PERSONS IN UGANDA

4.1 Introduction
International human rights law is the body of international law designed to promote
and protect human rights. It is primarily made up of treaties and agreements between
states intended to have binding legal effect between the parties that have agreed to
them. 67
International human rights instruments provide human rights standards that
countries that are state parties to it, should aspire to reach. In addition to providing
general standards, the provisions of these instruments are legally binding on states
that ratify such instruments. Uganda has ratified most of the key international human
rights instruments and is therefore bound by their provisions. It has obligations to
respect, protect and fulfil these rights.
The discussion in this section will address some of the international human rights
instruments with provisions that have an impact on rights of LGBTI persons. The
discussion will highlight the normative human rights framework that has been
created by these instruments in the international arena. It should be noted that LGBTI
rights just like many other categorises of human rights are not expressly mentioned
in the instruments. However different international mechanisms especially treaty
monitoring bodies have provided guidance and interpretation of these instruments
and indeed LGBTI persons are shown to be included within these protections.
Due to the many different instruments within this system, the norms will be categorised
into rights and the different provisions that address these rights highlighted.
4.2 The different human rights instruments within the international
system
The following are the main human rights instruments within the international human
right system that Uganda is a party to:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
This Declaration was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December
1948 and is considered the primary international human rights instrument that
gave birth to all other international human rights instruments. It lays down the core
foundation of the international standards that all countries in the world should strive
to attain. It is one of the three instruments that form the International Bill of Rights.
Uganda was not party to its adoption since by then it was still a British colony and
not an independent state, however most of its provisions are not included in the
binding treaties and also some of the norms laid down in the UDHR have crystallised
into customary international law and are therefore binding on all states including
Uganda. 68
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
The ICCPR was adopted by the United Nations Assembly on 16th December 1966 and
67 F Viljoen, n12 above, 3.
68 For a discussion of the UDHR as customary international law, see V Dimitrijevic Customary law as an
instrument for the protection of human rights ISPI Working Papers, Working Paper 7, 2006, 8-10.
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