By Witnessradio.org Team
Geneva – Switzerland – three UN Special Rapporteurs have presented a report on the deteriorating human rights situation in Kiryandongo and Hoima districts before the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling for the World human rights body’s intervention.
In their report, Ms. Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Ms. David R. Boyd, the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment; and Clement Nyaletsossi Voule of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and Ms. Elina Steinerte of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention expressed concerns of the continued oppression of land and environmental rights defenders and local leaders who have led and organized the peaceful resistance of their communities against forced evictions and land grabbing by private companies working on sugar cane, coffee and grain growing in the district of Kiryandongo.
The report mentions, land rights defenders Mr. Fred Mwawula, Mr. Ramu Ndahimana, Mr. Samuel Kusiima, Mr. Martin Munyansia, Mr. Martin Haweka, Mr. Amos Wafula, Mr. Eliot Talemwa, Mr. Erias Wanjala, Mr. Godfrey Ssebisolo, Mr. George Rwakabisha, and Ms. Pamela Mulongo and environmental rights defenders Mr. Venex Watebawa and Mr. Joshua Mutale have been subjected to actions of violence which are retaliation for their legitimate and peaceful defense of the environment and their right to land.
“We wish to express our concern over the alleged forced evictions of tens of thousands of persons in Kiryandongo, and the resulting detentions of human rights defenders resisting them. Such detentions take place in an environment that appears to be in revenge for their work opposing land grabbing by private companies who operate in the area, and seem to have the acquiescence of local authorities,” the report reads in part.
Since 2017, Kiryandongo district has been on the spot of violent land grabs by multinational plantation companies namely; the Dubai domiciled Great Season SMC Limited, Cayman Islands domiciled Agilis Partners and Mauritius domiciled Kiryandongo Sugar Limited. The multinationals are dispossessing over 35000 people with the protection security agencies including the army, police, and private security companies.
The rapporteurs thus urged that all necessary interim measures be taken to halt the alleged violations and prevent their re-occurrence and in the event that the investigations support or suggest the allegations to be correct, to ensure the accountability of any person(s) responsible for the alleged violations.
They further informed the UN Human Rights Council that similar letters on the same subject have also been sent to the Governments of the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, as well as to the companies involved in the abovementioned allegations.
Finally, the rapporteurs demanded that an update report on what actions have been taken within 60 days.
