To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment her Department has made of the human rights situation in Uganda; and if she will make a statement. (132987)

I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) on 19 January 2007, Official Report, columns 1409-410W.

We continue to raise our concerns with the Ugandan Government on the issues mentioned in my previous answer. Most recently, we have focused on:

the forced disarmament programme in Karamoja, where there have been serious allegations of human rights abuses; and

events surrounding the detention and treatment of the alleged People's Redemption Army suspects, where the violence used by the government forces at the Uganda High Court on 1 March to frustrate the decision of the High Court to grant the suspects bail had grave implications for the independence of the judiciary, respect for the rule of law and human rights in Uganda.

We will continue to press the Ugandan Government on the need to respect fully human rights.