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Publicly acknowledge and condemn human rights violations committed by government forces in the course of forced disarmament operations in Karamoja.
End impunity for human rights violations committed by soldiers of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) and its auxiliary forces during cordon and search operations. Promptly, impartially, and transparently investigate and discipline or prosecute as appropriate all allegations of human rights violations, including unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and destruction of property.
Investigate whether any civilians apprehended in connection with cordon and search operations or otherwise on suspicion of firearms possession remain arbitrarily detained in military facilities, and release any such individuals. Transfer cases of individuals charged with firearms possession or other criminal acts to the jurisdiction of the civilian criminal justice system.
Expedite reforms in cordon and search operations procedures to ensure their compliance with international human rights law. Review in particular their compliance with protections against arbitrary search, arrest, and detention, and, to the extent such protections are not extended under Ugandan law to UPDF-conducted law enforcement operations, amend Ugandan law accordingly.
Compensate victims of unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, and looting by government forces adequately and speedily.
Reform national legislation authorizing the military detention and prosecution of civilians on firearms offenses to place exclusive jurisdiction over these offenses with the civilian criminal justice system.
Increase the capacity of the police, including units with specialized training in responding to civil disorder, the judiciary, and other civilian justice institutions in Karamoja to ensure effective policing and access to justice consistent with respect for human rights.
Reconsider whether special auxiliary police forces, including the Anti-Stock Theft Units, are adequately trained and appropriately equipped to provide effective, professional policing. Provide all police personnel with practical human rights training, including on the appropriate use of force.
Convene a commission of independent experts on pastoralist livelihoods, arms control, and human rights to examine the relationship between livelihoods, conflict resolution, and arms proliferation in Karamoja. The commission, drawing on the existing Karamoja Integrated Disarmament and Development Programme (KIDDP) draft, and guided by a prioritization of human rights, should recommend revisions to KIDDP and coordination with other existing government policies, including the National Action Plan on Arms Management and Disarmament. The commission should seek the input of relevant government ministries, the Uganda Human Rights Commission, the National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NFP), and local elected officials, traditional leaders, and civil society representatives from Karamoja.
Pursue regional cooperation through the NFP and its counterparts in Kenya and Sudan to eliminate cross-border arms trafficking, including through steps prescribed by the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects and the Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control, and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons.
Engage with elders, women, youth, local elected officials, and civil society representatives, as well as regional organizations, including the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, to promote inter- and intratribal peace building initiatives and community-based security arrangements to deter raiding and facilitate cattle recovery.
To the Uganda Human Rights Commission
Increase the presence and effectiveness of the Uganda Human Rights Commission in Karamoja to investigate complaints of human rights violations by government personnel. Deploy additional human rights officers, with adequate resources, including transportation, to investigate complaints.
Exercise constitutionally mandated powers to investigate places of detention to ensure that civilians are not detained in military facilities following cordon and search operations.
Increase outreach and human rights education efforts to encourage communities in Karamoja to report on human rights violations.
Call on the Ugandan government to expedite reforms to cordon and search operations procedures to ensure the legality of these operations, and to investigate and prosecute human rights violations by its forces.
Condition support for KIDDP or any policy with a disarmament component on the compatibility of any such disarmament operations with the Ugandan government’s human rights obligations under national and international law.
Support programs with a successful record of improving the capacity of justice and law and order institutions in Karamoja, including the police and the judiciary.
Support human rights education and human rights monitoring by nongovernmental organizations in Karamoja.
Fully fund the Uganda 2007 Consolidated Appeals Process, which includes support for humanitarian assistance in the Karamoja region.
In advance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Uganda in November 2007, call on the Ugandan government to live up to the principles of respect for human rights, the rule of law, and just and honest government enshrined in the 1991 Harare Commonwealth Declaration, by investigating allegations of human rights violations, ending impunity for the perpetrators of human rights violations, and to expedite reforms to cordon and search operations procedures in Karamoja to ensure compliance with international human rights law.
Continue, through the leadership of the Uganda office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to closely monitor the Ugandan government’s compliance with national and international human rights standards in its policies addressed to the Karamoja region, including disarmament.
Increase, where possible, the activities of appropriate United Nations agencies in Karamoja to bolster human rights, humanitarian assistance, and civilian protection.
Support local nongovernmental organizations in Karamoja in the investigation and documentation of human rights violations by providing training and resources, including transportation subsidies and photography equipment.
Assist local organizations or individuals in Karamoja who have been victims of abuse with filing civil lawsuits in Ugandan courts, and complaints and submissions before the Uganda Human Rights Commission, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee, the UN Committee against Torture, the UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues, and the UN Working Group on Minorities.
September 2007
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