By Melanie Nathan Oct 02, 2024
Designation of Uganda Police Force Officials Due to Involvement in Gross Violations of Human Rights - Banned from entry to USA.
The Department of State is taking action today to promote accountability for human rights violations committed in Uganda by designating four members of the Uganda Police Force (UPF) due to their involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
These individuals are Bob Kagarura, the then-Wamala Regional Police Commander of the UPF; Alex Mwine, then-District Police Commander for the Mitanya District of the UPF; Elly Womanya, then-Senior Commissioner within the UPF and Deputy Director of the UPF’s Criminal Investigations Division in charge of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU); and Hamdani Twesigye, then-Deputy Inspector of Police assigned to SIU.
As a result of today’s action, Kagarura, Mwine, Womanya, Twesigye and their immediate family members are generally ineligible for entry into the United States.
These public designations are made pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 (Div. F, P.L. 118-47).
The reports that Kagarura, Mwine, Twesigye, and Womanya were involved in gross violations of human rights, as documented by Ugandan civil court documents, civil society organizations, and independent journalists, are serious and credible. By publicly designating these individuals, the United States reaffirms its commitment to advancing the human rights of all Ugandans and promoting accountability for those responsible for human rights violations.
In general Ugandan police are known to arrest people arbitrarily and to detain people, unlawfully, for long periods of time, often metering torture to include beatings and forced anal exams of suspected gay men. Forced anal exams are considered torture. The new Antti Homosexuality Act 2023 (The Kill the Gays Bill) exacerbates the license to abuse LGBTI people by police who do so with impunity. Corrupt police are known to extort bribes from those arrested and detained and then to not follow up with charges after the bribe is paid, very often re-arresting the victim. This results in people having to flee and become forcibly displaced.
NOTE: Forced Anal exams are considered torture and a violation of human rights that have been used in African countries, including Uganda, to "prove" homosexual conduct. These exams are painful and degrading, and can cause lasting psychological trauma. They are also a violation of international medical ethics and the United Nations Convention against Torture. AHRC receives reports of such exams occurring on Gay men detained on suspicion of homosexuality. It is believed that forced anal exams are cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment that amounts to torture.In October 2017, the World Medical Association adopted a resolution condemning forced anal exams and calling on doctors to stop conducting them. National medical associations in Lebanon, Tunisia, and most recently in Kenya have also criticized the exams. Tunisia, during its Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in September, accepted a recommendation to prohibit the use of forced anal exams, although it has not yet taken steps to do so.“International human rights law prohibits torture as well as cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Those prohibitions are explicitly reflected in the domestic laws of countries that have nonetheless allowed forced anal exams to take place. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment has found that the exams are “intrusive and degrading” and “medically worthless,” amounting to “torture or ill-treatment.” The International Forensic Expert Group describes them as “a form of sexual assault and rape.”1[1] Ban Forced Anal Exams Around World, Abusive “Tests” for Homosexual Conduct Violate Rights, July, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/12/ban-forced-anal-exams-around-world
BY MELANIE NATHANCommissionermnathan@gmail.com www.melnathan.com Human Rights AdvocateCountry Conditions Expert Witness for LGBTQI+ Asylum Seekers from African Countries
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