courts, often the only ones available to villagers, frequently exceed their authority by hearing criminal cases, including murder and rape. RC-1 decisions may be appealed in magistrates courts, but often there are no records made of the case in the RC-1's, and many defendants are not aware of their right to appeal. The right to a fair trial in Uganda has been circumscribed in recent years by an inadequate system of judicial administration and resources resulting in a serious backlog of cases, the reluctance of military authorities to respect civilian court orders, and the failure to provide due process safeguards in military courts. The Commission of Judicial Inquiry, established in 1993 to investigate the mismanagement of criminal cases, criticized the excessive delays in the investigation and prosecution of cases by the police and the courts. The Commission made extensive recommendations for more expeditious processing of cases, elimination of the legal provisions for lengthy detention, increased training and funding for police investigations, and restructuring of the office of public prosecution to oversee all criminal cases. In June the High Court reported it had over 100 cases pending consideration. Criminal cases may take 2 or more years to reach the courts. Many defendants cannot afford legal counsel. The Government provides attorneys for indigent defendants only for capital offenses. The Ugandan Law Society operates legal aid clinics in four regional offices and assists military defendants as well as civilians. The military court system does not assure the right to a fair trial. Although the accused has the right to legal counsel, the defense attorney is often untrained and may be assigned by the military command, which also appoints the prosecutor and the adjudicating officer. The sentence passed by a military court, which may invoke the death penalty, may be appealed to the high command, but not to the High or Supreme Courts. The number of political prisoners (as distinct from political detainees) held by the Government at year's end was unknown. The courts continued to process the appeals in approximately 12 cases of past political convictions for treason. In January, in the appeal case of Professor Isaac Newton Ojok, a former Minister of Education under Milton Obote, the High Court acquitted him, overturning his 1991 conviction for treason and sentence to death. Similarly, the Supreme Court annulled the previous conviction (and death sentences) for treason in 1992 of Hofni Topacho Ogentho, Noan Habbas, and Philip Aboth Kerunen; the three men were set free in March. Also, in October the High Court acquitted Brigadier Opon Acak and Ahmed Oginy in one of the few remaining treason trials. The trial of Colonel Ahmed Kashilling on the same charges was continuing at year's end. f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence The Government does not generally intrude in the privacy, family, or home of citizens. The law requires that the police have search warrants before entering private homes or offices, and this law is generally observed in practice. However, the police searched vehicles for weapons at checkpoints without prior warrants. g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian Law in Internal Conflicts There were new violations of humanitarian law, committed both by government forces, and especially by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony. Kony is estimated to have approximately 250 to 300 followers, although most of his support is reportedly gained through intimidation. LRA rebels operate guerrilla-style in groups of 5 to 10; it is unclear what, if any, political goals the group seeks. The LRA resumed attacks on officials and civilians in northern Uganda, killing, raping, and abducting large numbers of civilians, and burning homes, granaries and other property. The group also mutilated some of its victims, cutting off limbs or disfiguring faces. Kony's rebels killed over 100 civilians and abducted over 230 civilians in the February through October period. Starting in August, the insurgents used land mines to block northern roads. These mines interfered with humanitarian relief operations for southern Sudan and Sudanese refugee camps in northern Uganda. Land mine explosions killed civilians as well as soldiers. The NRA provided armed escorts to relief convoys after the United Nations and NGO's requested protection. In responding to the attacks, the NRA reportedly committed similar abuses. Newspapers reported that the NRA killed 5 civilians in one village and 15 in another, raped women, and burned property in February and March. In July, after the NRA changed army commanders in the north, military discipline improved, and some soldiers suspected of abuses were tried in courts-martial and punished. Toward the end of the year, Kony and a number of his followers reportedly fled to Sudan. The level of the insurgency was reduced, with few reported attacks by the rebels in the final quarter of the year. Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including: a. Freedom of Speech and Press The NRM Government restricts freedom of political speech and the press in a variety of ways but has not invoked censorship laws from previous regimes. Open debate occurs in the Constituent Assembly, in the NRC, in the press, and in many public forums. While there is also direct criticism of President Museveni in the media, such public criticism of high-level officials, including the President, runs the risk of legal sanctions (see below). Some 15 newspapers and magazines publish a wide range of viewpoints covering the political spectrum, including party newspapers. The government-owned newspaper, the New Vision, accurately reported on corruption in government and human rights abuses. The Government controls one television (UTV) station and a radio station, and in 1994 two private radio stations and one private television station began broadcasting. Although these stations are not yet able to reach the entire country, in Kampala they have become far more popular than the government-run stations. At year's end, all three private stations had fledgling news services and broadcast British Broadcasting Corporation or Voice of America news programs. The Government has encouraged the development of the private media. During the preelection period, UTV and Radio Uganda gave equal time to the NRM and the political parties to expound their views. The Government restricted freedom of speech and the press by publicly harassing opposition leaders through short detentions and legal actions on vague sedition charges. In March the police arrested two Uganda People's Congress (UPC) leaders and threatened acting UPC Secretary General Cecilia Ogwal with arrest for publishing the UPC party's manifesto for the election campaign. The authorities released the two arrested politicians on bail, and Ogwal continued to campaign, winning her seat in the Constituent Assembly by a large majority. In October police arrested Ogwal and another Constituent Assembly delegate, Patrick Mwondha, for attempting to address a crowd gathered in Iganga. In April the police questioned the editorial staff of the Monitor newspaper and later arrested the Monitor's editor on charges of criminal libel for publishing a story critical of several cabinet ministers; they dropped the charges the following day. The authorities arrested Teddy Cheeye, the editor in chief of Uganda Confidential, for failing to appear in court in violation of his bond for 1993 charges of sedition. While Cheeye was able to publish regularly throughout the year, he continued to defend himself against several different lawsuits for publishing allegedly defamatory and seditious articles about the President and his wife, cabinet ministers, and other prominent Ugandans. In September the NRC began to consider the Ugandan Mass Media and Press Bill, first introduced in 1991 and set aside several times for revision. The journalists' associations have protested the bill's provisions for licensing all journalists and publications, the establishment of a media council to monitor and discipline journalists, and the instituting of district censorship boards. The NRC rejected the bill as drafted and sent it to a committee which has consulted with journalists and other interested parties. At year's end, revisions of the bill were still in progress. A considerable degree of academic freedom exists at Uganda's five public and three private universities, with no government interference in teaching, research, or publication. However, professors appear to exercise caution rather that test the limits of their academic freedom. Students have sponsored wide-ranging political debates in open forums on campus. The Museveni Government requires many government officials to take NRM political education and military science courses known as "Chaka Mchaka." These courses seek to indoctrinate officials in the NRM positions, including Museveni's view against multiple political parties. b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association The Government restricts these freedoms despite constitutional guarantees. It arbitrarily limits peaceful assembly by denying permits for public gatherings and barring rallies by political parties. The police issue administrative permits for public gatherings but have the right to deny permits in the interest of public safety. In August and September, police barred two seminars on federalism sponsored by the Crusade for Constitutional Governance, an NGO. In the first instance, the police cited security reasons and refused to issue a permit for the outdoor meeting. In the second, after granting the Crusade a permit for a September 25 seminar, the police revoked it just before the meeting was to begin. In both instances, armed police officers cordoned off the meetings sites and refused entry to participants and the public. Also, during the 1994 election campaign, the Government did not permit Constituent Assembly candidates to hold individual rallies, nor permit political parties to call public meetings to support candidates. The Government's statute for the elections prescribed the format of candidates' meetings, allowing all candidates equal time to address the public. In February the election Commission withdrew accreditation from the National Organization for Civic Education and Monitoring (NOCEM), an umbrella group of 14 NGO's, for conducting civic education before the election, after the Commission received complaints from government officials that NOCEM was partisan. The Commission allowed NOCEM to continue its monitoring activities through the election in March. NOCEM applied for registration as an NGO but was not registered before the year's end; all the member organizations of NOCEM had been previously registered. c. Freedom of Religion The 1967 Constitution and the draft constitution provide for freedom of religion, and the Government respects this right. There is no state religion, and a variety of religions are freely practiced. While the Government requires religious groups to register as NGO's, it does not use this requirement to curtail religious activities by any group. d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation Growing insecurity in northern Uganda restricted freedom of movement due to bandit and rebel attacks on travelers, and, starting in August, the insurgents' use of land mines on northern roads. Ugandans are free to emigrate and to travel abroad. Uganda accommodates over 350,000 refugees from Sudan, Rwanda, Zaire, Somalia, and other countries. The Government cooperated with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees. There were no reports of forced expulsion of those having a valid claim to refugee status. The Government signed an agreement with the UNHCR and Zaire in August, allowing for the repatriation of Ugandan refugees from Zaire. Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government Under the 1967 Constitution, citizens have the right to change their government, but they will not be able to exercise this right until the new constitution is in place and presidential and parliamentary elections are held. In March the first generally free and fair election was held to elect representatives to the Constituent Assembly, charged with drafting and approving a new constitution. Although political parties were not permitted to sponsor candidates or hold rallies, opposition party members could stand as individuals for elections, and many won seats (see Section 2.b.). The 282-member Assembly began deliberations in May on the new constitution, but did not complete its work by December as stipulated in the statute. The NRC extended its mandate until June 1995. President Museveni continued to hold power as Chief Executive, Minister of Defense, and Chairman of the National Executive Council. In November the President appointed a new Cabinet that included members of all three major opposition parties, the Democratic Party, the United People's Congress (UPC), and the Conservative Party. However, these Cabinet members' portfolios were generally less powerful than in the past. Also, there were few meaningful checks and balances on presidential power in place. Museveni has repeatedly and publicly stated his opposition to multiparty politics but has said that he will accept such a system if it emerges from the deliberations on the new constitution. The Government has encouraged the participation of women in government and allocated special seats for women in the NRC and the Constituent Assembly. The President appointed Dr. Specioza Kazibwe as the first female Vice President in November. Women hold positions of responsibility at all levels of government and within some of the political parties, one of which (the UPC) has a woman as its highest acting official. In the NRC, women held 43 of the 264 positions, and 5 of the 48 government ministers and ministers of state are women. There are 48 women in the Constituent Assembly.