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Uganda: Human Rights

Volume 503: debated on Wednesday 13 January 2010

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to improve the human rights situation in Uganda. (309708)

The UK has lobbied the Government of Uganda (GoU) on contraventions of human rights. The British high commission and the Department for International Development's (DFID's) office in Kampala follow the situation closely and regularly discuss human rights issues with the GoU. For example we raised concerns over the use of force and restrictions on media freedoms during the September 2009 riots.

DFID also provides direct assistance to a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening the protection of human rights. DFID supports the Ugandan Human Rights Commission programme of civic education, with a focus on citizens' rights. We are supporting the police and civil society groups to improve public order policing under the Deepening Democracy Programme. DFID also contributes to the Independent Development Fund that provides grants to human rights organisations in Uganda.