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, non-governmental 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 Context-Population

• 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 Context-Population (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 2012/13-2016/17 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