Law
Training on Refugee Rights & Protection Successfully Held
The School of Law (SoL) Clinical Legal Education (CLE) Class of 2021 was hosted by the Refugee Law Project (RLP) for a training on refugee law and rights on the 15th December 2021. The training held at JFrigh Hotel covered topics like sexual violence, legal framework on refugees, trafficking of persons, rights and obligations, transformative justice among others. The sessions were interactive and students kept engaged through the training. The training was well facilitated and as noted by one student Ms. Kemigisha Lizzan, “We were given breakfast, lunch and evening tea which helped us to keep focused since hunger was not an issue. We surely look forward to another training soon.”
On day one of the training, the students were welcomed by Ms. Susan Alupo and the team from RLP who explained what the project entails. Ms. Alupo explained that areas covered include: Access to justice, capacity building, empowerment, mental health, gender and sexuality.Introductions for all members in attendance were conducted and their expectations from the training were given including: To know the legal frame work to protect the refugees; To discuss on the sufficiency of the law in Uganda to protect the rights of refugees; To know the rights and obligations of refugees To know the experiences of refugees in Uganda; To understand the relationship between refugees and the host communities; To discover the role that students can play in refugee protection; and To learn more about transitional justice and how effective it is in resolving conflict.
Ms. Tina Kalitanyi facilitated Session 1: Introduction to Forced Migration and Legal Frameworks on the Protection of Refugees. Ms. Kalitanyi presented to the students the international, regional and domestic legal framework of refugee law. The presentation highlighted; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1951 Convention on the State of Refugees, the 1967 optional protocol and guiding principles, the 1969 O.A.U Convention, the 1995 Uganda constitution, the Uganda National Internally Displaced Persons policy, the Refugee Act and Refugee regulations. The REHOP policy was also pointed out as the policy that requires 70 percent of assistance to refugees and 30percent to host communities while assisting refugees.
Session two covered Rights and Obligations of Refugees while In the host country. This session commenced with a documentary titled ‘Human Lava’ after which students discussed their opinions on the contents of the video. Some of the aspects pointed out included: registration of refugees at the transit centres which are the border areas where refugees converge first; special needs groups are given attention and priority; relationships with the local people is tense at times because refugees are seen as competition for resources as well as destruction of property at the places they settle. It was concluded that refugees enjoy all rights that are enjoyed by citizens. However, they cannot participate in the politics of their host country because that would create tension in the settlements. Refugees are allowed to vote for their leaders in the settlements as well as own land on leasehold. The obligations of refugees include to respect the laws of Uganda and to pay taxes if involved in gainful employment.
Dr. David Tshimba Facilitated Session 3; Understanding Human Trafficking In the Context of Forced Migration. The session covered the definition of trafficking of persons highlighted the legal framework against trafficking of persons. The protocols covered included the Banjul Convention, the Palermo Protocol, 2000, the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNCTOC), the Uganda Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act (PTIP), 2009. Dr. Tshimba pointed out the criticisms of the Parlemo convention for the prevention, suppression and punishment of perpetrators of trafficking in persons and this is that it focuses on prosecution and ignores restitution or assistance of victims of human trafficking. A discussion on the problems that are advancing the phenomenon of trafficking in persons was conducted like the advancement of technology and the internet which grants anonymity and disregards geopolitics, a hard to regulate globalization where it is not easy to enforce these International laws as compared to National laws.
Session 4: Understanding Conflict- Related Sexual Violence was facilitated by Ms. Doreen Oyella highlighting sexual violence in the context of conflict (SVC); potential perpetrators of SVC; victims/ survivors of SVC and what makes them vulnerable. It was noted that sexual violence is used as a weapon of war, to cause terror, to assert power and as a systematic attack against communities. It was also discussed that perpetrators can be soldiers including state soldiers, civilians. The facilitator took the students through the misconceptions on sexual violence which include that men cannot be raped.
The training continued on day two with a recap of work covered on day 1 where students talked about the take away from the previous sessions and Mr. Veve Richard thanked them for paying attention and being good learners. The sessions for day 2 included Understanding Mental Health in the Context of Forced Migration facilitated by Mr. Akulla Ssubi and Understanding Conflict, Transitional Justice and forced Migration facilitated by Mr. Veve Richard.
Ms. Devota Nuwe, Head of Programmes at Refugee Law Project gave the final marks thanking the students and facilitators for attending the training. Group pictures were also taken for record purposes. The students cut a cake to mark the end of the training. The students thanked the team from Refugee Law project because all their expectations were met during the training.
Makerere University (Mak)‘s strategic direction is to become a research-led institution leading to innovations, knowledge transfer partnerships and providing solutions to national challenges. In line with the strategic direction, on 10th December 2024, Mak and Uganda Prison Services (UPS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that paves way for the Makerere University School of Law to undertake short trainings in administrative law for UPS staff.
At the signing ceremony held at the UPS headquarters in Kampala, Uganda, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, Vice Chancellor – Mak and Dr. Johnson Byamugisha, Commissioner General for UPS signed for their institutions. In attendance were senior officers from UPS and staff of SoL, Dr. Zahara Nampewo – Deputy Principal, and Dr. Patricia Atim, Coordinator of the Administrative Law short course.
The collaboration arising from the MoU aims to equip UPS officers with knowledge and skills in administrative law, improving their legal understanding and service delivery within the institution. The partnership involves training 60 UPS officers annually in the SoL Administrative Law Short Course Programme
Expressing pride in Mak and the School of Law, Professor Nawangwe thanked Dr. Byamugisha and the UPS for giving the university an opportunity to contribute to the professionalization of the prisons service. He emphasized the importance of strengthening the legal framework and ensuring the effectiveness of law enforcement personnel.
The partnership marks a significant step in enhancing the capacity of Uganda’s correctional facilities, ensuring that officers are better equipped to carry out their duties in accordance with the law.
Law
China-Africa Forum for Law School Deans ends with Partners’ committing to enhanced collaboration
On 5th November 2024, Law School Deans, Academicians, researchers and students from Africa and China met at School of Law (SoL), Makerere University in Kampala Uganda for the 6th China-Africa Forum for Law School Deans. The Forum themed, ‘Legal Guarantee and Educational Support for High-Quality Development of China-Africa’ was hosted by SoL in partnership with Renmin University of China and Xiangtan University, China.
This forum was proposed at the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in 2021 in Dakar, Senegal, The resultant Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024) explicitly proposed to support holding the China-Africa Forum of Law School Deans to among other things: encourage and assist China-Africa Universities in jointly building China-Africa legal research centres; training of legal professionals; and promoting China-Africa exchanges and cooperation for legal knowledge and legal talents.
In his remarks, Dr. Ronald Naluwairo – Associate Professor and Principal, SoL welcomed participants to SoL, Makerere University and Uganda. ‘SoL opened its doors in 1968 and has grown into one of the greatest schools of law in Africa and enjoys global recognition for its work’, he said. He thanked Xiangtan University, China with who Makerere has a memorandum of understanding for the collaboration that started in 2014 and introducing the other partners present. He expressed hope that at the end of the meeting, tangible areas of collaboration supporting social justice will be defined for the partners; and a compilation of a report of the papers presented for knowledge transfer and policy development.
Professor Henry Alinaitwe – Deputy Vice Chancellor/Finance & Administration, Makerere University represented the Vice Chancellor, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe. He welcomed participants and encouraged them to tour Uganda, Pearl of Africa before departure for an appreciation of Uganda’s beauty. ‘Teaching of the law can contribute to social transformation of our people in Africa and China. This is therefore an important platform for discussion improvements in legal education for both Africa and China’, he said. Professor Alinaitwe thanked the partners for choosing Makerere to host and hoped for productive, enlightening deliberations during the forum which will lead to enhancement of the collaboration.
The forum was officially opened by His Excellency, Ambassador Zhang Lizhong – Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Uganda. Ambassador Lizhong expressed pleasure at seeing the participants from China and Africa in the room to support the China-Africa collaborations which have built synergy with multiple plans and strategies. He explained that in Uganda alone, China continues to export promotion, infrastructure development (roads, dams, and airport) among others. He noted that there has been an increase of people exchange between China and Africa and it is therefore important that the nations understand better the legal setups for better collaboration and development mutually beneficial to all. ‘I thank Makerere for the support of the collaboration and I hope to see development of legal research centres as outlined in the Accra Action Plan’ the ambassador noted.
Presentations by participants through the day culminated into proposal of the following as key issues for further consideration and development:
- Recognition that legal education and legal exchanges are essential foundations of friendly cooperation between China and Africa and the China-Africa Forum of Law School Deans is an effective platform to promote the cooperation. The Forum will therefore be held regularly.
- Expand the scope, enhance effectiveness and impact of the Forum.
- Establish exchange mechanisms to promote cooperation, including joint international conferences and co-publish academic journals.
- Encourage law teachers’ research cooperation among faculty to improve research quality and facilitate mutual visits.
- Promote friendly exchanges among young legal professionals, providing support for their studies and exchanges at partner institutions
- Collaborate of developing educational programmes, including courses on comparative studies of China-African legal systems.
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