ReliefWeb reports that the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has released a report detailing torture and human rights abuses of civilians and soldiers in northern Uganda at the hands of the UPDF, Uganda's military. The report, significant because it is the first from the UHRC, a government body formed seven years ago to investigate human rights abuses, to include harsh criticism of a government agency.

Also, an editorial in today's New Vision comments on recent reports of human rights abuses and corruption in the UPDF. The UPDF has come under intense fire in recent weeks after the release of report by Human Rights Watch accused them of human rights abuses against civilians in northern Uganda. The editorial also touches on testimony published in the Weekly Observer from former Army Commander Maj. Gen. James Kazini about the involvement of Pres. Museveni and other high commanders in corrupt and negligent allocations of resources and pay within the UPDF.

An editorial written by Human Rights Watch advocates Jemera Rone and Nicholas Galletti argues that the Government of Uganda has a poor record for improving the country's human rights situation.

"...Instead of effectively protecting civilians from the LRA's vicious assaults, UPDF soldiers have engaged in abuses of their own, often beating, raping and even killing civilians with near total impunity... No effective structure exists in the camps or in the system of government to hold the army accountable for its crimes, despite government assurances to the contrary," write Rone and Galletti.

The article goes on to note the positive development that the UN High Commission for Human Rights will soon be deploying human rights monitors throughout the region.

The Government of Uganda recently called for the retraction of Human Rights Watch's recent report that documents government abuses.

Read the editorial here.

AllAfrica reports that the Ugandan government has demanded that Human Rights Watch (HRW) withdraw its recently released report Uprooted and Forgotten: Impunity and Human Rights Abuses in Northern Uganda, which details human rights abuses by the Ugandan military against civilians in northern Uganda. The Ugandan Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi likened it to "political pamphlets of the Uganda political opposition" and said that the Ugandan government do whatever it could to force its withdrawal.

An HRW official in Uganda denied the minister's claims and said they "would stand by the accuracy of the report."

The Ugandan military (UPDF) has denied claims in a recently released Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accusing them of human rights abuses against civilians in northern Uganda. The report said that the UPDF regularly commits abuses such as "rape, arbitrary arrests and detention, as well as beatings and killings in the camps", and that perpetrators have had "complete immunity from prosecution." UPDF spokesman Shabaan Bantariza denied the allegations, saying that military personnel who are caught committing human rights abuses are punished and claimed that the UPDF has a battalion of troops protecting all of the 100 IDP camps in northern Uganda. Read more at the Inter Press Service News Agency.

A report by Human Rights Watch to be released today documents widespread abuse of the civilian population in northern Uganda at the hands of the Ugandan military. Such human rights violations are common in the region, and a culture of impunity prevails for members of the armed forces. Weak judicial structures and a lack of accountability have prevented such abuse from ending. Relations between civilians and the military are consequently plagued by acrimonious mistrust.

"The UPDF has committed crimes against civilians with near total impunity. Displaced people remain isolated, ignored and unprotected, vulnerable to abuse by rebels and army forces," the report notes. Read more at AllAfrica.

This document provides a context within which conversations regarding the Government of Uganda's role in the northern region must commence. While a recent upsurge in military engagements demonstrates renewed government efforts to deal with the crisis, two decades have passed with conditions in the northern region only worsening. Look for further commentary from Uganda-CAN partners regarding the role of the government in the north in coming weeks.