President Museveni receives former Irish President Robinson July 23, 2010
President Yoweri Museveni has appealed to individuals and organizations devoted to protection of human rights, especially in Africa, to link human rights protection to working out and finding socio-economic solutions to the needs of those particular categories of people whose rights are violated. He stressed that it posed a great challenge to protect the rights of people holed in poverty, un-employment, illiteracy and who also lack the basics for human survival. The President was meeting re-known human rights activist and former President of Ireland Ms. Mary Robinson who called on him at his country home in Rwakitura, Kiruhuura district. Ms. Robinson, first woman President of the Republic of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, who spent most of her life as a human rights advocate, is currently President of REALISING RIGHTS, an international human rights organization, which is devoted to the protection of the rights of women. The organization particularly lays emphasis on direct involvement of women in human rights protection and peace building activities. She is also a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002. Ms. Robinson is in Uganda for the African Union Summit.
The President is currently touring some districts of the Ankole Sub-Region to popularize the Government’s programme of eradication of household poverty through Prosperity for All (PFA) arrangements using the medium of the National Agricultural and Advisory Services (NAADS) and also focusing on commercial agricultural production as opposed to subsistence production.
Mr. Museveni told former Irish President Robinson that lack of economic empowerment by most Africans of which the women are the majority, made them vulnerable to human rights abuse adding that safeguarding the rights of an African woman calls for finding answers to the socio-economic needs of this particular group. He said that if humanity had basics such as employment, access to education, healthcare, and economic empowerment, people would, even on their own or with little support, be able to defend their rights. He, therefore, appealed to human rights activists to advocate for adequate budgeting and funding for development of infrastructure such as electricity and transport as well as human resource development because these serve as stimuli to industrialization that will lead to generation of employment and enhancement of economic empowerment of marginalized groups.
