Gov't urged to prosecute perpetrators of torture

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Uganda-based Foundation for Human Rights Initiative on Tuesday urged the Ugandan government to prosecute perpetrators of torture, saying the practice was still common in the country. On 11 May, the Ugandan government presented measures it had taken to comply with its obligations under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to a session of the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva. The delegation told the committee that the Ugandan Human Rights Commission had been created as an independent body and was mandated to monitor all alleged cases of human rights violations, including torture, and bring them to the attention of the competent authorities. HRW and the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), however, submitted a briefing paper to the UN committee, claiming that cases of torture by Ugandan security forces against political opponents, alleged rebels and criminal suspects had taken place recently. "Torture persists in Uganda because no one is investigated or punished for it," said Livingstone Sewanyana, director of the FHRI, based in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. "If the government were serious about stopping torture, it would end this state of impunity," he added. According to the paper, torture frequently occurred when suspects were held by agencies other than the regular police. Those bodies included the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force, the army, Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, and the Violent Crime Crack Unit. "Suspects are sometimes held in ‘safe houses’ by military and intelligence agents," said Juliane Kippenberg, a researcher in HRW's Africa division. "The use of such shadowy, unofficial places of detention makes torture much more likely," she said. James Nsaba Buturo, Uganda's information minister and government spokesman, denied that such places existed. "We have since closed all these places and challenge anybody to bring evidence to the contrary. We have more humane ways of handling any information we have," he told IRIN. "The commitment that torture and other forms of mistreatment must stop is there," said Buturo. He added that the negative information in the briefing paper was provided to the UN by "people who have for long been critics of the government." The UN committee is scheduled to publish its conclusions and recommendations on Uganda on Friday.