Anti oil activists face detention in Uganda
Human rights body calls for an end to civil clampdown
UGANDA: The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has documented at lease 81 arrests of activists protesting oil projects in the country’s Lake Albert region since May of this year and is calling for the end to the clampdown on civil society by the Ugandan authorities.
The FIDH says that the alarming numbers mark a new escalation in the repression of those voices denouncing the human rights and environmental impacts of projects in Uganda’s oil frontier with 72 detentions recorded last month alone.
“Ugandan authorities must immediately put an end to their repeated attempts to intimidate human rights defenders and affected communities. These voices are critical to the protection of human rights and the environment in light of the huge risks these projects pose,” said Sacha Feierabend, Senior Programme Officer on business and human rights at FIDH.
Regular protests have been recently held across Uganda and Tanzania as the construction of large-scale oil sites has accelerated. Ventures include the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), Kingfisher and Tilenga projects which are owned and operated by the French company TotalEnergies and the Chinese state-owned enterprise China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) in cooperation with the governments of Uganda and Tanzania.
FIDH has received multiple reports of judicial and moral harassment, threats and intimidation targeting activists working on these projects, including one case of torture and incommunicado detention.
“Companies and investors involved in these projects have a crucial responsibility to push for stronger measures for accountability and protection against these abuses. They must use their leverage on Ugandan authorities to stop all violence and harassment against human rights and environmental defenders,” Feierabend added.
On 26 August, 21 activists were arrested in Kampala as they were marching towards the Parliament and the head offices of TotalEnergies and CNOOC to hand in a petition against EACOP. One of them was released, while the 20 others were remanded to prison and are still detained.
On 9 August, 47 students peacefully protesting in the capital were arrested by police officers before being released the next day. On 5 August, three Ugandan activists and one Belgian activist were arrested while trying to reach the Chinese Embassy, and then released.
264