Enriching a Few People is a Security and Human Rights Threat – Livingstone Sewanyana
Leading Human Rights Promoter and Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative Dr.Livingstone Ssewanyana has warned that the fast rising levels of poverty will complicate the observance of Human Rights in the country.
Sewanyana says majority of the human rights violators are poor people used to abuse the rights of others while majority of the victims fail to access justice and suffer in silence because of the poverty – stricken conditions they leave in.
The renowned rights activist and lawyer adds that majority of persons who seemingly appear to be in the middle-income status are actually poorer than they look with majority captured in the loans and credit racket.
He was appearing on Baba Television’s Hot Cup@9 show that runs daily from 9am – 10:00am hosted by Adam Kungu and SML’s Sir Simon Muyanga Lutaaya.
Sewanyana backed claims by the National Unity Platform and its President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu that the disappearance of persons picked up by drones and held in illegal custody is fast rising leaving hundreds of families helpless.
He says wealth is concentrated in a smaller population that now looks greatly threatened by the majority poor who yearn for basic necessities with little or no help from their would be well off bread winners and government.
“In such a state no one is safe because the helpless majority becomes a security threat to the well off few who they point at as unduly privileged” said Dr.Sewanyana.
Sewanyana is also the Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International order.
He says government must fight to end the growing cases of torture, violation of ownership of land by the poor, curtailment of civil liberties and illegal arrest of persons who are later held for long in custody as suspects before investigations are completed.
Uganda has been named among the worst violators of human rights with the opposition calling on western powers to stop funding Uganda’s development projects since the money is used by those in power to impoverish the population.
Government through the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka has continuously denied the accusations blaming the opposition for a malicious campaign against the state.
Kiryowa Kiwanuka was in Geneva before the UN Committee against torture where he stated that government doesn’t run safe houses and is committed to ending torture and inhuman and cruel treatment since the country is a signatory to the UN convention against tourture,inhuman and other cruel degrading treatment of punishment.
But Sewanyana maintains that the country has adamantly failed to use all avenues to clear her human rights record and continues to appear among leading violators of rights through security organs.
