Ian Andres, Third Year
Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (Kampala, Uganda)
During July and August of this past summer, I participated in a firm-funded internship with a host organization called Foundation for Human Rights Initiative. FHRI is an independent NGO based in Kampala, Uganda, and it was founded in 1991 to enhance the knowledge, respect and observance of human rights in Uganda. The mandate of FHRI evolves every few years, but its recent activities include documenting allegations of abuse perpetrated by the government, publishing bi-annual reports detailing trends in the human rights climate, providing legal advice to those who otherwise could not access the justice system, conducting field research to improve prison conditions and police accountability, and organizing conferences and technical legal training seminars for human rights defenders across the region. My impressions of FHRI are that it is a well-organized and ambitious organization, with strong leadership and a dedicated staff. It is housed in one of the cleanest and most spacious buildings in the country, and it maintains a growing library with many helpful resources and a reasonably fast internet connection.
My work in Uganda was extremely satisfying and quite diverse, although only a small portion of my work experience took place at FHRI itself (as explained below). However, during the couple of weeks I did spend under the direct supervision of FHRI staff, I was fortunate to participate in a variety of different assignments. I toured and inspected a maximum security prison and interviewed both inmates and prison staff; I participated in a national conference and workshop on the protection of human rights defenders; I assisted another intern in advocating on behalf of juvenile detainees; and I wrote articles on the right to life and security of the person for FHRI publications. All of these tasks were interesting and eye-opening, although I should admit that there were times when I felt that I wasn’t making full use of my legal capacities. Much of the work was observational in nature, and my written assignments mostly involved compiling data and commenting on individual allegations of abuse and nationwide trends.
Fortunately for me, I arrived in Kampala shortly after a landmark decision involving the death penalty was delivered by the Constitutional Court. For many years, FHRI has been actively involved in the fight to abolish the death penalty, and since 2003 it has joined forces with a local law firm to bring a constitutional petition before the courts. Since this topic has always been of interest to me and since I am educated in both the law and criminology, I was assigned to the law firm Katende, Ssempebwa & Co. Advocates for five weeks to assist them with the litigation file. It was here that I engaged in the most meaningful and challenging work of my internship.
The petition involves over 400 death row inmates arguing that the death penalty violates the Constitution of Uganda on four different grounds. Currently, the case is awaiting its final hearing at the Supreme Court of Uganda, as both sides are appealing a Constitutional Court decision which was partially won by each side. Essentially the court decided that while capital punishment is legal per se and execution by hanging is permissible (even though it is tortuous), mandatory death sentences and unreasonable delay between sentencing and execution are both unconstitutional practices.
As a result of the Constitutional Court decision, my work proceeded on two different fronts. Since the court struck down the imposition of mandatory death sentences, every prisoner who was condemned to death under the mandatory regime (99% of them) is now, in theory, entitled to a mitigation hearing in which they will try to convince the court why they should not be executed. A tremendous amount of work was thereby created, and I spent a great deal of time reading through case briefs at the various levels of court and interviewing death row inmates, all in an effort to gather and present mitigation evidence. This was a fascinating yet extremely depressing exercise, as many were convicted and sentenced on tenuous circumstantial evidence that would never hold weight in a Canadian courtroom. The state assigned defence counsel would never put up much of a fight, and in most cases the extent of the defence was a five minute testimony from the accused professing his or her innocence. It is very sad indeed. Some of the prisoners are obviously guilty, but I believe many of them are both legally and factually innocent. For all the brilliant and logically obvious arguments against the death penalty, my personal perspective is quite simple: it is appalling to me that the state will use such an unfair and obviously flawed legal process as a justification to execute its citizens.
The balance of my work consisted of preparation for the Supreme Court hearing, so in addition to writing a detailed critique of the judgment, I was also involved in research and analysis on foreign death penalty jurisprudence and on alternative methods of execution. In addition, I participated in a litigation strategy session alongside some high profile human rights lawyers from the UK, who travel around the world to assist NGOs in the abolitionist struggle. Aside from my interaction with the prisoners it was this experience that I cherish the most, since I had the opportunity to observe the international perspective and tactical decisions which lay the foundation for these important cases, while also being given the chance to contribute my own ideas and opinions.
It should be obvious from my report that I thoroughly enjoyed by internship in Uganda, and that I would recommend my host organization (and also the law firm) to anyone interested in following a similar path. Not only was I exposed to fascinating work and remarkable people, but I also gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and insight into the political and legal institutions in Uganda. This may have been a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experience for me, but I am pleased to report that I made the most of it.