[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 215 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7808-S7809]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 807--URGING THE GOVERNMENT OF UGANDA AND ALL PARTIES 
TO RESPECT HUMAN, CIVIL, AND POLITICAL RIGHTS AND ENSURE FREE AND FAIR 
ELECTIONS IN JANUARY 2021, AND RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF MULTIPARTY 
                          DEMOCRACY IN UGANDA

  Mr. MENENDEZ submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 807

       Whereas the United States has an important interest in 
     supporting democracy in Uganda and has consistently 
     demonstrated support for the people of Uganda through efforts 
     to advance good governance, economic growth, and improved 
     access to health and education;
       Whereas Uganda has been an important security partner of 
     the United States, including through its contributions to the 
     counter-terrorism efforts in East Africa, and to the African 
     Union Mission in Somalia;
       Whereas Uganda remains one of the top refugee hosting 
     countries in the world, a contribution that plays an 
     important role in regional stability and humanitarian 
     protection;
       Whereas more than 75 percent of Uganda's population is 
     younger than 30 years of age, and the political, economic, 
     and social stability of country will be shaped by the welfare 
     of its youth, and their access to opportunity, equality, and 
     dignified lives;
       Whereas respect for human, civil, and political rights and 
     deepening multiparty democracy are essential to Uganda's 
     long-term economic prosperity and political stability;

[[Page S7809]]

       Whereas the conduct of elections, particularly the January 
     2021 elections, will have a significant impact on the 
     trajectory of democratic growth in Uganda and its 
     relationship with the United States;
       Whereas the National Resistance Movement (referred to in 
     this preamble as ``NRM'') took control of the Government of 
     Uganda in 1986 after period of protracted conflict and has 
     dominated the political affairs in Uganda ever since;
       Whereas Yoweri Museveni has served as Uganda's head of 
     state since 1986, making him the third-longest actively 
     serving head of state in Africa;
       Whereas Uganda has had national elections since 1996, and 
     multiparty elections since 2006, all of which have been won 
     by the NRM and President Museveni;
       Whereas the NRM has engineered changes to the Ugandan 
     constitution in 2005 and 2017, which removed presidential 
     term limits and age-limits respectively, and have allowed 
     President Museveni to remain in power for more than 3 
     decades;
       Whereas national elections in Uganda since 1996 have not 
     met internationally accepted standards for free and fair 
     polls, as the ruling party has leveraged access to, and 
     influence over, state resources and institutions to tilt the 
     electoral balance in its favor;
       Whereas Ugandan authorities have used coercive measures, 
     including arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, extra-
     judicial killings, and intrusive surveillance technology to 
     intimidate and silence political opposition in the country;
       Whereas in March 2020, the Constitutional Court of Uganda 
     annulled section 8 of the repressive Public Order Management 
     Act of 2013, but Ugandan authorities continue to obstruct 
     lawful assemblies by the political opposition, often through 
     violence;
       Whereas the Museveni Administration has used arbitrary and 
     partisan legal action, enabled by its control of the courts, 
     to intimidate and silence members of the political 
     opposition;
       Whereas Ugandan authorities have not been held accountable 
     for human rights abuses, including those perpetrated against 
     prominent members of the political opposition, including 
     members of parliament;
       Whereas many Ugandan officials have not been held 
     accountable for acts of gross corruption, which have been 
     documented by Human Rights Watch in 2013 and other 
     nongovernmental organizations (referred to in this preamble 
     as ``NGOs''), despite the existence of anti-corruption laws, 
     including--
       (1) the Penal Code Act;
       (2) the Leadership Code Act, 2002;
       (3) the Inspectorate of Government Act, 2002;
       (4) the Anti-Corruption Act, 2009; and
       (5) the Public Finance Management Act, 2015;
       Whereas Ugandan authorities continue to deploy a range of 
     restrictive and onerous administrative measures against NGOs, 
     including--
       (1) the deregistration of more than 12,000 mostly local 
     NGOs in November 2019;
       (2) the freezing of the bank accounts of some NGOs in 
     December 2020; and
       (3) a broader range of actions designed to intimidate civil 
     society, such as the denial of entry or deportation of some 
     leaders of international NGOs in 2020;
       Whereas independent media outlets in Uganda have been 
     placed under increasing duress by the Museveni Administration 
     through regulatory and other administrative and legal actions 
     designed to intimidate journalists who report independently;
       Whereas journalists working for foreign media outlets are 
     now required to re-register with Ugandan authorities or risk 
     criminal penalties and some foreign journalists have been 
     deported from the country;
       Whereas Ugandan authorities have sought to undermine 
     digital rights, including by--
       (1) subjecting people with large social media followings to 
     onerous administrative regulation through the Uganda 
     Communications Commission public notice of September 2020 and 
     prior regulatory acts of the Uganda Communications 
     Commission;
       (2) imposing burdensome taxes on social media users;
       (3) blocking access to social media during the 2016 
     elections; and
       (4) prosecuting some individuals who have criticized the 
     Museveni Administration on social media platforms;
       Whereas although Uganda is home to one of the premiere 
     institutions of higher education in Africa (Makerere 
     University), Ugandan authorities have taken repeated action 
     to suppress academic freedom and intimidate students and 
     faculty that have been critical of the Museveni 
     Administration, including by firing and jailing professors 
     who criticize the regime;
       Whereas same-sex relations in Uganda remain criminalized 
     under section 145 of the Penal Code Act, and people who 
     identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer 
     (referred to in this preamble as ``LGBTQ persons'') face a 
     range of direct punitive action from Ugandan authorities, 
     such as arrest and detention, and a permissive environment 
     that encourages impunity for attacks against LGBTQ persons;
       Whereas the Museveni Administration has deployed an 
     escalating array of repressive measures before the January 
     2021 elections, including placing uneven and partisan limits 
     on the campaign activity of leading opposition candidates and 
     arresting some candidates, which have triggered protests and 
     the subsequent use of force by the security apparatus to put 
     down the protests, which led to the deaths of at least 28 
     people in November 2020:
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the Museveni Administration's assault on 
     democratic freedoms, including attacks on opposition 
     politicians, assaults on journalists and media freedoms, and 
     burdensome restrictions on nongovernmental organizations;
       (2) urges the Government of Uganda--
       (A) to respect the rights enshrined in the Constitution of 
     the Republic of Uganda (referred to in this resolution as the 
     ``Constitution'') and relevant international obligations, 
     particularly the rights to freedom of movement, expression, 
     information, religion, association, equality, privacy, and 
     personal security; and
       (B) to take immediate steps to improve the pre-election 
     environment and to create conditions for credible democratic 
     elections in January 2021 that enable Ugandan citizens the 
     opportunity to freely exercise their right to vote;
       (3) calls upon the Government of Uganda and President 
     Museveni--
       (A) to repeal repressive laws and administrative actions 
     that are contrary to the principles of good governance, a 
     healthy democracy, and the rights enumerated in the 
     Constitution, such as--
       (i) colonial-era laws that target the LGBTQ community; and
       (ii) the Uganda Communications Commission's September 2020 
     public notice that, in conjunction with other regulations, 
     undermines digital rights;
       (B) to allow citizens, civil society organizations, and 
     political parties to assemble peacefully and to freely 
     express their views;
       (C) to immediately lift uneven and partisan restrictions on 
     political activities, including the uneven, partisan, and 
     violent application of COVID-19 restrictions on opposition 
     political gatherings and rallies, and to safely allow 
     opposition parties to hold political rallies, meetings, and 
     demonstrations at times of their choosing;
       (D) to provide transparent, consistent, and nonintrusive 
     procedures for nongovernmental organizations to register, and 
     to enable them to carry out programs and other legal activity 
     without interference from the state authorities;
       (E) to safeguard press and academic freedom, in accordance 
     with the Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human 
     Rights, adopted in Paris December 10, 1948;
       (F) to condemn threats and attacks against opposition 
     political parties and civil society, and to ensure 
     accountability for harassment, intimidation, or physical 
     attacks on members of the opposition;
       (G) to end the escalating campaign of repression against 
     opposition candidates and their parties before the January 
     2021 elections; and
       (H) to guarantee the ability of domestic and international 
     election observers to monitor the January 2021 polls without 
     hindrance;
       (4) calls on the Secretary of State, and the heads of 
     relevant departments and agencies of the United States 
     Government to continue--
       (A) to speak out against the Government of Uganda's efforts 
     to undermine democracy; and
       (B) to hold the Government of Uganda accountable for 
     respecting the rights of its citizens, in accordance with its 
     Constitution and international obligations, including by--
       (i) considering the imposition of targeted sanctions and 
     visa restrictions on actors involved in undermining credible, 
     transparent elections, or for perpetrating or abetting human 
     rights abuses;
       (ii) leading international partners and institutions, 
     including those in Africa, in developing and implementing 
     strategies and actions to promote and defend human, civil, 
     and political rights and multiparty democracy in Uganda;
       (iii) immediately conducting a review of United States 
     Government assistance and cooperation with the Government of 
     Uganda for the purposes of reprioritizing areas and sectors 
     of assistance should neutral observers determine that the 
     January 2021 polls do not meet internationally accepted 
     standards for credible elections; and
       (iv) insisting on full and public investigations that 
     ensure accountability for acts of violence, harassment and 
     intimidation perpetrated against political opposition, 
     journalists, and members of civil society, especially before 
     and after the January 2021 elections.

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