By Our Reporter

14^th Nov 2011:  “…The more open we are, the more willing we are to hear constructive criticism, the more effective we can be; And ultimately, governments are here to serve the people, NOT to serve those in power.” US President Barack Obama said at the ‘Open Government Partnership’ conference held in New York on 20^th September 2011.

Possible reasons for leaving Uganda out

In an unusually harsh statement issued recently, the US government condemned what it called the “deteriorating” human rights situation in Uganda and asked the government to respect civil liberties of all citizens, including minority groups.  In her statement, US State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said:

“…The United States is concerned about Uganda’s deteriorating human rights record”, she said, adding that, “…recently, the Ugandan government has failed to respect freedoms of expression, assembly, and media, as well as its commitment to protect the human rights of all Ugandans.”

America’s condemnation came in the wake of Amnesty International’s report (‘Stifling Dissent: Restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in Uganda’) in which the UK based rights organisation describes how journalists, opposition politicians and activists face arbitrary arrest, intimidation, threats and politically motivated criminal charges for expressing views deemed critical of the authorities.

Public protests have been banned in Uganda amid unverified claims that the organisers planned violence.  In recent weeks four political activists have been charged with treason – a capital offense – for their involvement in organising the protests.  “…The Ugandan authorities are creating a climate where it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to freely criticise government officials, their policies or practices,” said Godfrey Odongo, Amnesty International’s Uganda Researcher.

The report also documents increasing restrictions on the media in Uganda which hinder it from freely broadcasting information.  It is therefore hardly surprising that Uganda was left out of the ‘Open Government Partnership’ [OGP].  Out of the 46 member countries, only five African countries [South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, and Tanzania] met the required standards laid out by the OGP.  Read the OGP declarations below:

Open Government Declaration:

As members of the Open Government Partnership, committed to the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention against Corruption, and other applicable international instruments related to human rights and good governance:

We acknowledge that people all around the world are demanding more openness in government.  They are calling for greater civic participation in public affairs, and seeking ways to make their governments more transparent, responsive, accountable, and effective.

We recognize that countries are at different stages in their efforts to promote openness in government, and that each of us pursues an approach consistent with our national priorities and circumstances and the aspirations of our citizens.

We accept responsibility for seizing this moment to strengthen our commitments to promote transparency, fight corruption, empower citizens, and harness the power of new technologies to make government more effective and accountable.

We uphold the value of openness in our engagement with citizens to improve services, manage public resources, promote innovation, and create safer communities.  We embrace principles of transparency and open government with a view toward achieving greater prosperity, well-being, and human dignity in our own countries and in an increasingly interconnected world.

Together, we declare our commitment to:

Increase the availability of information about governmental activities

Governments collect and hold information on behalf of people, and citizens have a right to seek information about governmental activities.

We commit to promoting increased access to information and disclosure about governmental activities at every level of government.  We commit to increasing our efforts to systematically collect and publish data on government spending and performance for essential public services and activities.

We commit to pro-actively provide high-value information, including raw data, in a timely manner, in formats that the public can easily locate, understand and use, and in formats that facilitate reuse.

We commit to providing access to effective remedies when information or the corresponding records are improperly withheld, including through effective oversight of the recourse process.

We recognize the importance of open standards to promote civil society access to public data, as well as to facilitate the interoperability of government information systems.

We commit to seeking feedback from the public to identify the information of greatest value to them, and pledge to take such feedback into account to the maximum extent possible.

Support civic participation

We value public participation of all people, equally and without discrimination, indecision making and policy formulation.  Public engagement, including the full participation of women, increases the effectiveness of governments, which benefit from people’s knowledge, ideas and ability to provide oversight.

We commit to making policy formulation and decision making more transparent, creating and using channels to solicit public feedback, and deepening public participation in developing, monitoring and evaluating government activities.

We commit to protecting the ability of not-for-profit and civil society organizations to operate in ways consistent with our commitment to freedom of expression, association, and opinion.

We commit to creating mechanisms to enable greater collaboration between governments and civil society organizations and businesses.

Implement the highest standards of professional integrity throughout our administrations.

Accountable government requires high ethical standards and codes of conduct for public officials.

We commit to having robust anti-corruption policies, mechanisms and practices, ensuring transparency in the management of public finances and government purchasing, and strengthening the rule of law.

We commit to maintaining or establishing a legal framework to make public information on the income and assets of national, high ranking public officials.

We commit to enacting and implementing rules that protect whistleblowers.  We commit to making information regarding the activities and effectiveness of our anticorruption prevention and enforcement bodies, as well as the procedures for recourse to such bodies, available to the public, respecting the confidentiality of specific law enforcement information.

We commit to increasing deterrents against bribery and other forms of corruption in the public and private sectors, as well as to sharing information and expertise.

Increase access to new technologies for openness and accountability.

New technologies offer opportunities for information sharing, public participation, and collaboration.  We intend to harness these technologies to make more information public in ways that enable people to both understand what their governments do and to influence decisions.  We commit to developing accessible and secure online spaces as platforms for delivering services, engaging the public, and sharing information and ideas.

We recognize that equitable and affordable access to technology is a challenge, and commit to seeking increased online and mobile connectivity, while also identifying and promoting the use of alternative mechanisms for civic engagement.

We commit to engaging civil society and the business community to identify effective practices and innovative approaches for leveraging new technologies to empower people and promote transparency in government. We also recognize that increasing access to technology entails supporting the ability of governments and citizens to use it.

We commit to supporting and developing the use of technological innovations by government employees and citizens alike.  We also understand that technology is a complement, not a substitute, for clear, useable, and useful information.

We acknowledge that open government is a process that requires ongoing and sustained commitment.  We commit to reporting publicly on actions undertaken to realize these principles, to consulting with the public on their implementation, and to updating our commitments in light of new challenges and opportunities.

We pledge to lead by example and contribute to advancing open government in other countries by sharing best practices and expertise and by undertaking the commitments expressed in this declaration on a non-binding, voluntary basis.  Our goal is to foster innovation and spur progress, and not to define standards to be used as a precondition for cooperation or assistance or to rank countries.

We stress the importance to the promotion of openness of a comprehensive approach and the availability of technical assistance to support capacity- and institution-building.

We commit to espouse these principles in our international engagement, and work to foster a global culture of open government that empowers and delivers for citizens, and advances the ideals of open and participatory 21^st century government.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.