| Overview : The 1995 Constitution of Uganda guarantees the protection and promotion of fundamental and other human rights and freedoms. The rights would however be meaningless without avenues to seek redress when they are breached. In line with that, the Government has an obligation to undertake prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations of human rights violations, and to take appropriate measures in respect of the perpetrators, particularly in the area of criminal justice, to ensure that those responsible for the violations are prosecuted, tried and duly punished.[1] The Government of Uganda has vested the authority to conduct criminal prosecutions to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), under Article 120 of the 1995 Constitution. The DPP is mandated to prosecute all criminal cases in the country on behalf of the State, and institutes criminal proceedings in all courts except in the Court Martial. The DPP has undertaken several measures to more competently fulfill its mandate. Importantly, the DPP has among others: - established 12 Regional Offices at all High Court Circuits in Uganda;
- launched a Client Charter which is aimed at holding the Directorate accountable to victims, complainants, and the public as a whole;
- Introduced an electronic Case Management System;
- Recruited 90 state attorneys in March 2015, its largest single recruitment to date, and is aiming to recruit more Attorneys in the next financial year. The newly recruited state Attorneys are to be mainly deployed in field stations of the Directorate. The Directorate has been experiencing a shortage of staff in most field stations which is one of the contributions to the problem of case backlog and low conviction rates in courts of Laws.
- A good number of state Attorneys in the Directorate have been promoted to higher ranks ranging between state Attorney to Senior Principal State Attorneys;
- The Directorate is undergoing a process of restructuring, the first of its kind ever since it’s coming into operation. This is aimed at widening the structure of the DPP to give room for career development and expansion.
Rationale of the Consultancy In order for rights holders, especially women, children, people living with disabilities, minorities, and other marginalized groups, to be able to demand their rights and hold duty bearers accountable, they must have equal and effective access to justice. Access to justice refers to the ability of people to seek and obtain a remedy through formal or informal institutions of justice, and in conformity with human rights standards. Access to justice has its foundation in provisions of international law that address the equality of people before the law, their right to equal protection under the law, and their right to be treated fairly by a tribunal or court. Access to justice is itself a fundamental human right as set out in Article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[2]For the right to access to justice to be truly enjoyed, a number of other human rights must also be protected, such as the right to information, the right to physical safety, the right to confidentiality and the right to privacy. Access to justice is therefore fundamental to a fair and inclusive society and a central tenet in addressing disadvantage and inequality. Inadequate protection of human rights, poor access to legal services and other inequities in the legal system can have far-reaching consequences for people who are already experiencing disadvantage or in crisis. In order to enhance access to justice for all persons the DPP has instituted, among other measures, the creation of Complaints’ Desks in each station. The main Complaints’ Desk is based at the DPP Headquarter. Complaints can be lodged and received preferably in writing at the office of the Resident State Attorney in any station, who has a duty to handle the complaint and advise on the way forward, in the event the RSA doesn’t handle the complaint to the satisfaction of the complainant, the complainant can further their complaints to the office of the Regional Senior Principal State Attorney of the relevant region, and if still the complainant is not satisfied, the complaint can finally be brought to the attention of the complaints desk at the DPP Headquarters. After thorough research and consultations and from experience, it has however been found important to transform the Complaints Desk into a Victims’ Rights Desk. This is so because the Complaints Desk not only handles issues that have been raised by the aggrieved parties or their representatives or interested parties, but also at a very large scale, the Desk handles victims of crimes and in a way most of them require guidance on the laws and their rights as victims of crime and procedures, counseling explanation on the way forward after a case has been instituted by them. The Complaints/ Victims’ rights Desk is faced with a number challenges/ short comings including but not limited to; - Lack of knowledge by the public on the existence of the complaints desk at every station of the DPP offices;
- Some of the staff lack skills to handle victims e.g. counseling;
- The desks lack adequate operational funding; and
- The feedback mechanism is not clearly laid out; among others.
In an effort to address the above shortcomings, the following recommendations can be put into consideration, - Public awareness programs on the availabilities of the Complaints/Victims’ Rights Desks and where/ how they can easily access them;
- Sensitization of the public on the roles of the complaints/ victims’ rights desks;
- Providing adequate funding and facilitation for the operation of the desks; and
- Streamlining the feedback mechanism.
In Uganda, it has also been noted that most victims, accused persons and the society in general, are not aware of their rights and how or where to claim them. This impedes their effective access to justice. Indeed, despite the strides made by the DPP as explained in the introduction, access to justice remains challenged. To take steps towards addressing these challenges, the DPP, with the support of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), is undertaking a ‘know your rights’ campaign. The campaign is aimed at: enhancing access to justice for all people, especially women, children, people living with disabilities, minorities, and other marginalized groups; enhancing customer care systems and public awareness of DPP services and citizen rights; and promoting ethics and accountability within the DPP. The ‘know your rights’ campaign will consist of several components including: - expanding the complaints desk to cater/include victims’ concerns;
- developing, publishing and disseminating 'know your rights' pamphlets;
- holding a one day meeting/event to publicize the expanded complaints desk, the ‘know your rights’ pamphlet, as well as to publicize other new developments/crucial aspects in the DPP.
[1] ECOSOC, Promotion and Protection of Human Rights: Impunity – Updated Set of Principles for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights through Action to Combat Impunity, 8 February 2005; E/CN.4/2005/102/Add.1, principle 19. [2]“Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.” PS:Interested applicants should submit applications through uploading of all their required documentation in one single pdf document on the jobs website only https://jobs.undp.org/ -reference # 57767. |
