The Human Rights Watch appealed to the government to put in place mechanisms that provide for the training of legal and law enforcement professionals in the way to communicate and interact with persons with disabilities as means of making it easier for the disabled people to access justice in courts of law.-

Justice James Ogoola

This is just one of the many recommendations that the Human Right Watch has made in its new report “As if we are human” that highlights the plight of the women with disabilities in Northern Uganda to the government of Uganda. It hopes that if the government takes up this recommendation, then it will enhance the chances of people with disabilities more so the women to get justice when they go to courts of law for being abused.

HRW has also appealed to the government to make “procedural and age appropriate accommodations in all legal proceedings, in order to enable persons with disabilities to participate fully and equally in the judicial process”

HRW says some of these accommodations include physical and communication needs such as ramps, accessible podiums, sign language interpretation and Braille and large text of court documents.

HRW says besides the procedural laws of court should be amended to provide accommodations for all people with disabilities for example the Uganda’s 1909 Evidence Act only has accommodations for the numb yet it lacks accommodations for people with other forms of disabilities like the deaf and the blind.

To make matters worse for people with disabilities other laws like the Magistrates Act and the High Court’s Trial on Indictment Act that deal with witnesses, testifying, summons etc for the respective courts lack any accommodations for people with disabilities.

By Tiberindwa Zakaria, Ultimate Media