Ugandan lawmakers studying Phl's anti-torture law

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers from Uganda are now in the Philippines to learn about the anti-torture law.

 Stephen Tashobya, member of the Kajara county parliament, said they could get ideas from the Philippines, which had experiences that are similar to Uganda.

“We have almost a similar history like this country, a history of violence, a history of abuse of human rights. Uganda was one time ruled by Idi Amin, who killed thousand and thousands of people,” Tashobya said in an interview in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

“Uganda (sees) the need to promote human rights to ensure that we don’t go back to that history,” he added.

Tashobya said four lawmakers and two staff members of the parliament arrived in Manila last Monday and were scheduled to leave today.

The Ugandan delegation witnessed yesterday the turnover by the Philippine defense department of declassified martial law documents to civilian agencies. Amin, who served as Uganda’s president from 1971 to 1979, is believed to have ordered the killing of more than 80,000 people.

Tashobya said they learned about the Philippines’ anti-torture law through international organizations.

“There has been a move in collaboration with civil society organizations to have a law that will operationalize the constitutional provisions about the protection of human rights…The Philippines is one of the countries that has a very good law,” he said.

“We hope that we would have it as a law by the end of this year.” Tashobya said they met with officials of the Commission on Human Rights last Tuesday and were scheduled to visit Congress and civil society groups.

“We have already learned a lot of lessons,” he said.

The Ugandan lawmaker said they have been informed about the accusations of human rights abuses involving Philippine soldiers.

“We have read about that… But that also happens in many countries including ours, and we think …we have learned a number of lessons for our country,” Tashobya said.

The Philippines’ Anti-Torture Law, which criminalizes physical and mental torture and other degrading punishment, was enacted in 2009. The measure, which was signed into law by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, prohibits solitary confinement in detention cells even during times of war. Persons found guilty of torture could be slapped with a six months jail term until life imprisonment depending on the degree of the offense. The law defined torture as “an act by which severe pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted for the purpose of obtaining information or confession, by or at the instigation or with the consent or acquiescence of a person in authority or his agent.”The law also calls for a rehabilitation program and compensation of at least P10,000 to torture victims and their families.