CAT/C/CR/34/UGA page 3 (c) The continued allegations of widespread torture and ill-treatment by the State’s security forces and agencies, together with the apparent impunity enjoyed by its perpetrators; (d) The wide array of security forces and agencies in Uganda with the power to arrest, detain and investigate; (e) The disproportion between the high number of reports of torture and ill-treatment and the very small number of convictions for such offences, as well as the unjustifiable delays in the investigation of cases of torture, both of which contribute to the impunity prevailing in this area; (f) The pervasive problem of sexual violence, including in places of detention and in camps for internally displaced persons; (g) Alleged reprisals, intimidation and threats against persons reporting acts of torture and ill-treatment; (h) The magnitude of the problem of abduction of children by the Lord’s Resistance Army, in particular in northern Uganda; (i) Reports of customary torture in the area of Karamuja. 7. The Committee takes note of the explanation provided by the delegation about the outlawing of “ungazetted” or unauthorized places of detention or “safe houses” where persons have been subjected to torture by military personnel. Nevertheless, it remains concerned about the widespread practice of torture and ill-treatment of persons detained by the military as well as by other law enforcement officials. 8. While acknowledging the important role of the Uganda Human Rights Commission in the promotion and protection of human rights in Uganda, the Committee is concerned about the frequent lack of implementation by the State party of the Commission’s decisions concerning both awards of compensation to victims of torture and the prosecution of human rights offenders in the limited cases in which the Commission had recommended such prosecution. 9. Furthermore, the Committee regrets that the State party has not taken sufficient steps to ensure the protection of persons affected by the armed conflict in northern Uganda, in particular internally displaced persons currently confined in camps. E. Recommendations 10. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary legislative, administrative and judicial measures to prevent acts of torture and ill-treatment in its territory, and in particular that it: (a) Adopt a definition of torture that covers all the elements contained in article 1 of the Convention, and amend domestic penal law accordingly;

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