Preventing human rights violations by law enforcement during counterterrorism operations in Kenya and Uganda

Abstract

The problem of terrorism has escalated over the past two decades and has continuously posed a challenge to global peace and security. While the major terrorist organizations like ISIS and al-Qaeda have devastated the Middle East, Europe and the United States, the East African region has not been an exception to the influence of radical Islamist terrorist groups. Kenya and Uganda have particularly been targeted by al-Shabaab, a Somali based Islamist terrorist group that has sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda. These attacks have mainly been in response to the deployment of military troops under the AU’s peace-keeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM. In addition to the threat by al-Shabaab, the two countries have also battled internal home-grown terrorist organizations that have threatened the peace and security of their respective homelands. In response to the threat of terrorism and its impact on the various institutions, the international community adopted the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy to fight against terrorism in order to preserve peace and security. These counterterrorism measures also contain safeguards that are designed to ensure that states do not unjustifiably infringe on human rights. The African region under the African Union has also adopted counterterrorism measures under the OAU Terrorism Convention and numerous other instruments which tackle the problem of terrorism in great detail. Kenya and Uganda have been vulnerable to terrorist attacks and have adopted some interventions including the adoption of counterterrorism legislation and reinforcing law enforcement to be able to respond better to the threat of terrorism. Kenya enacted its Prevention of Terrorism Act in 2012 while Uganda’s Anti-Terrorism Act was passed in 2002. There are a number of legitimate counterterrorism measures within these pieces of legislation for example the criminalization of terrorism and terrorist organizations. However, there is a danger that some of these interventions may unlawfully erode fundamental human rights and freedoms. This is particularly true for their counterterrorism police and security agencies which usually conduct their operations in secret with no clear channels of accountability. This poses a challenge for any effective form of review because most of such operations are protected as state secrets. The thesis examined the extent to which counterterrorism legislation and policy affects the enjoyment of human rights. The analysis showed that there were some significant deficiencies in the counterterrorism legislation of Kenya and Uganda. The most prominent challenges were the lack of supervision and review of exercise of discretion by law enforcement during counterterrorism operations, and weak accountability frameworks. In this regard, the thesis recommends the immediate codification of the Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce of Uganda; the amendment of the Uganda Police Act to take into account proportionality in the use of force by law enforcement; the amendment of the Anti-Terrorism Act of Uganda to remove the unfettered discretion of a security officer; and the inclusion of the right to silence and the right to apply for release from unlawful custody in Uganda’s Constitution. A closer look at the practice of counterterrorism agencies also reveals a pattern of gross violation of human rights and disregard for the rule of law. Such unlawful conduct also violates the principles of democracy that require public officials to be accountable for actions taken in their official capacity. In an effective democracy, public officials are appointed by the authority of the public and they serve the collective interests of the society at large. In addition, there are certain law enforcement accountability mechanisms that are established in order to ensure the efficiency, professionalism and discipline of the police forces. While most of these accountability mechanisms are carefully thought out and drafted, they are not always implemented in practice. Nevertheless, they constitute a potential avenue for the prevention of abuse of human rights during counterterrorism operations. In order to improve the overall effectiveness and accountability of the police forces, the thesis recommends freeing the police from undue influence of the executive branch of government; exercising accountability before, during and after counterterrorism assignments; education of law enforcement officials in the protection and promotion of human rights; and improving the living and working conditions of members of law enforcement in order to prevent unprofessionalism.