Detainees Must Not Be Held in Clandestine ‘Safe Houses’

(London and Kampala, May 17, 2005) — The Ugandan government must
prosecute perpetrators of torture, said Human Rights Watch and the
Ugandan-based Foundation for Human Rights Initiative today.

Last week during its session in Geneva, the United Nations Committee
Against Torture reviewed Uganda’s initial report. In its report, the
Ugandan government explained measures it has taken against torture to
comply with its obligations under the Convention Against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. On Friday
this week, the U.N. committee is scheduled to publish its conclusions
and recommendations to Uganda.

In a 14-page briefing paper [
http://hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/uganda0505/
{http://hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/uganda0505/} ] submitted to the
U.N. committee, Human Rights Watch and the Foundation for Human
Rights Initiative documented recent cases of torture by Ugandan
security forces against political opponents, alleged rebels and
criminal suspects.

“Torture persists in Uganda because no one is investigated or
punished for it,” said Livingstone Sewanyana, director of the
Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, based in the capital Kampala.
“If the government were serious about stopping torture, it would end
this state of impunity.”

The briefing paper shows that torture frequently occurs when suspects
are held by agencies other than the regular police. These bodies
notably include the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force (JAT), the army,
Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), and the Violent Crime
Crack Unit (VCCU).

“Suspects are sometimes held in ‘safe houses’ by military and
intelligence agents,” said Juliane Kippenberg, researcher in the
Africa division of Human Rights Watch. “The use of such shadowy,
unofficial places of detention makes torture much more likely.”

Human Rights Watch said that the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force uses
a large house in Kampala’s upscale Kololo neighborhood for
interrogating and torturing detainees. This clandestine “safe house”
is located next to an ambassador’s residence.

Last week, in the presentation of its report to the Committee Against
Torture, the Ugandan government described current legislation and
administrative measures on arrest and detention. However, the report
made little reference to how Ugandan security forces apply these laws
in practice.

“Practices of torture erode government credibility, traumatize
society and cause fear,” said Sewanyana. “The United Nations should
urge the Ugandan government to tackle the roots of torture head-on.”

In a written response to Human Rights Watch and the Foundation for
Human Rights Initiative, the Ugandan government denied allegations
that its security agents practice torture and stated:

* “Allegations concerning mistreatment of opposition politicians,
e.g. FDC and Reform Agenda are unfounded.”

* “The alleged JAT detention centre in Kololo is actually an office
block used by the JAT and is neither used for torture nor detention
of suspects.”

* “Access to prison and military facilities has often been granted
to the Uganda Human Rights Commission, the ICRC and Parliamentary
Committees whenever they have expressed interest in visiting.
However, there are regulations world-wide on visits to security
installations due to the nature of activities in such places.”

* “There is no confusing array of security organs in Uganda as
alleged by the report. Different security organs have different roles
and responsibilities as defined under their statutes… Under Ugandan
laws it is not only the police that have powers to arrest and even
private citizens may arrest and hand over culprits to the police.”

“We believe that dialogue with the Ugandan government about torture
is critical to ending it,” said Juliane Kippenberg. “However, we take
issue with the government’s denial of the fact that torture is widely
practiced by Ugandan security forces.”

Human Rights Watch and the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative
called on the Ugandan government to enact legislation to punish
perpetrators of torture and those who maintain and use “safe houses”
and to change legal provisions that mandate detention of treason and
terrorism suspects for 360 days after preliminary charges are filed,
without bail.

“The Ugandan authorities need to close down unofficial places of
detention and make criminal prosecution of torture a priority,”
Kippenberg said.

Uganda should also ratify the U.N. Optional Protocol to the
Convention Against Torture, which allows national and international
monitors to conduct regular visits to all places of detention.

Human Rights Watch Press release