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| Background |
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The Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) is an independent, non-governmental, non-partisan and not-for-profit making human rights advocacy organization established in December 1991 to enhance the knowledge, respect and observance of human rights, promote exchange of information and best practices through training, education, research, advocacy, lobbying, and strategic partnerships.
FHRI's efforts to advance the Cause of Human Rights & Democracy in Uganda
FHRI works towards displacing or overcoming the various obstacles to democratic development and to ensure the meaningful enjoyment of the fundamental freedoms enumerated in the 1995 Uganda Constitution and other internationally recognized human rights instruments to which Uganda has acceded. Since its inception, FHRI strives to engender tolerance across ethnic and regional cleavages and to promote the stability and efficacy of the Ugandan polity by mobilising citizens to become civically engaged to protect their individual freedoms and rights and those of others. In its scope of work, FHRI covers the whole of Uganda, which includes the northern, the western, the southern and the eastern regions where it has been able to effect positive change in the human rights and democratisation arena.
In the eighteen years of human rights advocacy work, FHRI has grown from a small organisation with minimal capacity to one with great potential through a set of multi-faceted human rights programmes. FHRI has spearheaded the human rights movement in Uganda and beyond through publication of action oriented research reports; capacity building programmes for community based human rights associations, police, prisons, local government and the judiciary; civic empowerment; conducted legal rights training to community leaders; legislative analysis, advocacy and lobbying; treaty reporting to Regional and UN human rights bodies; campaigns against torture, the death penalty and impunity; law reform; and provision of free legal aid services to the rural and urban poor especially women and children in difficult situations. FHRI has also carried out election monitoring activities with an aim of ensuring a free and fair process free from violence, intimidation and corruption. With a professional and result orientated approach, FHRI has successfully implemented five strategic programmes where the group has scored highly in the field of policy advocacy, human rights education, community empowerment, and national and international networking. The sixth strategic programme (2009- 2011) seeks to deepen respect for civil and political freedoms.
The organisation has produced and disseminated several in-depth, thought-provoking publications to educate the community and generate public debate on pertinent human rights issues. During the last seventeen years of its existence, FHRI has published human rights reports on the country human rights situation, inspected police and prison detention centres and has advocated and lobbied for their improvement. In the past it sponsored a weekly radio programme on human rights on Radio Uganda as well as a weekly phone in talk show programme called “Know your rights” (Manya Eddembe Lyo) on CBS 89.2 FM radio station that engaged listeners and created space for possible policy proposals for the larger public on pertinent human rights issues. It also sponsored a music festival under the theme of torture called “Don’t Torture!” (Tomutulugunya!) and a weekly human rights televised drama known as “The Police Sergeant” (Kigenya Agenya) exclusively focussing on challenges of promoting human rights. FHRI convened regional workshops and conferences aimed at discussing the 1995 Constitution and its guarantees of fundamental human rights. In addition, FHRI undertook steps towards improvement of the human rights situation in the war-torn regions of the country and the Great Lakes Region through open denunciation of human rights abuses and calling for dialogue.
Whereas the first FHRI Three Year Programme (TYP) 1992-1994 marked the pioneer phase, the second TYP (1995-1997), underscored consolidation of FHRI activities. The third phase (1998 - 2000), ushered FHRI into the new millennium emphasizing innovation, advancement and sustainability. While the fourth plan (2001-2005) focused on strengthening human rights activism for genuine democracy and sustainable development in Uganda, the fifth plan (2006-2008) codenamed ‘High Performance Phase’ (HPP) titled “From Theory to Practice: Advancing the human rights agenda in Uganda” sought to deepen engagement of the “supply and demand” side of rights, to ensure that state practice is in tandem with the internationally accepted human rights standards. The sixth and current strategy (2009-2011) titled ‘Put Our World to Rights: Deepening Democratic Practices in Uganda’ builds on the achievements registered during the last seventeen years.
The sixth strategic plan (2009 – 2011) addresses the question of deepening human rights practices through building a democratic ethos across the political and social spectrum of Ugandan society. The program seeks to enhance meaningful citizen participation in democratic governance in order to build sustainable structures that would contribute to eradication of poverty, promote stability and challenge practices of impunity, corruption, political intolerance and exclusion of vulnerable sections of Ugandan society in the run up to the 2011 General elections.
This program therefore includes activities to monitor and document human rights practices in order to enhance democratic development in five key areas (police accountability, juvenile justice, rights of disabled persons, labour rights and health rights); election observation, treaty reporting; strengthen management and technical capacity of community based associations to monitor and report human rights violations; capacity building of Local government to promote participatory decision making and respect for human rights in the conduct of public affairs; capacity building of judiciary to promote access to justice; legal assistance to victims of torture, vulnerable and poor women and children living in socially deprived situations, and Leadership Development for human rights defenders.
Like in previous programs, issues of gender equality, women and children, HIV and Aids, minority rights, internally displaced persons and refugee conditions are cross cutting considerations in all its projects. FHRI takes both a proactive and an activist approach to rights advocacy by engaging in well-focussed and issue-oriented discussions on pressing national concerns to emphasize accountability, transparency and social justice as core values for growth of a vibrant and functioning democracy.
FHRI proudly continues to associate with a number of partners at the local, national and international level in both the public and private sector. At the institutional level FHRI partnerships with similar organizations; national, regional and international shall be further strengthened. Existing partnerships with the Uganda Human Rights Commission, Uganda Law Reform Commission, Uganda Prison Service, Uganda Police Force, National Community Service Committee, Human Rights and Good Governance Program, Parliament of Uganda, Judiciary and Local Government will be consolidated on a “value addition” basis.
At the international level FHRI is a key actor in the global campaign on the death penalty, torture, impunity, penal reform and media freedom thereby strengthening joint action with traditional partners: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, FIDH, Penal Reform International and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
This Sixth Three Year Strategic Plan (2009-2011) is built around five operating divisions: Research Division, Legal Services Division, Capacity Development Division, Communication and Information Division, Program Development Division and Partnerships
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