07 October 2005

Kampala, Uganda: The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is a credible partner in the promotion and protection of human rights in Uganda, according to the latest annual report of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC).

The report, presented to the Parliament of Uganda at the end of September, highlights the ongoing contributions of UNV in supporting the commission’s efforts to help the government achieve good governance by ending widespread human rights violations.

The UHRC credits UN Volunteers for their involvement in conducting outreach activities in rural and hard to reach communities, as well as training more than 1,200 local council court officials on effectively transferring knowledge of the justice system to the grassroots level. It also praised their participation in disseminating the Amnesty law - a piece of legislation aimed at fostering peace and reconciliation among the country’s rebels - and for screening and registering former combatants wanting to receive amnesty.

The commission’s report also recognizes UNV’s role in establishing 26 Voluntary Action Groups, known as VAGs, and training their members in human right issues. The groups were formed to facilitate public access to the justice system by linking the community to the country’s legal and human rights bodies.

Volunteerism itself was lauded in the report as a powerful tool to overcome the socio-economic impact of human rights abuse. The commission commended the promotion of International Volunteer Day (IVD), 5 December, and its use by UN Volunteers to mobilize communities, non-governmental organizations, and other international organizations working in Uganda around activities to improve communities. One such initiative was the reconstruction in December 2004 of a primary school in the country’s eastern Soroti district destroyed by insurgents in 2003. The report states the UNV project “has facilitated vibrant networking among these organizations and further highlighted the strength of volunteerism as an asset and abundant capital for development.”

The UNV Programme Officer in Uganda, Mr. Jose Neil Manzano, said the UNV team in Uganda is proud of the recognition. “The entire team has worked hard to get the project where it is today,” he said. “Indeed, the true measure of our achievements is the impact that project has had on improving the conditions of people in the communities and the human rights environment that has been created.”

Since 2003, within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-led Good Governance for Poverty Eradication Programme, teams of UN Volunteers have worked with the UHRC, the Ugandan Amnesty Commission and the Ministry of Local Government to help strengthen national capacities in the observation, monitoring and reporting of human rights violations at the community level.