Until 16th July 2014, it was unheard of in Uganda’s human rights jurisprudence for a judicial officer in Uganda to visit to location of an alleged human rights violation to contextualize for himself what the circumstances in which the violation is alleged to have occurred. Such was the occasion at Nakaseke District hospital at 10.00am when Hon. Benjamin Kabiito visited the Hospital to ascertain the circumstances under which Nanteza Irene died after failing to access emergency obstetric care she needed to give birth to her baby.
The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) will be holding a 4-day health camp in the Buikwe District from Tuesday 19th August to Friday 22nd August 2014. Buikwe is a predominantly fishing community located in the central region of Uganda.
The health camp follows the community consultations conducted by CEHURD under the Go4Health (Goals and Governance for Global Health) process from which a number of issues arose as health concerns in this district: family planning services, antenatal care, postnatal care, post-abortion care, HIV services (particularly mother-to-child transmission of HIV), lack of testing and counseling services, malaria treatment, diarrhea, and non-communicable diseases (including diabetes, cancer, and hypertension).
As an intervention, CEHURD reacted with organizing a health camp where local health centers, service providers, and NGOs have collaborated to provide free services to the community members of Najja and Nyenga (sub-counties). This health camp will act as an opportunity for the community to engage in health education, obtain testing, screening and counseling services, and receive a variety of hygiene and nutrition tips.
The health camp will also create a platform for health service providers, agencies, and advocacy groups to learn immediate health concerns from community members in order to strategize how to build capacity.
The Health camp will be held in two shifts. It will be held in Nyenga Sub County on the 19th and 20th August 2014 at Allied teachers’ School playground and 21st to 22nd August 2014 at Sacred Heart Senior Secondary school playground.
A panel of judicial officers discuss a Human rights approach to the criminal justice system in Uganda.
Prof. Ben Twinomugisha at the forum
Some of the participants at the magistrates forum
On 8th August 2014, the Center for Health Human Rights and Development hosted judicial officers at Protea Hotel in Kampala to discuss a Human right approach to the criminal justice system in Uganda.
A Chinese quarrying company, China Communications Construction Company (C.C.C.C), has deprived two villages in Mukono District, Bamutakudde and Kiryamuli of their right to health and right to a clean and healthy environment. The company, which operates a large quarry in Bamutakudde and Kiryamuli villages, has been uprooting trees and tearing apart earth, polluting the stream from which the two villages collect all their water. The company practices “dry quarrying”, which throws up stone dust that throttles the villagers’ plants and gets into their lungs. The explosions used for quarrying damage villagers’ homes and give them terrible stress.
The right to health means more than just getting care if you are sick. It also means living in an environment that is safe for your health and having access to safe water. CEHURD recognizes this fact, and we have brought a case to the High Court of Uganda to enforce those rights.
C.C.C.C. consequently digs a trench around the water source.
CEHURD visited Bamutakudde and Kiryamuli earlier in May to inspect the condition of the villages. By the time we became involved, the residents had petitioned Mukono District Local Government and held peaceful protests, to no avail. The district authorities in Mukono had rebuffed to intervene, and C.C.C.C. had promised better practices, only to break its word. Now, the torn-up earth nearly reached the stream. Much longer, and the stream would be permanently buried underneath a few tons of rock and dirt. We quickly filed a case against C.C.C.C. and the two government agencies that had ignored their duty to supervise them (Civil suit No. 172 of 2014).
The environmental focus of the claim makes it especially strong. The Constitution of Uganda only mentions the right to health in its National Objectives, which Ugandan courts often decline to enforce them. The Constitution is more blunt about environmental rights: “Every Ugandan has a right to a clean and healthy environment” (Article 39). There are more detailed articles that detail the government’s duties, as well. Anyone who sees the conditions in Bamutakudde and Kiryamuli would realize that the quarry is making their environment unclean and unhealthy, so the villagers have a strong case that their rights have been violated.
We also filed for an interlocutory injunction (Misc application No. 290 of 2014 (arising out of civil suit No. 172 of 2014), and an interim injunction (Misc Appln. No. 291 of 2014, arising out of Misc Application No. 290 of 2014). An interim injunction means that the registrar orders the defendant to stop doing whatever it is doing while the court considers the actual case. That way, the court’s final ruling doesn’t come too late to matter. For instance, if C.C.C.C. were to bulldoze the stream while the High Court was hearing the actual case, it might be impossible for anyone to restore the stream — so we want an injunction to make sure the stream is protected until the final ruling is made. The registrar plans to release her ruling on the interim injunction on 14th July.
Affected residents attending a court session.
Even though the court has not yet ruled on the interim injunction, much less the main case, we are starting to see practical results. C.C.C.C. has been digging a trench around the stream in hopes that dirty water will stop flowing into it. There is talk of repairing houses that have been damaged. We still need a court order, of course, to make sure that C.C.C.C. doesn’t revert to its damaging practices and to get the government to start supervising properly. Still, the practical results in the case show how litigation can advance human rights.
Today July 4, 2014, the High court of Uganda will give its ruling in the miscellaneous application filed by the Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) against C.C.C.C, NEMA and Mukono District Local Government for violation of rights to health and right to clean and healthy environment. PRESS STATEMENT
