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By Charles Etukuri Professor Omara Otunnu is the Chair of the United nations. Daily Monitor's Charles Etukuri talks to him on the nature of his work. Q. You have engaged in human rights causes as a scholar and an advocate, by shaping policy and building structures and alliances through which to effect positive change in society. How important have these policies and structures been to the third world countries?
A. My work and ideas have had influence in both Developing countries and the
Developed world. They have been channelled either indirectly through the global
network of UNESCO Chairs in human rights or directly through bilateral
partnerships that the UNESCO Chair in Comparative Human Rights has engaged in.
Most of my work has been underpinned by an understanding that although we might
be born in different circumstances, we all do share a common humanity.
With this guiding principle I have chosen over the past few years to put into
practice the simple but profound ideals of human rights that are well summarised
in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that:
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.and should act
towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
The approach I have used to address issues of human rights and social justice
and to inspire and build trust and international understanding between people of
diverse backgrounds has been an ecumenical one informed by the notion of
reciprocal learning, understanding and respect. The notion is based on a dual
realisation. The first is that no nation is an island unto itself or has a
monopoly on virtues or vices; and second, is that no civilisation can endure
if/when built purely upon the growth of material power. Both these facts are
perhaps best captured in the African ethics of umbantu (i.e. umutu ngumuntu
ngabantu: we are what we are because of the way we treat or interact with one
another).
Through that approach I have managed to achieve a number of things over the past
years. Among these have been: a partnership with the African National Congress
(ANC) of Nelson Mandela, linkage with the University of Fort Hare in South
Africa; the award of the first UNESCO Chair in Human Rights in North America;
the building of a vigorous outreach program that engages young students; called
Student Ambassadors for Human Rights, the formation of a Coalition of Human
Rights Organisation in New England; the signing of Agreement to further the
friendship and to develop economic and trade relations between the State of
Connecticut and the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa; and collaboration
with various UNESCO Human Rights Chairs in every region of the
world.
Q. Late last year, the California-based Friends for Peace in Africa organised
the conference titled "Crisis in Northern Uganda" with support from the
Toronto-based Acholi Diaspora Association. What was achieved in this
conference?
A. Unfortunately or fortunately, I did not attend the meeting. I believe that
the problems in Northern Uganda are national problems of human rights, and to
approach them as though they were problems that only the people from that region
should find solutions to them trivialises the tragedy that has been imposed on
ordinary people in that region for more or less a generation. Moreover, the
approach contributes to the fragmentation of Uganda along ethnic or even clan
bases that has occurred in the past two decades or so.
Q. Government alleges that you misused China Keitetsi, a former child soldier to
discredit your own Government in Uganda.
A. There is not a shred of truth to that allegation. However, it is true that I
invited China Keitetsi who is internationally known as an advocate for the human
rights of child soldiers to speak to a cross-section of American audiences about
the tragedy of the militarism in Africa that is manifested itself in the
phenomenon of child soldiers. It is also true that I very much admire Ms.
Keitetsi for overcoming the trauma and near dehumanisation of her experiences as
a child soldier and for dedicating herself to educate others about the
phenomenon.
Otunnu I think the government of Uganda should have nothing to fear if it is serving the interests of its people, because in all her appearances, Ms. Keitetsi never bad-mouthed the government. All she did was to speak the truth about her personal experiences. The power of the truth she speaks often moves her audiences to tears.
I think we should all applaud her for her courage and strength to confront her
traumatic experiences and for exposing to the larger world the debilitating
suffering and denial of rights that child soldiers are often subjected to by
various cynical and exploitative groups who do not care about the welfare of
children except as means to facilitate their acquisition and maintenance of raw
power.
Q. You were able to persuade your American university to help document and
preserve the story of South Africans' uprising against apartheid - and to use it
to expand human rights education. You helped make the struggle a living reality
now why don't you use your expertise and ability to rally international forces,
focus on the Northern war and help bring it to an end?
A. If I am asked to make a non-partisan contribution, I would be delighted to
consider it. As I indicated earlier, my approach is ecumenical; which means that
I cannot involve myself in any thing that is partisan and manipulated for
political rather than human rights ends. The catastrophe in northern Uganda can
be solved only if four basic conditions are met: first, the people of northern
Uganda must be regarded as citizens of the country who are entitled to all the
rights that citizens of the country are entitled to.
Second, the government must take seriously it primary duty to protect all
Ugandans, including the people in northern Uganda. A government that cannot
protect its citizens necessarily forfeits its claim to be in power. The tragedy
in Uganda is that a government that has the capacity to invade and occupy a
large part of the Congo (DRC) has failed to protect its own citizens against a
group of people it has routinely asserted were a rug-tag group of thugs.
History teaches us, in the words of Mahatma Gandhi written in 1908, that: "Those
who serve only their own interests will be ready to rob their own people after
they have done with robbing others." Third, the war in Northern Uganda cannot
come to an end unless there is a political will on both the part of the
government and that of the rebels, to in good faith, seek peaceful solutions to
essentially political problems. As long as both sides are militarist and have
faith in only military solutions, viable peace cannot be achieved.
International support for ending the war cannot be a substitute for an
affirmative political will especially on the part of the Government. The
impression one gets from outside is that even at times when the Government has
reluctantly agreed to exploring peaceful means through some form of negotiations
of ending the war, it has been as a ploy to defeat the rebels rather than a
means of serious dialogue to engage a rebel but nonetheless Ugandan group.
An important lesson from South Africa is that sometimes political leaders must
rise about their parochial interests for the greater and common good of the
nation. And fourth, a neutral arbiter and credible guarantor power must be
employed to engage all the parties who have some legitimate interest in the
situation in that part of the region.
Q. Uganda history of human right has been quite shacky and up-to-date the ghost
of past regimes seems to haunt the current regime with accusations that it
equally violates human rights. As a person who has had quite vast experience in
this field what do you think is the best way forward for the
country?
A. There must, first and foremost, be a dual commitment and consensus among all
the populations of Uganda that human rights constitute a national priority; and
that any undemocratic and illegitimate government that violates the rights of
people without reasonable and effective avenues of redress must be made a
pariah, as South Africa was during the apartheid era.
This would mean that everything done in Uganda would be subordinated to the
achievement of human rights. Put differently, human rights would be regarded as
a trump when determining competing national priorities. Second, the rule of law
must be allowed to reign supreme and no repressive security and military
organisations should be tolerated.
If the rule of law reigns supreme, it means that all individuals, no matter how
powerful there are, would be subjected to the same treatment. Third, that the
national destiny of the country should not be mortgaged for the survival in
power of any single individual.
In other words, mechanisms and institutions must be put in place to ensure that
no individual is indispensable to the welfare and destiny of the country. And
fourth, petty; grand and systemic corruption; nepotism, ethnic chauvinism; and
cronyism should be banished from the body politics of the country.
As a practical starting point to resolve the political impasse, there might be a
need for reconciliation, along the lines pursued in South Africa; or a
convention of an All-Party Convention, whose resolutions are sovereign and
binding on all. The next step might be a formation of a government of national
unity or a government of non-partisan people who should be charged with creating
a stable environment.
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" |
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