The Domestic Protection and Promotion of Human Rights under the 1995 Ugandan Constitution

Abstract

This article examines the domestic constitutional framework for protection and promotion of human rights in Uganda. It considers the historical evolution of Uganda's Bill of Rights in the context of Uganda's history, which has been characterised by gross human rights violations. It observes that in 1986 Museveni under his ‘Movement’ or ‘no-party’ government declared a period of ‘fundamental change’, but argues that despite some positive aspects, the change as related to the protection and promotion of human rights has been far from being ‘fundamental’. It contends that, although the 1995 Ugandan Constitution attempts to protect human rights, the constitutional restrictions on civil and political rights and the relegation of most economic and social rights as ‘directive principles' coupled with elastic executive powers together with the ‘no-party’ political system undermine the effective protection and promotion of civil, political as well as economic, social and cultural rights. The article concludes by calling for a democratic constitutional reform representative of all interest groups, judicial activism on the part of the Ugandan Judiciary and Human Rights Commission and developing a culture of constitutionalism in Uganda to give effect to the indivisible and interdependent nature of all human rights in accordance with Uganda's international human rights obligations as a State party to the two international human rights covenants on civil and political as well as economic, social and cultural rights.