The international criminal law (ICL) system can only hear and describe a tiny fraction of what people experience, particularly when it comes to sexual violence. The ICL system not only makes it difficult for victims to disclose their experiences, but often misplaces, deprioritises and erases the sexual elements of violence under other headings such as ‘torture’ and ‘inhumane treatment’. This is what inspired ‘Call It What It Is’, a campaign designed to enable victims to freely testify in a system where sexual violence is better articulated.
On 23 October 2019, the UN Secretary-General announced the establishment of a High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement in an event organised to mark the 10-anniversary of the adoption of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Africa a.k.a Kampala Convention. Herein, I argue that the yet to be composed panel should look deeply into the vulnerabilities of refugees and focus on addressing the root causes of internal displacements.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands recently (7-8 October 2019) demonstrated its commitment to improving Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) for millions of people affected by conflicts and forced displacements through the first International Conference on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Crisis held in Amsterdam. I bring to you the (audio-recorded) speech of Dr. Olaro Charles, Director of Clinical Services at the Ministry of Health who represented the Government of the Republic of Uganda at the conference.
Despite tremendous technological advancements, increase in number of ‘experts’ with spectacular insights on laws and policies to make this world a better place, international community still grapple with disturbing cases and statistics of human rights abuses including conflict-related sexual violence. Consequently, the need to empower national and international practitioners on documentation and investigation has suffused among humanitarian and development actors as one of the measures of tackling impunity and guaranteeing non-repetition of human rights abuses and violations.
After several years of work on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV), this declaration is a demonstration that through rigorous advocacy, we can collectively realise progressive transformation towards better support for survivors/victims and gender inclusivity. However, herculean hurdles lie ahead of the journeys toward realising contexts where all survivors can access and uptake services without discrimination, and where survivors/victims are not only beneficiaries of services but also active partners in response to and prevention of sexual violence.
I have had an interesting photography journey thus far! With numerous interactions with ‘professional’ photographers, I have learnt to view the world in an entirely different way. That said, I have contributed to Refugee Law Project’s photo gallery with my ‘raw’ photos which 'professional' photographers refer to as amateur, but I brand them as ‘organic photos’ since they contain no artificial additives. For those who missed out on my photos shared via social media and/or struggle with the constant bustle and alerts of the 'new media', worry no more – the Photo Gallery on RLP’s website is up and running with carefully selected and stunning photos.
This briefing paper follows RLP's participation in the commemoration of the Day of the African Child (June 19) under the theme "Humanitarian Action in Africa: Children's Rights First" during which we organised two roundtable discussions - one with children and the other with adults caretakers to discuss key issues related to the theme of the day.
In the interest of reaching a large refugee population with diverse languages, these translations are a fulfilment of our mandate; "To be a resource for forced migrants and relevant actors". The 8 languages into which the statement has been translated only encompass a portion of the broad language needs of forced migrants in Uganda, and ignites discussion on the urgent need for refugee-serving agencies to rethink their approaches of sharing written information to their clients.
Environmental pollution affects our health, our access to clean air and water, and a healthy ecosystem. Our environment is a determinant of our health. While our day-to-day lives may not feel threatened right now, air pollution has a compounding affect that will only grow worse without intervention. Each one of us ought to take actions that reduce on pollution.
Hits: 49 Editor’s Note: This message below was published by Refugee Law Project on Friday, 8 February 2019 at 18:37hrs. Dear Friends and Colleagues, After several months of research and consultation, we are pleased to share the long-awaited Training Manual and its User Guide on Refugee Rights and Protection, and once again thank all our
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