By Joshua Nahamya for The Pearl Times
MBARARA CITY – Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been urged to strategically position themselves and tap into funding opportunities from local donors as opposed to only looking at sponsors from Western countries. The call for local resources mobilization comes a little over a year since mega NGO donor, the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF), officially pulled out of Uganda after a dozen years of supporting activities of local civil society organizations.
A multi-donor fund, the formation of DGF in 2011 was informed by the need to coordinate donor assistance to Uganda. It brought together funds from Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, and the European Union (EU).
Until May 2023 when DGF wound up its operations in Kampala, it had been funding NGOs and government agencies to the tune of Shs100bn annually for activities meant to promote accountability, good governance and observance of human rights.
With one of the biggest financiers of the NGO work now off the scene, activists have now launched the Grassroots Defenders Fund (GDF) to support civil society organizations engaged in the work of defending human rights in the Ankole sub-region.
In a five-day training program, officials from various CSOs discussed the reality of dwindling foreign support, especially following the exit of DGF – and the closure of financial taps with it. They agreed that it was necessary to put in place a mechanism to raise funds for the work of human rights defenders without which rights will be violated in the dark.
“It is important to recognize that grassroot human defenders and journalists have a duty to promote and protect human rights and civic freedoms. Therefore to ensure their security and protection, we realised that we need to start a fund to support their activism in case there is any emergency support to defenders throughout Uganda,” explained Irene.
GRASSROOTS DEFENDERS FUND LAUNCH
Since the launch, which happened at Hotel Triangle in Mbarara City on June 05, over Shs150m has so far been collected from membership and annual subscription to kick start the resource mobilisation to support NGOs which defend human rights in Uganda.
According to Number One Irene, the GDF Chairperson, about 30 NGOs in Ankole sub-region registered and are engaged in defending human rights. Irene insisted that the fund is not for the person whose rights have been violated but to help the human rights defenders overcome some challenges encountered in the field.
“This organisation is meant to secure funds for these other organisations in case there is an urgent need. For example when human rights defenders or journalists are imprisoned, we can use this money to obtain bail or bond, replace the vandalised equipment in the field and deploy moral support in case of depression among others,” explained Irene.
“Through All in One Women’s Association (ALOWA) as our partner organisation, we have started this fund with an amount of Shs 155, 760,000. We call upon all Ugandans and other groups which are still there to come and be part of the fund so that we work together to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Under the GDF, an individual pays a membership fee of Shs 50,000 and annual subscription of Shs 100,000 while organisations pay Shs 100,000 as membership fees. Irene says the matter of annual subscription for organizations is still under discussion. Those intending to make contributions to the Fund can contact GDF on donations[AT]gdf[DOT]org[DOT]ug.
Irene also made it clear that the membership and annual subscription cannot sustain GDF, thus calling upon funders and well-wishers to support the fund for the grassroots human rights activities in Uganda.
“We shall be contacting donors and I hope there are so many people out there who are willing to give a hand either financially or in terms of materials but before you look from your neighbour it has to start with you. Otherwise we cannot only depend on membership subscription; this is just a curtain raiser to mobilise more support from donors and well-wishers,” she said.
The support, Irene further noted, will cover urgent and short term assistance such as bail and bond applications, urgent medical bills, security measures like temporary relocation costs, hiring private security, and installation of security infrastructure like CCTV cameras, trial monitoring fees, humanitarian, family and dependency support. Only GDF members will be able to benefit from the fund.
Some of the NGOs that have so far subscribed with the fund include; Women in Media Association, All in One Women’s Association (ALOWA), Citizens Coalition for Independent Media, Rural Women Defenders Network (RUWODNET), Voice of Mitooma, Friends of Women Initiative (FROWI), and Grassroots Defenders Network.
HUGE TASK, FUNDING CHALLENGES
Shallon Ndyamusiima, the GDF national coordinator, noted that the fund has come at the right time when human rights defenders and journalists that are usually at the forefront are facing intimidation and harassment from the human rights violators who have become more powerful and well connected over the years.
“The biggest challenge that we face is intimidation from the oppressors and those who support oppressors. But the world needs human rights defenders and as GDF that is why we have established the fund to have a backup and protect them if anything happens,” said Ndyamusiima.
“We all know that you cannot run any activity when you don’t have money. And these organisations came telling us we want to do activities but we don’t have funds so we hope GDF will be our relief.”
Ndyamusiima also emphasized that the fund is meant only to support the human right defenders urgently against the eventualities while executing their work.
Barnabas Tugumisirize, Director Civic Space Movement, supplemented, thus: “You are aware that some human rights defenders including journalists they are harassed, some of them are in prison and they are charged with criminal summons so we need this fund that we shall put in place to help them get justice.”
Dona Kyomugisha, Director Centre for women in Development and coordinator of GDF Ankole sub region, noted the difficulties of defending human rights in rural Uganda, explaining why there is great need for human and financial resources to undertake this important task.
“We sensitise communities to understand their rights and you cannot do all that work without money. This is a reason as to why we are calling upon the well-wishers of justice to support the fund,” said Komugisha.
Fiona Masika, Coordinator, Friends of women initiative (FROWI), encouraged her colleague human rights defenders to remain strong and fight for the rights of people who are oppressed.
“Being a human rights defender is inherent. No one coaches you, no one gives you the tips to become one. Yet human rights violators out there are after us because they feel like we are interfering their business yet for us we are implementing human rights advocacy as part of our role to help people who are unable to help themselves,” said Masika.
“While we are defending these grassroot people as defenders, how are we being helped to make sure that our lives are not in danger as well? So let us sustain this fund and let it be resourceful to us who find ourselves in emergency situations.”
NOT ANTI-GOVERNMENT
She also emphasized that the CSOs under the Grassroot Defenders Fund are going to work with the government, especially the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), as the chief defenders of human rights, to protect and promote human rights among the citizens of Uganda.
“We can’t distance ourselves from the government and we have no ill intentions against the government but to work with government to protect the rights of Ugandans,” she stressed.
Christine Ainomugisha from the UHRC Western Regional Office based in Mbarara City, who was the chief guest at the launch, pointed out government officials as the leading violators of human rights, thus requesting human rights defenders to report such matters to the commission.
“Mostly, the violators are government officials right from LC I up to the President’s office I would say. So, my advice is that if a violator be a government official, that matter should be directed to the Uganda Human Rights Commission for further management. Wherever you are, we are the stakeholders working with you and mandated to handle the violations of human rights where government workers are involved,” said Ainomugisha.
“We [at UHRC] also experience challenges like what some of you experience on a daily basis. The only difference is that as a government institution we are mandated to promote human rights and therefore we do the work with due diligence.”
With intimidation of human rights defenders’ work rife, Ainomugisha advised NGOs to work hand in hand with government agencies, especially those involved in the crackdown on graft such as the Inspectorate of Government, and State House’s Anti-corruption Unit.
Ainomugisha also challenged the human rights defenders to always try dialogue when handling family matters before rushing to courts of law, which comes with a cost.
She appealed to the human rights defenders to always do their work with passion and devotion. The official from the UHRC Western Region office also had some priceless tips for those involved in defending human rights.
“Human rights defenders’ work is not easy per se. One must be patient, empathetic and be a good listener to be able to come out with a solution,” said Ainomugisha.
“As human rights defenders, I urge you to learn as much as possible and to pull all the stakeholders on board. When you listen to a case, it is best to know which office can handle this matter so that you refer it there to be safer because safety of our lives is very paramount. Much as we are human rights defenders, we need to be alive for us to be able to serve.”
BACKGROUND
In 2021, President Museveni suspended DGF’s activities, worrying that the mega fund was running without sufficient government oversight. Other accusations were related to allegations of supporting the opposition, especially politician Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine who gave the president headache in the 2021 elections. With the closure, several NGOs and government institutions faced funding challenges, and some closed. (See Details Here and There).
In 2021, the government-run NGO Board suspended at least 54 NGOs, including renowned human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo’s Chapter Four and ex-minister Miria Matembe’s Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU), forcing her to resign from her job. Just last year, several NGOs lost funding after the closure of the UN Human Rights Office. (See Details Here, There and Over There).
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