The people living with albinism in Uganda have rejected the proposal to merge the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) with the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).
Olive Namutebi, Executive Director of Albinism Umbrella, while appearing before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee on Monday, October 21, 2024, to present the group’s views on the Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2024, said merging the two entities will lead to further trivialization of the marginalization they face in communities.
“I have had engagements with UHRC; they seem to be at a higher level, and the issue is that their priorities are national-wide. So issues that seem small, marginalization in this matter, would seem unimportant,” Namutebi said.
Namutebi said that the status quo should be maintained, arguing that the Equal Opportunities Commission has demonstrated its commitment to marginalized communities.
She urged Parliament to make wider consultations across the whole country if the government insists on merging UHRC and EOC.
The policy behind the bill is to give effect to the Government Policy for Rationalisation of Government Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX), which was adopted by the Cabinet on February 22, 2021.