In a bid to improve the understanding of Human Rights related issues within its forces, the army has said it will start to translate some of the documents on Human rights into local languages.
This comes on the backdrop of a Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) report released early this week that puts the army top of human rights abusers in the country.
The report indicates that last year, 111 cases were registered against the UPDF compared to 55 cases in 2013.
Col. Charles Angulo Wacha, the Director in Charge of Human Rights Directorate in the UPDF says, “As the army grapples with accusation of abuses; we are working round the clock to ensure every army officer is aware of their responsibilities as citizens.”
Col. Wacha noted that although they are facing as a lot of financial challenges, the army will ensure that all the men in uniform are informed about the law regarding human rights.
“Despite the slow pace in filtering the messages of Human Rights within the army ranks, we have made progress with the help of Human Rights defenders working in the country,” Col Wacha said.
He said that plans are underway to translate documents on human rights into four local languages.
According to the Director in Charge of Human Rights Directorate in the UPDF, some of the materials such as the acts are difficult to comprehend but once they are translated into mother tongues, it will ease the barrier.
The widely spoken languages in the army under consideration are: Kishwahili, Luganda, Runyakitara and Luo.
The army is also considering developing a curriculum on human rights in a bid to curb the rising cases of torture by soldiers.
Ms Ida Nakiganda, the Director Research Education and Documentation (RED) at the UHRC says although the UPDF is still in the Human Rights Commission’s bad book, there has been a positive progress.
Nakiganda says, “Cases such as torture have greatly reduced over the last few years.”
She said intervention such trainings on promotion and protection of human rights is bearing fruits since members of the security forces have embraced the importance of rights observance.
Nakiganda noted that the human rights education will eventually lead to reduction of rights violation and tasked the police to double its effort as the country prepares to join the rest of the world to commemorate the International Day Against Torture.
During two days training on Protection and Promotion on Human Rights by UHRC at 4thDivision Barracks in Gulu on Wednesday, each of the 100 UPDF officers were handed a brand new copy of the Constitution.
