Rights groups concerned by parliamentary bills

The US-based organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday warned that recognition of rights in Uganda was being put at risk by three bills currently under consideration by the Ugandan parliament. The Defence and Internal Affairs Committee of the Ugandan parliament had been debating over the last few weeks the Nongovernmental Organisations Registration (Amendment) Bill, the Suppression of Terrorism Bill and the Political Organisations Bill, HRW said. "The Political Organisations Bill seeks to solidify the de facto one-party system that exists in Uganda. It limits political party activities and violates the rights to freedom of assembly and association", Alison Des Forges, senior adviser at the Africa division of HRW, said in a statement. HRW, together with a local rights group, the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), had briefed members of the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee on their concerns over the three bills. Livingstone Sewanyana, the FHRI executive director, told IRIN on Thursday that the Political Organisations Bill was a continuation of Article 269 of the Ugandan constitution, which restricts the actions of political parties, including by preventing them from holding rallies. Long-running controversy surrounding political rallies was brought into focus on 12 January when a trainee journalist was shot dead after police opened fire on a crowd gathering for a banned rally organised by the opposition Uganda People's Congress. The Ugandan constitution permits the existence of political parties, but their activities are restricted under the "Movement" system of government (Movement being a reference to the ruling National Resistance Movement), and they are not allowed to campaign in elections or form groupings in parliament. "We need a progressive legislation that will repeal Article 269," Sewanyana said. The proposed legislation to regulate nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) would give the government wide-ranging powers to interfere with NGO work and suspend associations. "We hope that parliament will reject the Nongovernmental Organisations Registration (Amendment) Bill, which could easily be used to obstruct the work of legitimate civil society groups," Des Forges said. The bill provided for the suspension of NGOs which did not conform with any "government policy or plan", and NGO leaders could be imprisoned for up to one year if they breached the proposed law, HRW said. "Suppose you are a human rights organisation. Campaigning on human and political rights could be enough to constitute grounds for revoking your [NGO] licence," Sewanyana said. According to HRW, an "overly broad definition" of terrorism in the Suppression of Terrorism Bill means there is a risk that innocent people or petty criminals could be "branded" as terrorists. Under the bill, the unlawful possession of firearms was defined as terrorism, and publishing news that was "likely to promote terrorism" could lead to up to 10 years' imprisonment, HRW said. The bill proposes a mandatory death sentence for those found guilty of terrorism as defined under the proposed legislation. "The parliament is at a historic moment. It can either decide to restrict civil liberties and human rights by passing stringent laws, or it can establish a firm grounding for the respect of human rights," Des Forges said.