Miriam Wangadya, the chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), has said Uganda has been physically blocked from attending human rights meetings in Geneva following closure of the Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights in Uganda.
The office was closed in August 2023 after Uganda indicated it would not renew its operation agreement with the body.
We have also been told that Geneva is not happy about Uganda’s human rights record which has deteriorated under the tenure of Wangadya. Wangadya and her team were scheduled to travel to Geneva in June but they have been told they are not welcome.
Appearing before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee to present the commission’s 2024/25 budget, Wangadya told MPs Uganda’s human rights status will also be downgraded this year.
During the meeting, Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East) accused the commission of being silent when government sent away Democratic Government Facility (DGF) and Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights yet these were key funders to the commission and now, the commission is lamenting about limited funding.
