CASE STUDY: Stakeholder consultations assist in assessing legislative provisions in Uganda

The Parliament of Uganda had undertaken wide consultations before drafting a proposed Domestic Relations Bill that was meant, among other things, to help protect family members against domestic violence. The Uganda Human Rights Commission, however, wanted to ensure that the draft law was subjected directly to a human rights analysis. To assist them in this assessment, they convened a stakeholders meeting where the draft law was reviewed carefully against national and international human rights standards. Stakeholders made a series of very specific recommendations on the draft legislation, on how the contents could be improved and on how gaps might be filled. The assistance of stakeholders in this work not only reduced the workload on the Commission, but also contributed to the development of a highly credible set of recommendations that was supported by a cross section of civil society in Uganda. As one measure to ensure that the recommendations were distributed widely, the Commission presented them in their Annual Report.