A team of independent human rights activists from Northern Uganda are undergoing training in Gulu on how to document and monitor excesses by those in power with the aim of holding them accountable for their actions.
The activists drawn from sixteen community based organizations that operate in the districts of Koboko, Kotido, Amuru, Nwoya and Lira, are being trained by Foundation for Human Rights Initiative—FHRI on how to monitor and document cases of rights violation by both local and national leaders.
Alice Nassaka, the FHRI Capacity Development Manager, explains that the sixteen activists who are undergoing training will be availed with cameras and recorders to aid them with compiling evidence of rights violations in their localities.
Nassaka says the main aim of the training is to equip members of the community based organizations in northern Uganda with the skills of monitoring and documenting cases of rights violation by those who hold power.
She says the activists will collect the data and forward it to the FHRI headquarters in Kampala for action.
// Cue in: “Basically equipping them…”
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Nassaka says involving community based organizations in compiling and documenting human rights violations will create confidence among stakeholders because human rights groups have always been accused of writing upcountry reports from the comfort of their offices in Kampala.
The independent human rights monitors will be on the lookout for rights violations like denial of fair trial, the right to life, liberty, political participation and a right to own property.
The group visited detention facilities in Gulu on Thursday morning and spoke to the inmates on the living conditions in the cells.
