Uganda: Elections and Human Rights

(asked on 14th January 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of Uganda on the conduct of elections and the upholding of human rights obligations in that country.


Answered by
James Duddridge Portrait
James Duddridge
This question was answered on 19th January 2021

During the electoral period in Uganda, the UK had urged that the elections should be free, fair, credible and transparent as I [Minister Duddridge] outlined in my tweet on 13 January, so as to respect the rights of all Ugandans to express their views in a peaceful manner. I [Minister Duddridge] have also raised the importance of transparent elections directly with the Ugandan High Commission on 12 January and will continue to do so. Staff at the British High Commission observed the conduct of the elections and will monitor all events closely. As I [Minister Duddridge] and the British High Commissioner stated in our tweets on 14 January, we are concerned that the recent internet shutdown in Uganda impacted the transparency of the elections and broader freedom of expression. We called for the Government of Uganda to resume services immediately and understand the shutdown has now been lifted as of 18 January. Following the Presidential election results on 16 January, I issued a statement expressing my concerns about the overall political climate in the run up to the elections and during the electoral process as well as urging the Government of Uganda to meet international human rights commitments.

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