Our work is designed to positively impact the quality of life of the people we work with. Through a range of approaches, we work with state and non-state actors so they are better able to claim their rights and manage conflicts. As a result of our work, we have seen improvements in the promotion and protection of peoples’ rights by state actors. 12,500 community members and local leaders have been reached through awareness sessions and dialogue engagement on natural resource governance and relevant laws and policies on land protection, mining, and mineral management.
We influencee fair financial institutions (development financial institutions, multilateral development banks, private banks, Investors, Insurance companies and shareholders) in order to change harmful private sector behaviour of companies that financial institutions invest in.
We are contributing to more effective and transparent resource management through successful citizen led projects at community level such as advocacy initiatives that saw an increase in fees and imposition of a 2% tax on breaking and loading fees in the limestone value chain in Karamoja sub-region; formation of Communal Land Associations (CLAs) for the protection of communal land and the formation of community groups to support the community pursue their demands and address issues that affect people at the community level.
And, in keeping within our mission and vision of human rights protection, we deliberately undertake documentation and analysis of human rights trends as a basis for policy advocacy, strategic litigation, and capacity building with 69 cases of human rights violations reported in the Karamoja sub-region (in 2022 alone) of which all were satisfactorily addressed.
By increasing awareness and holding violators of human rights accountable, we spur promotion and greater respect for human rights and peace. Over years, we have contributed towards an improvement in legal, policy and institutional frameworks in the governance of mineral resources by influencing the amendment of the mining Act 2003 that saw the enactment of The Mining and Minerals Act, 2022.
We believe that addressing structural causes of human rights abuse and their manifestations requires responses that go beyond litigation to include evidence-based analysis and research, and human rights education that will ultimately change attitudes, behaviors, practices and processes that form the bases of violations of human rights. We have worked to empower relevant key stakeholders including community members, local, district, regional and national leaders, and human rights defenders (HRDs). As a result, HRDs have proactively and bravery taken on the role of demanding for the rights of the community in the mining sector by consistently monitoring, documenting, and reporting human rights violations to relevant authorities.
