E/C.12/UGA/CO/1
Right to housing
29.
The Committee is concerned about the poor housing conditions, especially in
northern Uganda, the shortage of housing units and the emergence of informal settlements
that are characterized by poor infrastructure and insufficient access to basic services. The
Committee is also concerned that access to social housing is limited and private sector
based (art. 11).
The Committee recommends that the State party redouble its efforts to address
the housing conditions in northern Uganda and effectively address the shortage of
housing units with a view to securing the right to adequate housing to those living in
informal settlements. To this end the State party should, among other things,
effectively implement the National Development Plan. It is also encouraged to
consider providing social housing to the most disadvantaged and marginalized
individuals and groups. The Committee draws the State party’s attention to its
general comment No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing in this regard.
Forced evictions
30.
The Committee is concerned about repeated cases of forced evictions of
communities as well as lack of compensation to those communities or provision of
alternative housing. The Committee is particularly concerned about the case of Mubende
District, whose inhabitants were evicted from their homes in 2001 because of the Kaweri
Coffee Plantation, and about the fact that so far the legal redress that the district’s
inhabitants were able to obtain did not include restitution of land rights. Moreover, the
Committee expresses concern about information on many incidents of eviction of tenants
following the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2014. The Committee is also
concerned about the absence of information on the extent of homelessness in the State party
(art. 11).
Taking into account its general comment No. 7 (1997) on the right to adequate
housing: forced evictions, the Committee urges the State party to:
(a)
Refrain from forcibly evicting individuals and expropriating land,
including in the context of development projects. It recalls that in cases where eviction
or relocation is considered to be justified, it should be carried out in strict compliance
with the relevant provisions of international human rights law;
(b)
Immediately take measures to ensure that the rights of the Mubende
community, as well as of all other forcibly evicted communities, are restored;
(c)
Investigate all reported cases of illegal evictions of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex persons and ensure they are compensated;
(d)
Consider developing a legal framework on forced evictions that includes
provisions on effective and meaningful consultation, adequate legal remedies and
compensation;
(e)
Include disaggregated data in its next periodic report on the extent of
homelessness in the State party and measures taken to address it.
Right to adequate food
31.
The Committee is concerned about the delays in adopting the Food and Nutrition
Bill 2009, which would allow for the development of a national strategy on the right to
food. The Committee is also concerned that:
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