Speaker of Parliament Hon Rebecca Kadaga was Wednesday handed yet another report citing the Uganda Police Force (UPF) as the worst violators of Human Rights.
Kadaga received the report from the government owned Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) at her office at Parliament.
The Commission’s 18th Annual Report was presented by Chairman Med Kaggwa. In the report, complaints of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment were the highest registered cases. Out of the 4,227complaints received by UHRC in 2015, 345 were complaints of torture while 247 complaints were on detention beyond 48hours.
This report brings Police for yet another year as the top violators of human rights.
“UPF remained the top respondent in 2015, with 385 (50.6%) out of the 760 respondents. They were followed by individuals who constituted 182 of all respondents and the Uganda people’s Defense Forces (UPDF) with 97,” reads the report.
The above were followed by; Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) with 28 cases, Internal Security Organization (ISO), Local Defense Units (LDUs) and Crime Preventers.
“Of all 486 complaints registered against UPF, 219 were on personal liberty (detention beyond 48 hours), while 200 were on torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” noted Med Kaggwa in his statement.
The report highlighted that a total of 119 complaints were registered against the UPDF, of which the violation of the right to freedom from torture, cruel and inhuman treatment was the highest with 69 complaints.
Kaggwa tasked security agencies such as Prisons, Police and UPDF to enforce the prevention and prohibition of Torture Act 2012 in order to hold perpetrators of torture in places of detention accountable.
However, the report indicates that there has been a notable reduction in the number of complaints registered against most security agencies (UPF, UPDF and UPS) in 2015 due to the commission’s increased sensitization of security agents on the concept of human rights and on Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act 2012.
The Speaker has advised the commission to ensure that the issues of Human rights protection are included in the National Curriculum so as to nurture a new generation of society.
Recently the Inspector General of Police attacked the Human Rights Commission for rushing to condemn the police force when cited in rights violations and keeping quite when it is the police force under attack from citizens especially demonstrators.