HUMAN RIGHT AND AGE
DISCRIMINATION: THE
UGANDA EXPERIENCE
By
David Obot
Chairman, Board of Directors,
Uganda Reach the Aged
Association
UGANDA REACH THE AGED ASSOCIATION
• URAA is a national voluntary, not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization
• Vision: “A dignified, self-fulfilled, poverty free
ageing Uganda”
• Mission: “To champion the realization and
perseveration of a dignified quality of life for older
persons in Uganda”.
• URAA is an umbrella membership organization,
founded in 1991, registered with NGO board No. S.
5914/797 and by Guarantee No. 63986.
Uganda Older Persons ContextPopulation
• 1991 - 686,260 (4.1%) {total population =16,671,705 }
• 2002 - 1,101,039 (4.6%).
• 2009/2010 estimate 1,304,464 (Males - 600,653; Females
- 703,811) as per 2002 Uganda Population and Housing
Census. Thus, in 14 years the population of older persons
had nearly doubled in absolute terms.
• According to the UBOS statistics, the population of the
Older Persons will be approximately 1.83 million in 2017
(Uganda Bureau of Statistics ,2007).
Uganda Older Persons ContextPopulation (Contd)
Uganda Population 33,640,833 (July 2012 est.)
Age structure - Pyramid
• 0-14 years : 49.1%...(8,229,045 m / 8,280,499f)
• 15-24 years : 21.2%...(3,540,082 m/ 3,581,018f)
• 25-54 years : 25.3% ..(4,254,335m/ 4,259,622f)
• 55-64 years : 2.3% ....( 364,405m/ 411,480f)
• 65 years + : 2.1% ....( 320,237m/ 400,110f) (UBOS,2012 est.)
• Population growth rate - 3.3%; Birth rate - 45.8 births/1,000
population;
• Total fertility rate: 6.14 children born/woman;
• Life expectancy at birth: total ave-53.45 years (male: 52.4 years
female: 54.54 years);
Uganda Older Persons Context-Urban &
Health (Contd)
• Urbanization - urban population: 13% of total
population (2010) & urbanisation population growth
rate - 5.1% (2012);
• Infant mortality rate (IMR) total: 64.2 deaths/1,000
live births (male: 73.9 deaths/1,000 live births;
female: 54.2 deaths/1,000 live births)
• Maternal mortality rate: 310 deaths/100,000 live
births (2010)
• Health expenditures: 8.2% of GDP (2009); Physicians
density: 0.117 physicians/1,000 population (2005);
Hospital bed density: 0.39 beds/1,000 population
(2009)
Uganda Older Persons HIV, Sanitation&
Literacy (Contd)
• HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate - 6.5%, people
living with HIV/AIDS (1.2 million) HIV/AIDS deaths (64,000) (2009 est.)
• Sanitation facility access as a % of the
population: improved - urban (38%, rural: 49%) total (48%); unimproved - urban (62%, rural
51%) - total: 52%.
• Literacy: definition - age 15 and over can read
and write. Total population (66.8%)
male (76.8%), female (57.7%) (2002 census).
Uganda Older Persons HIV, Sanitation&
Poverty (Contd)
• According to the 2009/10 UNHS
survey data, it was estimated that
24.5% (about 7.5 million persons) of
Ugandans were poor; and the
incidence of poverty remained
higher in rural areas (27.2%)
compared to urban areas (9.1%).
Uganda Older Persons Context –
Human Rights Protection
• The Uganda Constitution (1995), Chapter 4
guarantees the Protection and Promotion of
Fundamental and Other Human Rights and
Freedoms (Articles 20 – 50).
• The Uganda Human Rights Commission
(Article 51 of the Uganda Constitution &the
Uganda Human Rights Act No 4 1997)
• The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).
(Uganda Equal Opportunities Act, 2007)
Uganda Older Persons Context –
Human Rights Protection(Contd)
Uganda Constitution 1995:
• Equality and freedom from discrimination
(Article 21); Protection of personal liberty (Article
23); Respect for human dignity and protection
from inhuman treatment (Article 24); Protection
from deprivation of property (Article 26);
Affirmative action in favour of marginalised
groups (Article 32); Rights of women (Article 33);
Rights of children (Article 34);
Uganda Older Persons Context –
Human Rights Protection(Contd)
• Rights of persons with disabilities (Article 35);
Protection of rights of minorities (Article 36);
Civic rights and activities (Article 38); Right to
a clean and healthy environment (Article 39);
• Economic rights (Article 40); Right of access to
information (Article 41); and, Right to just and
fair treatment in administrative decisions
(Article 42).
Parliamentary Role in Human
Rights Protection
Parliament has a Standing Committee on Human Rights
mandated under the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure to:
• Track and report on human rights concerns in every
business handled by Parliament;
• Monitor government compliance with national and
international human rights instruments to which Uganda is
a party & follow up on Government periodic reports to
international human rights monitoring bodies;
• Examine the Uganda Human Rights Commission Reports
to ensure Government accountability on issues of human
rights.
Uganda Older Persons Experience of
Human Rights Violation
• Violation of basic human rights of older
persons includes: rape, theft and
burglary, dispossession of property by
individuals, families and some errant
members of the community
• The violations occur in different
circumstances – rural/urban,
households, conflict, etc.
Uganda Older Persons Context – Why
Poor Human Rights Protection?
• Limited awareness that discrimination is violation of human rights
• Limited access to the services of the Uganda Human Rights
Commission. Delayed justice through the Courts of Law. (Uganda
Human Rights Commission report of 2012 confirmed "An inadequate
system of judicial administration resulted in a serious backlog of
cases and impaired the right to a fair trial)
• In effective deterrent measures , and enforcement
• Non/inadequate integration of older person’s priorities in
development plans at all levels discriminates against older persons.
• Institutional and financial resources capacity constraints
• Inadequate Specialists on gerontology and geriatric issues that
results in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
various interventions for older persons.
Causes of Violation Human Rights &
Discrimination of Older Persons
•
•
•
•
Poverty
Inadequate empowerment (Limited voice)
Poor access to basic services (Health, education)
Limited economic opportunities (No Loans,
limited resources for income generation)
• Inadequate access information
• Denial of right to employment (Civil Servants)
• Insurance – demined to 60 years, insurance
cover, loans, etc
Uganda Policy Response to the
Protection of Older Persons
• The Older Persons Policy 2009;
• The National Council for Older Persons Act,
2012
• The National Plan of Action for Older Persons
2012/13-2016/17.
• Minister of State for Disability and Elderly
Affairs in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and
Social Development (MGLSD) whose role is
planning the activities that address older
person’s needs.
Uganda Policy Response (Contd)
The National Plan of Action for Older Persons 2012/132016/17 priority areas are:
• Economic Empowerment; Social security; Food
security and nutrition; Health care and lifestyle for
older persons; HIV and AIDS; Education, training and
lifelong learning; Psychosocial support and care for
older persons; Conflict and emergencies; Water and
sanitation; Shelter; Gender; Elder abuse; Accessibility
to physical facilities, and information; Research and
documentation; and, Capacity building for service
delivery
Uganda Policy Response (Contd)
• Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment
(SAGE). SAGE piloting direct income support
to provide a minimum income Uganda
shillings 25,000/= ($10) for extremely
vulnerable households including older
people. Planned to reach 95,000 beneficiaries
in poor and vulnerable households in 15 pilot
districts by December 2015.
Uganda Civil Society Organisations
Response
• Uganda Reach the Aged Association (URAA) established in
1991 continues to organise older persons into District
Associations – currently in 82 out of 112 districts
• Continue to advocate and lobby the government to
operationalise the National Council for Older Persons Act
2012; enact policies for social security, Social protection;
increase budgets; HIV & AIDS; protect Older Persons in
conflict situations; empower Older Persons through
education and training; provide investment funds for
employment creation; and improve access to justice by
Older Persons.
Uganda Private Sector Response
• Private sector response is still way below
standards
• URAA has started a programme of reaching
them through arrangements such as the Civil
Society / Private Sector Forum, addressing
Rotary members, and public discussions and
debates over the FM radio stations, etc
Recommendations
• An internationally legally binding instrument to address
the issue of ageing population globally in line with MIPAA
• Strategic focus + legislation, policies and resources at
national level
• Linkage to regional arrangements for sharing of
experiences, research and learning
• Parliamentary monitoring of compliance
• Independence, autonomy, capacity enhancement of
Statutory institutions e.g. Human Rights Commission,
Equal Opportunities Commissions for them to discharge
their duties effectively.
Recommendations (Contd)
• Support to intergenerational enterprises and
older persons associations will address
unemployment faced by the youth as well as
older persons; and these should integrate
vocational education and training of arrayed
interests.
• Legal protection through the courts of law
should be affordable and easily accessible.
• Training & Recruitment of Gerontologists and
Geriatricians to improve the services of technical
staff
Recommendations (Contd)
• Awareness raising on age discrimination and
response mechanisms promoted for uptake
by individuals, community and institutions
• Improved mechanisms for data collection and
analysis and dissemination through various
media to facilitate effective monitoring and
corrective actions to age discrimination at all
levels and situations in the country.
THANK YOU