By Spy Uganda
Buliisa: The Honourable Member of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) Crispin Kaheru and Ms. Jashmin Nambi Kasujja the Head of the Hoima UHRC Regional Office together with the staff of the Commission have visited human rights defenders in Buliisa district in response to a petition by the Oil and Gas Human Rights Defenders (ORGHA) against harassment and intimidation by security agencies in Hoima and Buliisa.
The Hon. Commissioner and staff also engaged district leaders including the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), District Internal Security Officer (DISO), District Community Development Officer (DCDO) and the District Police Commander (DPC) on the same matter.
The UHRC has implored the district leadership to dialogue with the petitioners to resolve the matters amicably. A date has been fixed for the district leadership to meet the human rights defenders.
UHRC says looks forward to a peaceful resolution of this matter and to a constructive and respectful relationship between Government/security agencies and human rights defenders in the area.
By the end of 2013, Uganda’s proven oil reserves were estimated by the Ugandan Petroleum Exploration and Production Department to be 3.5 billion barrels, which are expected to yield at least $2 billion per year for 30 years once oil production commences. In light of these potentially transformative discoveries, Uganda faces a number of policy choices, and the welfare of the local communities in the Albertine Graben region has been a great concern.
