Zambia Human Rights Commission Visits JLOS.
Members of the visiting Zambia Human Rights Commission delegation and JLOS Secretariat officials pose for a group photo. The Zambian delegation is in Uganda on a benchmarking study tour of the sector wide approach and strategic investment plan development
Officials from the Justice, Law and Order Sector on the September 10, 2013 met with the Zambia Human Rights Commission delegation that is in Uganda on a benchmarking study tour of the sector-wide approach and the strategic investment plan development process. Ms Pixie K. Yangailo, the Chairperson of the Zambia Human Rights Commission led the visiting delegation. The purpose of the visit was to get first hand insights on the JLOS Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) development process, challenges of the sector-wide approach as well as lessons learned to facilitate their ongoing initiatives at home to develop the Zambian Human Rights Commission SIP.
In a brief Introduction of the Justice Law & Order Sector, the sector informed the team from Zambia that JLOS, established in 1999 following a roundtable discussion on the Government of Uganda Legal Sector Strategy, is an innovative approach aimed at increasing communication, coordination and cooperation among several stakeholders involved in the administration of justice and the rule of law. The visiting team was also presented with the JLOS collaborative programme design that cuts across three strategic investment plans since its inception, that is SIP I (2001-05 that focused on criminal and commercial justice); SIP II (2006 – 11 that focused on consolidating reforms from SIP I with the introduction of two additional priority areas of land and family justice) and SIP III (2011 -16, that is mainly aimed at promoting the rule of law and includes additional focus areas of transitional justice, anti-corruption, and gender based violence and child justice).
Various questions and concerns were raised by the Zambia Human Rights delegation especially regarding the planning and budgeting process, funding and resource allocation, institutional independence of the Uganda Human Rights Commission as well as the challenges and viability of the sector wide approach.
In response, the team was informed that the three sector pillars of communication, coordination and communication (3Cs) have fostered an environment where institutions are able to meet and come up with joint work plans, resource allocation and planning frameworks that address their institutional as well as sector interests. The 3Cs also strengthen institutional independence with the available platforms for institutions to openly air out their views and positions on certain issues such as human rights with all stakeholders. Additionally, best practices implemented by JLOS such as a systems approach to justice delivery and resource mobilization, evidence based planning, constructive engagement and collaboration with potential human rights violators, unity in diversity and peer review have gone a long way in positioning the sector to successfully tackle challenges.
The Justice, Law and Order Sector continues to champion and lead efforts geared toward human rights observance in Uganda and in the region. Some of the achievements of the sector in regard to human rights include; a gradual reduction in human rights violations; all member institutions establishing human rights desks; reduction in overstay on remand; improvement in juvenile justice through separating juveniles from adult inmates and improved sanitation in places of detention.
Posted 13th, September 2013
