Uganda: Whether family and social gatherings are effectively banned and whether it is necessary to obtain a license from government-appointed committees
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1991 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | UGA8724 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Uganda: Whether family and social gatherings are effectively banned and whether it is necessary to obtain a license from government-appointed committees, 1 May 1991, UGA8724, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab8524.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
There is a general consensus from a number of sources that within most of Uganda, family and social gatherings are neither banned nor interfered with, and it is not necessary to obtain a license from government-appointed committees. Several sources, however, indicate that it is possible such a ban might periodically pertain in areas where fighting continues with rebel forces, most notably in the north and east. The U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1990 (1991, 437) reports that "Outside areas of insurgency, there is little interference by authorities with personal privacy and family life." It goes on to note, however, that although warrants are required by police to enter and search homes, "in practice this requirement is often ignored" (Ibid., 437). Country Reports 1989 (1990, 405) indicated that "Under the NRM [National Resistance Movement], interference by authorities with personal privacy and family life has greatly diminished," a summary with which the Human Rights Watch and Lawyers Committee for Human Rights' Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1989 (1990, 237) finds no fault. Amnesty International, while documenting numerous incidences of human rights abuses by government soldiers in contested areas (Report 1990, 242), also notes that in general human rights abuses have decreased dramatically since the National Resistance Army came to power in 1986 (Uganda, 14). Response to Info. Req. No. 6388, attached, contains further background information on the human rights situation in the north.
The Second Secretary of the Uganda High Commission in Ottawa (28 May 1991) maintains there is complete freedom of travel and assembly for family and social groups within Uganda except possibly in contested areas in the north and east, where personal security could be at stake. A Ugandan scholar in Ottawa (29 May 1991) was in agreement with this assessment and added that family and social gatherings are so important to Ugandan society that they would be banned only in extreme cases, and even then such a ban could not be properly implemented. A specialist on Uganda at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire (28 May 1991) and a CIDA project officer on the Uganda desk (29 May 1991) corroborated that no such ban exists in most of Uganda, but that it might come into effect during times of conflict in contested areas. None of the sources contacted knew of an actual case of such a ban. Further information on the subject is currently unavailable
to the IRBDC.
Attachments
Response to Info. Req. No. 6388, with attached articles.
Bibliography
Amnesty International. 1990. Amnesty International Report 1990. London: Amnesty International Publications.
Amnesty International. 1989. Uganda: The Human Rights Record 1986-1989. London: Amnesty International Publications.
CIDA Project Officer, Uganda Desk, Ottawa. 29 May 1991.
Telephone Interview.
Human Rights Watch and Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. 1990.
Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1989. New York: Human Rights Watch and Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.
Professor Specializing in Uganda, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New
Hampshire. 28 May 1991. Telephone Interview.
Second Secretary of the Uganda High Commission, Ottawa. 28 May
1991. Telephone Interview.
Ugandan Scholar Studying in Ottawa. 29 May 1991. Telephone Interview.
U.S. Department of State. 1990. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1989. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S. Department of State. 1991. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1990. Washington: U.S. Government Office