SHRA Introduces Paralegals Amidst Meningitis Epidemic

Sudan Human Rights Association today officially introduced the first of its Paralegals to the Sudanese refugee community in West Nile, Uganda. This happened in Madi Okollo settlement in Arua District. The Paralegals have been mandated by SHRA after receiving a full-package training in topics such as Human Rights, Conflict Management, Psycho-social issues and Refugee Law. The Paralegals are already active in assisting their fellow community members and the implementing agencies in the settlements on these matters.

SHRA continues the introduction of Paralegals for another week. The gatherings have, however, been scaled-down due to the raging meningitis epidemic in West Nile and Adjumani. According to the Ugandan newspaper, The Monitor, more than 2,300 cases have been recorded - leading to more than 100 people so far dead from the airborne disease.

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The picture shows two Paralegals attending todays ceremony in Madi Okollo.

Crisis in Darfur: Interview with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir

The "spill-over" of the Darfur crisis into Chad is not a surprise to the President of Sudan, Lt. Gen. Omar al-Bashir: "Frictions and conflicts have always existed between the tribes", he states. According to the President, the entire "Darfur problem" is fabricated and exaggerated by foreign parties.

Click here and read these and other statements made by President al-Bashir in a recent interview published in the Asharq Alawsat Newspaper. The link is to an excerpt at the weblog Sudan Watch published Saturday Feb. 17.

Down the Wrong Road?

A quick glance at todays headlines in the newspaper South Sudan Nation is not encouraging. We are reminded that according to the schedule of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) from January 2005, Southern Sudan should have tarmacked roads within the first 18 months of forming the government, with a reliable road network in place by 2008. It is clear for anyone who has been to South Sudan recently that this is not happening.

Another main story concerns US$ 60 mil. that apparently vanished after being paid to the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) by the central Government in Khartoum back in January 2005.

On a lighter note, we are informed that in Egypt, an SPLM/A official sent by the GoSS to facilitate the repatriation of Southerners from that country spent only one tenth of the money, criminally pocketed more than US$ 300,000 and then returned to Sudan!

The stories go on. In SHRA we find them worrying because the lack of transparent governance in South Sudan is likely to have a negative impact on the repatriation and re-integration of the refugees currently returning to their country.

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(The cartoon above is also from South Sudan Nation - see more here).

SHRA Partner Launches Democracy Focus

For the past few years SHRA has partnered up with MS-Uganda, a worldwide Danish NGO. In particular, MS-Uganda supports SHRA in training Paralegals in Northern Uganda and South Sudan.

Last weekend MS launched its new worldwide focus on democracy. This happened during the Annual Meeting in Jinja, Uganda, which saw the presence of 140 delegates from all 35 MS partners in Uganda.

Arguably, there is not much new in the "new" focus since MS has promoted democracy and good governance for many years. Still, it is a serious attempt to mainstream democracy in a more conscious way in all MS activities around the world. The new criteria will also be used to assess present and potential partners - not only in terms of what they do, but also in terms of how they govern themselves. In SHRA, we look forward to this challenge.

What We Are and What We Do?

The Sudan Human Rights Association (SHRA) is a non-profit, non-partisan, and non-governmental organisation registered and operating in Uganda. It was established in 1996 and is concerned with monitoring the situation of refugees in their camps, empowering refugees with the ability to manage the challenges of their human rights situation. It is also advocating for refugees rights to be respected, promoted and defended.

SHRA is, so far, the only organisation in the region that conducts regular monitoring missions to investigate the human rights situation of refugees living in settlements in Uganda, Kenya, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps in Southern Sudan.

SHRA documents the findings and uses them to draw attention to and build public support for the human rights concerns and underlying plight of refugees. The findings are also used for lobbying and advocating for reform and the much-needed improvements in the situation of refugees and displaced persons.

The organisation works to raise the level of human rights awareness among the refugee communities by organising training workshops to sensitise them about their rights and responsibilities and the available means of redress when the rights are violated. SHRA also offers extensive informational counselling, advice, and referral services to refugees both in Kampala and in the field.

Advocacy

SHRA produces a quarterly publication called "The Sudan Monitor". Each issue contains articles on the current situation in Sudan and Northern Uganda, reports from SHRA's monitoring tours and news from our paralegal training programme. The magazine is widely distributed among relevant stakeholders and the refugee community.

Click on the link to access selected articles from "The Sudan Monitor".
http://sudanmonitor.blogspot.com

Empowering Refugees

Under the Education for Peace program, SHRA empowers refugees by conducting paralegal trainings. Paralegals - sometimes called "barefoot-lawyers" - are trained among the Sudanese community in both Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan. They are essentially educated about their rights. Elements of the training include the role of the Paralegal, basic human rights concepts, conflict management, psycho-social issues and refugee law.

The training of Paralegals is linked to the civic education carried out by the two other implementing organisations under Education for Peace, EAA and NSEA.

Monitoring Human Rights

SHRA carries out monitoring at two levels: The organisation monitors the performance of the trained Paralegals as they provide support to fellow refugees. Case reports are collected and the level of human right violations is assessed.

SHRA also carries out on-spot monitoring of the general human rights situation in selected refugee settlements in the Great Lakes Region. The organisation typically interviews UNHCR and Government officials along with staff from the implementing partners. Subsequently, the team moves to the settlement to verify the information. Aspects include: General security, food security, water and sanitation, health and education. The reports are forwarded to the relevant stakeholders and the general findings are published in the Sudan Monitor.

Calendar

18-23 Mar 2007: Official introducion of Paralegals continue in Moyo and Adjumani Districts

12-16 Mar 2007: Monitoring of living conditions in and around Yei, South Sudan

20 Feb. - 1 Mar. 2007: Introducing mandated Paralegals to the communities in refugee settlements in Northern Uganda

9-11 Feb. 2007: SHRA attends the Annual Meeting of MS-Uganda in Jinja, Uganda

Contact SHRA!

If you have any questions or comments for the Sudan Human Rights Association, don't hesitate to contact us.

Send us an email if you have an article you would like to appear in the next issue of The Sudan Monitor.

Sudan Human Rights Association
Nabunya Road Wagaba Zone, Plot 419
P.O. Box 7327
Kampala, Uganda

Phone: +256(0)41270440
Email: shra.uganda[at]yahoo.com