Defenders Protection Initiative will bring together actors from civil society, the private sector, business leaders, government, academicians, technologists, activists, journalists and subject matter experts to tackle pressing issues at the intersection of human rights, technology and security.
Through intensive, evidence-based research, the Defenders’ Protection Initiative (DPI) sought to ascertain the various Ugandan AML/CFT requirements applicable to the NPO Sector in the Country.
By virtue of it being a member state, Uganda is enjoined to follow the UN counter terrorism recommendations including the adoption of relevant AML and CTF legislations. Similarly, although Uganda is not a member of FATF, it is obliged to follow its recommendations as a matter of international comity. Besides, Uganda and East Africa as a region have had their own bitter experience with terrorism.
On July 11, 2010, the country experienced its worst terror attack in the form of twin bombings at two prominent places of entertainment. In both these attacks a substantial number of lives were lost (76 people) while many others were left with permanent injuries.
Since 2016, Defenders Protection Initiative has enhanced its focus towards mitigating the unintended consequences orchestrated by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) inspired laws/ regulations on the activities of legitimate charities in Uganda. During this period, DPI has been able to broaden her AML/CFT capacity building initiatives in 8 regions of Uganda, conducted research and strategic engagements by and for civil society actors as a pushback strategy against over-regulation.
As part of her novel initiatives, DPI conducted a Virtual National Dialogue and Report Launch of the study conducted between December 2020 and March 2021, titled: Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Laws: “An Examination of Their Impact on Civic Space in Uganda”
The Virtual National Dialogue and the launch of the report provided an opportunity to share, reflect and disseminate the findings with a diverse group of stakeholders comprising of of advocates, civil society leaders, academia, media practitioners, students, researchers and the donor community.
Within the field of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery prevention, labour exploitation refers to situations where people are coerced to work for little or no remuneration, often under threat of punishment. There are a number of means through which a person can be coerced, including:
As we take the break to remember and mourn for the Uganda martyrs who died due to the violation of their religious rights, we wanted to take a moment today to think of those who are still struggling for their religious rights as workers, and to speak about some of the exploitation that is sadly still prevalent across the world.
Improving rights around the world is central to our mission of preventing violation of human rights in the working environment. We work with major corporations and organizations to help them understand where there might be risk of religious rights violation in their work places and to identify the tell-tale signs of other various forms of human rights violation . We run campaigns around the globe which seek to raise awareness of different forms of human rights violation, and to help those who may be victims of this violation know their rights and seek support where necessary.
Ultimately, we seek to encourage people to #SpotTheSigns of violation, speak openly about its realities and report suspicious activity when they see it.
Defenders Protection Initiative (DPI) is global organization comprising of many corporations in unity with people who take injustice and violations of human rights as an offense. We are well known for employing research, advocacy, action and campaigns to fight against abuses of human rights around the world. One of the ways our organization fights against injustice is through informing the public. DPI covers a broad spectrum of issues from women’s rights and political freedoms to regional and global conflicts. We also offer digital security.
Below are some of the top reason why Human Rights Are Important.
Everyone needs access to medicine, food and water, clothes, and shelter. By including these in a person’s basic human rights, everyone has a baseline level of dignity. Unfortunately, there are still millions of people out there who don’t have these necessities, but saying it’s a matter of human rights allows activists and others to work towards getting those for everyone.
The Declaration of Human Rights was created largely because of the Holocaust and the horrors of work load limit. During that time in history, the most vulnerable in society were targeted along with the population, including those with disabilities.
The concept of human rights allows people to speak up when they experience abuse and corruption. This is why specific rights like the right to assemble are so crucial because no society is perfect. The concept of human rights empowers people and tells them that they deserve dignity from society, whether it’s the government or their work environment. When they don’t receive it, they can stand up.
While similar to what you just read above, being able to speak freely without fear of brutal reprisal is more expansive. It encompasses ideas and forms of expression that not everybody will like or agree with, but no one should ever feel like they are going to be in danger from their government because of what they think. It goes both ways, too, and protects people who want to debate or argue with certain ideas expressed in their society.
Religious violence and oppression occur over and over again all across history, from the Crusades to the Holocaust to modern terrorism in the name of religion. Human rights acknowledges the importance of a person’s religion and spiritual beliefs, and lets them practice in peace. The freedom to not hold to a religion is also a human right.
The importance of freedom to love cannot be understated. Being able to choose what one’s romantic life looks like is an essential human right. The consequences of not protecting this right are clear when you look at countries and tribes where where women are forced into marriages they don’t want.
The right to work and make a living allows people to flourish in their society. Without acknowledging that the work environment can be biased or downright oppressive, people find themselves enduring abuse or insufficient opportunities. The concept of human rights provides a guide for how workers should be treated and encourages equality.
Education is important for so many reasons and is crucial for societies where poverty is common. Organizations and governments concerned with human rights provide access to schooling, supplies, and more in order to halt the cycle of poverty. Seeing education as a right means everyone can get access, not just the elite.
The marriage between human rights and environmentalism is becoming stronger due to climate change and the effects it has on people. We live in the world, we need the land, so it makes sense that what happens to the environment impacts humanity. The right to clean air, clean soil, and clean water are all as important as the other rights included in this list.
When the Universal Declaration of Human rights was released, it had a two-fold purpose: provide a guideline for the future and force the world to acknowledge that. Human rights had been violated on a massive scale. With a standard for what is a human right, governments can be held accountable for their actions. There’s power in naming an injustice and pointing to a precedent, which makes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights documents so important.
Imagine someone has taken over your account, what would happen to you and the people who contact you on WhatsApp?
Just as it is easy to fresh install of WhatsApp for your new phone is also how easy an attacker would gain access to your WhatsApp and possibly start a conversation with your friends claiming it is you.
Most times, the direct risk is not to you if you’re attacked, but to your contacts. They can expect to receive requests for data or even emergency funds. This is social engineering at its best. We would trust an end-to-end encrypted platform, a message from a trusted friend and so are coded to have our guards down and rather feel pity in these circumstances.
The repercussions of this happening are beyond imagination. This can even further spread to more of your contacts having there WhatsApp accounts taken over.
With the account taken over, the attackers could then message contacts in the groups you are in as if from the account holder (you), as well as any other contacts whose WhatsApp messages were received after the take over. No legacy data is compromised. The target device remains untouched. WhatsApp has simply been ghosted onto an illegitimate device.
It is surprising how many people have not yet enabled the Two-step verification PIN in WhatsApp—almost everyone we have asked has yet to set it up. If you’re the same, then please take that minute and set it up now.
The Question now is, How do we prevent this from happening to you for the first time or again?
WhatsApp introduced a feature where you can set a PIN of your own choice and even an email address just in case you forget your PIN. The PIN is your own verification to confirm that it is you even after inputting the SMS verification so you do not otherwise have to share your PIN with anyone.
You can find this feature in your WhatsApp setting > Account > Two-step verification: There you will be prompted to enable your PIN and confirm it, then you will also be asked to type in an email address to use to recover your account in case you forget your PIN
A Strategic Emergency Response Initiative seeking to establish and coordinate a joint mechanism that offers effective emergency response solutions to the dynamic and complex HRDs security needs associated with the working environment in Uganda, especially during this COVID-19 Pandemic.
