The Ugandan government on Wednesday said it has decided not to renew the mandate of the United Nations human rights office in the country, citing the development of its own sufficient capacity to monitor rights compliance, reported The Africa News.
According to a Reuters report, citing a letter sent by Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on February 3, the ministry noted that Uganda had made good progress in developing a domestic capacity to monitor rights, and so, the government has decided to shut down the UN human rights office.
“The ministry wishes to convey the government’s decision not to renew the mandate of the OHCHR Country office in Uganda beyond the current term,” read the letter seen by Reuters.
The Ugandan authorities informed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that the government will continue its cooperation with the OHCHR headquarters directly or through its permanent mission in Geneva.
The OHCHR’s office in Uganda was set up in 2006 and was initially meant to focus only on human rights issues in conflict-plagued areas in the northern and northeastern parts of the country, according to the Uganda government. It was later allowed to cover the rest of the country.
Over the years, the Ugandan opposition, human rights activists, and Western countries have criticized President Yoweri Museveni’s government for various rights violations including torture, illegal detentions, and extrajudicial killings of opponents and critics. Officials continue to deny all the accusations and claims that security forces implicated in rights abuses have been duly punished.
President Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986. The opposition and critics have accused him of coaching his son, who is a general in the country’s military, to take over from him. Museveni has repeatedly denied doing so.
