Workshop background and objectives

The objectives of the Kampala workshop were to:

- Enable civil society actors to identify opportunities offered by the treaty bodies in general and the Human Rights Committee in particular to advance the human rights situation in the country.

- Strengthen participants' capacity to understand the mechanism of the treaty bodies;

- Collect information from the field with a view to drafting an alternative report in response to the Committee's list of questions.

- Implement an advocacy strategy before, during and after the session.

A diversity of personalities and CSOs 

The workshop, organized in partnership with Uganda's National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, was attended by a wide range of NGOs (up to twenty human rights defenders from Kampala and other towns in the interior of the country) and personalities such as:

• Mr Farouk Lubega, the Assistant Commissioner, Legal at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs who delivered remarks of the Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda, Hon Kiryowa Kiwanuka.
• Mr. Hassan Shire - the ED of East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project and Board Member of the CCPR Centre. 

Methodology: series of webinars and validation workshop

The methodology used for this workshop was particular in that it was essentially based on a series of webinars that took place months prior to the workshop dates. In addition to building their capacity to understand the mechanism, the webinars enabled the participants to be organized into thematic groups to collect answers to the Committee's questions in the list of issues. On this basis, the workshop essentially served as a validation process.

Validation of the report to be submitted to the DH Committee : As part of the webinars, each of the thematic groups collected information and prepared reports. Each group took it in turn to present the content of their work, and to obtain validation from all participants. 

Main areas of concern 

Among the issues discussed and raised by the NGOs as matters of concern to be brought to the Committee's attention were the independence of the judiciary, conditions of detention and alternatives to detention, civic space and the increasing restrictions on freedom of demonstration in the country. Impunity for the repression of peaceful public demonstrations and the situation of vulnerable groups, notably women and children, were also addressed in the report.

Outcome and next steps

A concrete outcome of the workshop and consultation process was the draft of a joint CSO alternative report which was submitted to the Human Rights Committee in June 2023. The Centre continues to support & advise national CSOs who wish to engage in the review.