Human rights defenders operating in Uganda have been asked to observe the laws of the land while executing their duties to prevent avoidable conflicts with authorities.
The call was made by the chairperson of the Equal Opportunity Commission, Safia Nalule while closing the Rights and Justice Activity (RAJA) programme that was launched in 2020 by Freedom House, a civil society organization, with funding from the USAID.
The programme was aimed at protecting and promoting human rights in Uganda.
Nalule noted that civil society organizations claim they are not given space to work freely in the country yet they are operating illegally.
Meanwhile, Dr. Donald Rukare from Freedom House said that during the three years of executing the RAJA programme, they have been able to provide legal aid to 360 children, over 4,000 Ugandans have benefited from legal awareness sessions, established the legal advocacy coalition and issued 9 rapid response subgrants to nine CSOs for emergency response to 365 Human Rights Defenders.
