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afrol News, 21 February - A number of bills currently considered by the Ugandan parliament might threaten to restrict rights and freedoms, and could impinge on the operating space of organisations, according to local and international human rights organisations. The Ugandan human rights association, Foundation for Human Rights Initiative and the US based Human Rights Watch today warned that the recognition of human rights is at risk from three proposed bills under consideration by the Ugandan parliament. The rights groups were particularly concerned with the Non-Governmental Organizations Registration (Amendment) Bill, and had the opportunity to brief members of Ugandan parliament about this planned legislation on non-governmental organizations (NGOs). - We hope that parliament will reject the Non-Governmental Organizations Registration (Amendment) Bill, which could easily be used to obstruct the work of legitimate civil society groups, said Alison Des Forges, senior advisor at the Africa division of Human Rights Watch. The two rights groups said that the proposed bill would give the government wide-ranging powers to interfere with NGO work and suspend associations. The bill also allows for suspending NGOs that do not conform to any "government policy or plan," and NGO leaders can be imprisoned for up to one year if they breach the proposed law. In addition to the Non-Governmental Organizations Registration (Amendment) Bill, two other key bills are pending before the Ugandan parliament - the Suppression of Terrorism Bill and the Political Organizations Bill. - The parliament is at a historic moment, said Des Forges. "It can either decide to restrict civil liberties and human rights by passing stringent laws, or it can establish a firm grounding for the respect of human rights." The rights groups also expressed concern about these two other bills pending before parliament. According to Des Forges, "The Political Organizations Bill seeks to solidify the de facto one party system that exists in Uganda. It limits political party activities and violates the rights to freedom of assembly and association." - The Suppression of Terrorism Bill has an overly broad definition of terrorism and there is a risk that innocent people or petty criminals be branded as 'terrorists', he added. The Suppression of Terrorism Bill defines any act of violence or threat of violence for political, religious, economic and cultural ends as a terrorist act. The unlawful possession of arms is also defined as terrorism. Publishing news that is "likely to promote terrorism" can lead to up to ten years imprisonment. The current bill carries a mandatory death sentence for those found to be terrorists.
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