UN rights chief deplores intensifying repression in Uganda ahead of January election

GENEVA

The UN human rights chief on Wednesday deplored what he described as an intensifying crackdown on Uganda's political opposition and media ahead of next month's general election, urging authorities to ensure full respect for human rights before, during, and after the vote.

Volker Turk said in a statement that there were "credible reports" that at least 550 individuals, including members and supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP), have been arrested since the start of the year, with more than 300 detained since campaigning began in September. Many remain in custody on charges including public nuisance, disobedience of lawful orders, assault, obstruction, and incitement of violence, the statement noted.

Security forces have repeatedly intervened at NUP campaign events, deploying heavily armed units to rally sites, it said, adding that last week, they reportedly used live ammunition in the eastern town of Iganga, killing at least one person and injuring at least three.

According to Turk, forces have also used "tear gas, whips, batons, water cannon and chemical irritants among other weapons" to disperse supporters.

"It is deeply regrettable that election campaigns have once again been marked by widespread arbitrary arrests, detentions and the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force against the opposition, as well as undue restriction on press freedom," he said.

The human rights chief cited a rising pattern of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill treatment over the past year, including reports of security forces transporting detainees in unmarked vans known as "drones" to unofficial sites referred to as "safe houses," where they are held incommunicado. Under international law, he said, detainees must be held only in officially recognized facilities.

He pointed to several emblematic cases, including a bodyguard of the NUP leader who was presented in court "visibly shaking and showing other signs of physical torture," and two Kenyan activists held incommunicado for more than a month in what the president reportedly called "the fridge."

Turk urged authorities to "fully and impartially investigate all allegations of enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture or ill treatment," adding: "All individuals arbitrarily deprived of liberty should be released."

He also called on the government to "halt all violence against the media," noting recent accreditation withdrawals and assaults on journalists.