c/o 980
kampala
Egypt
- Democracy and community development
- Human rights
rUPRF VISION
A Ugandan society where all human rights are respected promoted and defended to ensure access to justice for all is a reality irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity, religion or socio-economic status.
UPRF MISSION
• To become a leading provider of legal services of choice in order to ensure access to justice for the poor and vulnerable people so as to promote the socio-economic development of Uganda.
• To work with the poor and vulnerable communities especially women, children, disabled, to active justice, equality and equity though legal Aid provision, legal human rights education, research and advocacy net working and co-a lotion building.
UPRF GOAL
To contribute to the rule of law, and good governance in order to achieve social development.
UPRF VALUES
• Equality of all persons before the law
• Passions for justice
• Respect for human dignity
• Accountability
• Integrity
• Service excellence
• Efficiency and effectiveness
UPRF STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
• To provide high legal aid services to indigent men, women and children.
• To promote the respect for rights and the rule of law in Uganda.
• To provide legal aid services to prisoners or persons who due to financial constraints
• To promote universal respect for human rights, implementation for the provisions of the universal declaration of human rights in Uganda.
• To carry out investigations through registered private detection agencies and therefore give reports to the concerned authorities on matter of human rights in Uganda.
• To act as arbitrators between the offenders and the victim
• To provide a forum for discussion through a close exchange between human rights organizations, community, individuals and government officials.
• To offer free legal representation to especially under privileged persons including appeals and other procedural process that may require legal representation at all levels.
• To encourage and promote observance of the rule of law and legal protection of human rights and sensitize masses on HIV/Aids.
• To participate in internal Human Rights law seminars, conferences, regulars conferences and even other related issues.
Information, Education and Communication
During the reporting period, the information, Education and communication (IEC) Objective was mainly delivered through seminars and workshops, handouts on simplified materials and posters on legal issues and human rights. There were also several radio programmes which were run by UPRF in Kampala. The seminars and workshops were intended to raise awareness among communities on their legal and human rights. All branch offices conducted awareness raising workshops at parish level. In some places, a needs assessment was conducted ahead of the actual sensitization. In other areas UPRF was responding to the need expressed by judicial personnel and local politicians while in others UPRF took the initiative.
A total of 10 sensitization workshops were conducted around the Districts facilitated by both the UPRF staff and external resource persons in legal and human rights awareness training.
The major focus of the workshops was on the following topics;
• Land tenure systems and property rights
• Children’s rights and their responsibilities
• Succession and Administration of estates
• Constitutional rights of prisoners
• Marriage, separation and divorce
• Local councils and their judicial powers
• Criminal offences, responsibilities and criminal justice systems
• Law on fishing (special focus on fishing communities like Kalangala)
• Sexual offences and protection of vulnerable persons
• Enforcement and protection of Human rights.
The training sessions were supplemented by use of posters illustrating the various violation of human and legal rights. The posters were developed by UPRF staff and were distributed to the different participants for a multiplier effect.
Around 20,000 copies of posters this printed and distributed. We plan to continue this activity in the coming year for areas that were covered.
Radios programmes like were conducted in three clinics, Mbale and Masaka and also for specific programmes like the human trafficking campaign. In other branches the radio programmes aimed at informing the public of the establishment of the programes .and the actual services provided. Once they had been oriented to the public, the UPRF organized talk-show programmes on topic issues which were aired on the local radio stations. This has popularized the UPRF among the communities they serve, by providing information on contentious issues like land rights and domestic law, human rights and HIV/AIDs sensitization.