Published on 21/10/2024
The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has resolved only 17% of its cases by June 2023, blaming funding cuts from development partners for its poor performance.
The halt in funding has severely impacted UHRC’s ability to address human rights issues fully. As a result, many cases remain unresolved, highlighting the urgent need for financial support to continue their critical work.
The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has attributed its poor performance—handling only 17% of its caseload by June 2023 and failing to fully resolve any human rights cases—to the decision by development partners to halt funding for its core activities.
This information is outlined in the report by the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE) based on the Auditor General’s findings on UHRC’s performance for June 2023.
The report, presented to Parliament by Busiro East MP Medard Sseggona, emphasized the need for UHRC to prioritize handling older cases before new ones to prevent disorderly case management.
“UHRC’s performance, with only 17.3% of cases partially heard and none concluded, was poor. This led to a growing backlog as new cases were continuously added to the Tribunal without finalizing older ones. The irregular funding for Tribunal sessions has slowed down the pace of case resolution. These hearings are solely funded by the Justice Law and Order Sector, not the Government,” Sseggona explained.
COSASE further informed Parliament that UHRC blamed its dismal performance on severe budget constraints. The Commission had relied heavily on development partners for financial support, and their withdrawal left a significant funding gap.
“The Accounting Officer estimated that UGX 4.2 billion is required to manage the entire complaints process, from initial receipt to follow-up, investigation, and conclusion,” Sseggona added.
As of June 30, 2023, the Auditor General’s report showed that the Tribunal carried forward 2,346 cases from the previous year, with 895 new cases scheduled for hearings between July 2022 and June 2023. Only 66 cases were closed during this period, leaving a backlog of 1,521 unresolved cases.
Of these, 263 cases had been partially heard, while 1,258 were awaiting their first hearing. The Central, Hoima, and Soroti regional offices had the highest number of pending cases, while no figures were reported for the newly established offices in Lira and Kabale, which became operational in January 2022.
COSASE called on UHRC to implement strategic measures to expedite the resolution of cases and urged the Ministry of Finance to ensure adequate funding for Tribunal hearings. The committee also recommended strengthening the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism and called on the government to prioritize funding for the Tribunal, which plays a key role in delivering justice.
