By Anzoo Evaline.

Human Rights our Concerns, through the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Human Rights program, has held a one-day engagement with leaders of Adjumani District focusing on the perspective of human rights as a development concern.

Okurut Emmanuel Samson, the Program Manager for Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Human Right our Concerns, said the engagement brought together a cross section of leaders and ordinary community members to share conversations surrounding human rights and service delivery.

“So today we have held a one-day engagement with a cross section of leaders in Adjumani District on the perspective of human rights as a development concern. The purpose of the meeting was to bring leaders together to meet with ordinary people and then they share conversation surrounding areas of human rights and service delivery,” Samson said.

He added that the meeting was to foster a renewed action using their different spaces in advancing and promoting human rights at the community level.

Speaking on the national situation, Samson noted that the state of human rights in the country is “sweet sour.”

He added that the meeting was to foster a renewed action using their different spaces in advancing and promoting human rights at the community level.

Samson highlighted challenges such as poor prison conditions, detention facilities being in a sovereign state, and members of the opposition being curtailed from participating in politics, leadership, and decision making.

He then rallied the key stakeholders present to address some of those barriers and take real action to advance and promote Human Rights.

During the engagement, Ecima Paskal, the District Committee member of Human Rights, also raised key concerns about widespread gaps in awareness of human rights among community members.

“There are a lot of challenges we are facing. You know this issue of human rights just come up. Majority of people are not aware of their rights. Under human rights there is a right to own property,” he said.

Paskal added that wrongful detention remains a concern, especially when injured persons are taken to police instead of receiving immediate medical care.

“There are also these issues where people are detained in the police. In that people are incarcerated. Ideally, under human right, if you are injured, you are not supposed to be taken to police. The first thing you must be taken to the health centre or hospital for treatment,” he noted.

He expressed satisfaction that police were represented in the meeting, saying, “Today, I’m very happy because the police have been represented.”

The engagement ended with a collective commitment from leaders and stakeholders to strengthen awareness, address barriers, and enhance the promotion of human rights across Adjumani District.

END.