Uganda

Uganda

  • Rights Groups Slam Pastor Over Same-Sex Porn

    Rights groups criticise a Ugandan pastor over same-sex porn

    Gay rights groups have condemned a Ugandan pastor who screened same-sex pornography in a church to try to bolster support for proposed anti-homosexuality legislation.

    Martin Ssempa, one of the main backers of a Bill that would impose the death penalty for some offenders, aired the explicit slideshow to several hundred people during a church service in Kampala.

    South African gay rights group, Behind the Mask, has described the video as ’twisted homophobic propaganda’.

    Source: 
    Mail&Guardian
  • HRW Criticises Impunity and Violence

    Impunity for past electoral violence is a major barrier to a free and fair election in Uganda in 2011, says the Human Rights Watch report

    Impunity for past electoral violence is a major barrier to a free and fair election in Uganda in 2011, according to a summary of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.

    The report points out that the perpetrators from all sides of the political spectrum have very rarely faced justice for crimes committed in past elections.

    It further states that those responsible for earlier offences, as well as those contemplating crimes, will feel unconstrained in future elections barring new measures and increased enforcement.

    Source: 
    All Africa
  • NGOs Warn Against Criminalising HIV Transmission

    Ugandan CSOs warn against criminalising the transmission of HIV/AIDS

    Ugandan civil society organisations have warned against criminalising the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

    Action Aid Uganda’s Stella Mukasa, notes that, “Criminalising the transmission of the disease invokes stigma, discrimination and deters voluntary testing and access to treatment.”

    Mukasa argues that applying criminal law to HIV transmission could result in women being disproportionately prosecuted and increase domestic violence.

    Source: 
    New Vision
  • Summit Focuses on Refugees

    African leaders gather in Uganda for a two-day summit aimed at agreeing on a treaty on improving the plight of the continent's refugees and displaced

    African leaders have gathered in the Ugandan capital of Kampala for a two-day summit aimed at agreeing on a treaty on improving the plight of the continent's 17 million refugees and displaced.

    The Convention on the Protection and Assistance of the Displaced People in Africa is the first of its kind aimed at internally displaced people, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

    Source: 
    News24
  • 2m Ugandans Threatened by Severe Hunger - Oxfam

    Oxfam has warned that at least two million Ugandans are threatened by severe hunger as a result of a prolonged drought

    Oxfam has warned that at least two million Ugandans are threatened by severe hunger as a result of a prolonged drought.

    Oxfam, which has now launched an emergency appeal for US$15 million to feed more than 23 million people faced by hunger across East Africa, says that in some instances, large numbers of animals have died because of drought.

    Source: 
    <br /> Monitor
    Article link: 
  • Ugandan NGO to Build ICT School

    Ugandan organisation, LEAD, is set to build a post-primary institute to teach information and communication technologies

    LEAD Uganda, a NGO that provides education to orphaned and needy children, is set to build a post-primary institute to teach information and communication technology (ICT).

    LEAD Uganda founder, Stephen Shames, says that there is no reason why ICT should be a preserve of developed countries.

    Shames says that the institute will not only help impart ICT skills but will also bolster efforts in bridging the digital divide between Uganda and the developed world.

    Source: 
    <br /> All Africa
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  • Donors Prefer Channelling Funds to CSOs

    A report, ‘Development Cooperation Report 2007-2008’ shows that most donors in Uganda provide support through civil society despite the government's efforts to persuade them to do so through the budget

    A report entitled ‘Development Cooperation Report 2007-2008,’ published by the Ugandan government with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme, shows that most donors in that country provide support through civil society despite the government's efforts to persuade them to do so through the budget.

    According to the report: "The proportion of support to Uganda administered outside the government is significant. In some sectors, it exceeds 90 per cent of the total funding from development partners."

    Source: 
    All Africa
  • Uganda Debt Network to Govt Over Luxury Vehicles

    Ugandan NGO advocating for pro-poor policies, threatens to take Ugandan government to court over purchase of expensive cars for Cabinet ministers

    The Uganda Debt Network, a NGO that advocates for pro-poor policies, has threatened to drag the Ugandan government to court over the purchase of expensive cars for Cabinet ministers.

    The Network’s Patrick Tumwebaze points out that, "We want to use the courts of law and demonstrations to send a message to the public that they deserve a responsible government."

    Tumwebaze says that the country’s infant mortality rate is at 39 percent, clean is accessed by 54 percent and 40 percent of the budget is foreign-funded.

    Source: 
    <br /> All Africa
    Article link: 
  • Male Circumcision Does Not Protect Women

    Research suggests that circumcising HIV-positive men does not reduce the risk of their female partners becoming HIV-infected

    New research suggests that circumcising HIV-positive men does not reduce the risk of their female partners becoming HIV-infected.

    The findings, reported in the British medical journal, The Lancet, emerged from a clinical trial in Rakai District, southern Uganda, involving 922 HIV-infected men and 163 of their HIV-negative female partners.

    Source: 
    <br /> Plus News
    Article link: 
  • Calls to Criminalise Torture

    Ugandan civil society organisations have asked their government to enact a law criminalising torture before the 2011 general elections

    Ugandan civil society organisations have asked their government to enact a law criminalising torture before the 2011 general elections.

    “We call upon the Government to affirm its commitment to eliminate torture in Uganda by enacting the prevention of torture Bill into law," says Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, Meddie Kaggwa. 

    Kaggwa says the current laws on torture are inadequate, and although torture is covered in the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002, it only applies to authorised officers.

    Source: 
    All Africa