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THE SPOTLIGHT hrapf'S work aims at achieving equality, non discriminatioN and access to justice for the most at risk PERSONS IN UGANDA

Dear Reader,

We are delighted to share with you the ninth issue of the Spotlight Newsletter which provides highlights HRAPF's interventions during the first quarter of 2023- January to March 2023. This quarter marked the beginning of the implementation of HRAPF's 4th strategic plan for the period 2023-2027.

Under HRAPF's new strategic plan, we implement activities under four programme areas: Access to Justice; Advocacy and Influencing; Community Capacity Enhancement; and the Center for Law and Marginalisation.

The period of January-March 2023 has been dominated by the tabling and passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 by the Parliament of Uganda. This has had immense implications on the work that we do and how we do it.

Despite the Bill, our work goes on, albeit in a different way.

Enjoy your read!

ACCESS TO JUSTICE

LEGAL AID SERVICE PROVISION

HRAPF offers free legal aid services to sex workers, PWUIDs, LGBTI persons, survivors of gender based violence (GBV) in refugee settlements, women, girls, and health workers in conflict with abortion laws, elderly and indigent persons with land justice issues, and women and girls living with and/or affected by HIV.

We handle cases through the following channels: the main legal clinic at the HRAPF secretariat in Kampala; and through regional legal aid centres in the Eastern, Northern and Western regions of the country, as well as through two specialised legal aid desks and one satellite office hosted by partner organisations. The other cases are handled by HRAPF trained community paralegals under the guidance of HRAPF lawyers.

In the first quarter, the Access to Justice Programme handled a total of 463 cases across 42 districts. Of these, 173 cases concerned sex workers; 170 LGBT persons; 87 cases PWUIDs; 24 land and HIV; 6 GBV ; and 3 women, girls and health workers in charged with abortion related offences.

Of these, 192 cases were handled by community paralegals; 186 cases were handled at the main legal aid clinic; 48 cases were handled at the regional legal aid centers and legal aid desks.

The actions taken in responding to these cases benefited a total of 804 persons, of whom 311 persons benefited from cases involving LGBT persons; 264 from cases involving sex workers; 155 persons from PWUID cases; 61 persons from land and HIV cases; 10 people from the GBV cases in Bidibidi refugee settlement camp and 3 people benefited from cases on access to safe abortion services.

IMPACT OF THE ANTI HOMOSEXUALITY BILL, 2023 ON THE NUMBER AND NATURE OF CASES

The month of March in which the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was passed, saw a leap in numbers of cases involving LGBTI persons. In March 2023, HRAPF handled 73 cases involving LGBTQ people, which was an increase from the 60 cases handled in February and the 54 handled in January. The cases kept on increasing every month.

The nature of cases also changed greatly with cases in March 2023 with cases involving violence against LGBTI persons increasing exponentially. In March, 54 cases out of the 73 (73.9%) involved violence (31 crimes against LGBTI persons including assaults, 14 evictions and 9 arrests). In February, 17 out of 60 cases (28.3%) involved violence (10 assaults, 4 arrests, 6 evictions, and one case on raid of a shelter by local authorities). In January, there were 13 cases of violence out of the 54 cases handled (24%) which included 8 violent attacks/assaults, 4 arrests and 1 eviction.

LGBTI community paralegals contributed less cases in this quarter with them handling at total of 24 cases (6 cases in March, 13 in February and 5 in January). In the last quarter of 2022, paralegals handled 37 cases (9 in December, 11 in November and 17 in October). The reason for this as reported by the community paralegals is that they are afraid of exposing themselves to the police by handling cases at this moment.

The above statistics show that politicisation and laws further criminalising same-sex relations do actual harm to LGBT persons and affects service provision for them – including legal and paralegal services.

COMMUNITY MONITORING OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

HRAPF held two meetings with KP communities on the human rights situation in their communities in Kampala, on 8th February 2023, attended by 44 persons, and on 15th February 2023, attended by 43 persons.

In addition, the team held a supplementary training for 14 community monitors on the 31st of March 2023, attended by 12 persons.

In the quarter, a total of 62 calls were received on the toll free line during the quarter, out of which clients were given legal advice in 12 cases. The HRAPF toll free line is a helpline for the legal aid clinic through which clients can contact us in case of legal assistance and advice and case follow-up.

MOBILE LEGAL AID CAMPS

One legal aid camp was conducted with sex workers and PWUIDs in Yumbe on 1st March, 2023, attended by a total of 40 persons.

SUPPORT TO COMMUNITY PARALEGALS TO HANDLE CASES

A total of 192 cases were handled by community paralegals, of which 111 were sex worker cases, 56 were PWUIDs cases and 25 were LGBT cases. The actions taken in handling these cases benefited a total of 84 persons, of whom 79 were direct beneficiaries while 5 were indirect beneficiaries.

AWARENESS SESSIONS WITH LGBT PERSONS

HRAPF conducted 3 awareness sessions with the LGBT community as follows: on 31st January 2023 in Entebbe reaching out to 29 persons; on 31st January 2023 in Arua reaching out to 17 persons; and on 17th February 2023 attended by 30 persons in Kampala.

AWARENESS SESSIONS WITH SEX WORKERS

A total of 5 awareness sessions were held with sex workers: 1st February 2023 in Yumbe, attended by 27 persons; on 3rd February, 2023 in Lyantonde, attended by 30 persons; 21st February, 2023 in Masaka, was attended by 30 persons; 22nd February 2023 in Kyotera, attended by 30 persons; and 4th March 2023 in Arua, attended by 30 persons.

AWARENESS SESSIONS WITH PWUIDS

One awareness session was held with PWUIDs from Iganga on 15th of February 2023 reaching out to 30 persons.

AWARENESS SESSIONS WITH PLWHIV

One awareness session was held in Kiboga on the 9th of March 2023 reaching out to 125 persons.

CENTER ON LAW AND MARGINALISATION

The Center on Law and Marginalisation was established under the new HRAPF strategic plan 2023 – 2027 to promote a sustained development of knowledge and jurisprudence for the promotion and protection of human rights of marginalised persons and key populations. The strategic objective is to build a center of excellence on research and strategic litigation for the promotion and protection of rights of marginalised persons and Key Populations.

COURT CASES HANDLED

22 cases were followed up in court in conjunction with the Access to Justice programme, 8 of which involved LGBTI persons, 5 were land cases, 4 involved PWUIDs, 3 were abortion related cases and 3 cases involved clients with land justice matters.

A total of 117 court appearances in 94 different cases were made during the quarter. 15 cases were handled to completion and of the 15 completed cases, 14 ended in favour of our clients while 1 was against our clients.

RESEARCH

HRAPF conducted two validation meetings on the community score card on access to health services for sex workers and LGBT persons in Mbale district on 7th and 8th February 2023. The meetings reached out to a total of 22 LGBT persons and 20 sex workers.

HRAPF also conducted a validation meeting on 6th February 2023 with intersex persons on the needs assessment study of the SRHR needs of intersex persons in Uganda.

HRAPF also conducted a community launch of the needs assessment study on the SRHR needs for intersex persons on 13th February 2023.

We also conducted a community score card to investigate the accessibility of health and social services for LGBTI persons in one of the districts.

We also undertook a mapping of KP friendly health centers in the Western region

HRAPF produced a legal and human rights analysis of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023, both as tabled and as passed by Parliament.

HRAPF also published two articles in the newspapers about the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023 written by the Executive Director.

ADVOCACY AND INFLUENCING ENGAGEMENTS

ENGAGEMENTS ON THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL, 2023

HRAPF co-chairs the Legal Committee challenging the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 under the auspices of the Convening for Equality. HRAPF organised and hosted 5 legal strategising meetings concerning the Bill.

PRESENTATION OF THE LEGAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS PETITION ON THE ANTI HOMOSEXUALITY BILL 2023 TO THE LEGAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS AFFAIRS PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE

HRAPF made submissions on behalf its own behalf and mobilized members of the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law to make submissions before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill on 16th and 17th March 2023.

SENSITISATION MEETINGS ON THE NULLIFICATION OF PARTS OF THE LAWS ON BEING ROGUE AND VAGABOND

HRAPF conducted two sensitisation meetings with LGBT persons and sex workers on the cases that declared null and void sections 168(1)(c) and 168(1)(d) of the Penal Code, which are part of the broader range of legal provisions creating the offences of being ‘rogue and vagabond’.

This judgment was a welcome development in the struggle for the decriminalisation and declassification of petty offences that have traditionally been used by law enforcement to target and harass marginalised persons on the basis of status in Uganda. It was thus prudent to make communities affected to appreciate the full import of the decision.

Therefore, during the period, HRAPF conducted two sensitisation meetings with LGBT persons and sex workers on this case.

In the period, HRAPF was part of a number of conversations on the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023 including a public debate with the mover of the Bill and Twitter space conversations with activists

COMMUNITY CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT

COMMUNITY PARALEGAL TRAINING PROGRAMME

PARALEGAL TRAININGS

The 3rd module of the Community Paralegal Training was conducted on 6th to 10th February 2023. A total of 9 new paralegals graduated from the paralegal training programme and were awarded with certificates.

10 sex workers were also trained as community paralegals in the first module of the community paralegal training.

SUPPORT TO PARALEGALS TO FURTHER THEIR STUDIES

During the period, HRAPF supported two community paralegals to pursue their Bachelor's degree in Law.

WORKSHOPS AND TRAININGS FOR DUTY BEARERS ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND MARGINALISATION

The promotion and protection of human rights for all requires the engagement and inclusion of various stakeholders. Therefore, during the quarter, we engaged with various duty bearers. These engagements were aimed at creating more awareness of human rights-based approaches as well as the effects of marginalisation on the observance of human rights for marginalised, vulnerable, and most at-risk populations.

POLICE OFFICERS TRAINING WORKSHOPS

During the quarter, we conducted one police training workshop on the legal and policy framework for Key Populations in Uganda in Arua on 2nd February 2023. A total of 30 police officers were engaged during this workshop.

HEALTH WORKERS TRAINING WORKSHOPS

HRAPF conducted two training workshops with 26 health workers from Arua city on 2nd February 2023 and with 30 health workers from Ntungamo on 9th March 2023. The discussions were on access to health services and the SRHR needs of key populations in their respective districts.

In the period, we also conducted one training workshop on 28th March 2023 with 30 health workers on the legal and policy environment on abortion in Uganda.

Pictorial from some of the health workers training workshops
The Assistant District Health Officer of Arua district giving opening remarks at the training workshop

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT TO KEY POPULATION ORGANISATIONS

HRAPF assisted one KP organisation to file two annual returns for the years 2020 and 2021 and 4 organisations were supported to conduct their financial audits.

In the quarter, we also continued to assist 30 KP organisations to comply with legal requirements. HRAPF conducted one compliance training workshop for leaders from KP organisations from 14th to 16th February 2023. The leaders were equipped with knowledge on statutory compliance of companies limited by guarantee and processes of NGO registration.

HRAPF SECRETARIAT ACTIVITIES

STAFF BIRTHDAYS AND CELEBRATIONS

During the period, we celebrated birthdays for staff members born in January, February and March 2023. We also had staff recreational activities where in February we celebrated Valentine's week and in March we had a talent show.

CONSULTATIVE MEETING ON HRAPF'S STRATEGIC PLAN

During the period, HRAPF conducted a meeting with strategic partners to review our new strategic plan 2023-2027. Partners made input to the new strategic plan.

Partners at the meeting

BEGINNING OF YEAR STAFF RETREAT

As is our custom every year, the HRAPF team had a beginning of year staff retreat. This year's staff retreat was an opportunity for the team to reflect on the achievements of the previous strategic plan as well as renew energies to implement the last year of HRAPF's strategic plan. The retreat was also an opportunity for team bonding and re-integration of staff members.

The HRAPF team also set out targets and commitments for the new year 2023 in line with our new strategic plan 2023-2027.

Pictures from the staff retreat and beginning of year staff match

Credits:

Created with images by BCFC - "Legal law crime and punishment concept" • Africa Studio - "Word law with judges gavel and legal books on wooden background" • vegefox.com - "Statue of Justice - lady justice, law concept." • thodonal - "Concept of justice" • Atlas - "Books against rustic wooden background, space for text" • dizain - "Advocacy bulb word cloud concept" • MQ-Illustrations - "Paralegal. Close-up of a Lady Justice statue. Law and lawyer symbol. Figure stands in front of paper with text."

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