THE PARISH DEVELOPMENT MODEL AND HUMAN RIGHTS

CEFROHT’s HRBA Interventions in PDM.

With support from GIZ, CEFROHT implemented a project towards integrating a Human Rights Based Approach for women in implementing the Parish Development Model in Kaliro and Mukono districts in Uganda.

Is the Parish Development Model for the vulnerable persons-the furthest behind?

Uganda is currently implementing the PDM under its National Development Plan III, as a Strategy of Government of Uganda for accelerating wealth creation and improving the quality of life of Ugandans by delivering services closer to all the citizens. The minimum package of services to be delivered under the PDM should enable every citizen in Uganda to have access to the basic human needs of: food, clothes, shelter, medicines, security, physical infrastructure (electricity, roads, rail, ICT), health, education and spirituality

Why a Human Rights Based Approach is a magic bullet for PDM success?

Unequal power relations, economic and social exclusion for women, youths and other vulnerable persons cause human rights violations and poverty. There is a widening income inequality,
particularly between women and men, limited access to and high cost of capital and a weakness in systems and gaps in law that do not foster efficiency in public service. Women remain
the breadwinners in many of the families and the bead lock for development; and there is an
increasing number of females headed families in Uganda.

Women and youths in Uganda are disproportionately affected by covid-19 distortions and economic exclusion. They are not legally empowered to challenge and demand for accountability.
⁵As indicated in the JLSO report above, 90% of the women in Uganda are not legally empowered. Government developments ought therefore to embrace the Human Rights Based
Approach with its principles, including, participation, accountability, transparency, equality and
non-discrimination, dignity, and rule of law.
The NDPIII and the Parish Development Model have been reprioritized due to disruptions of
Covid-19 for the suitable socioeconomic transformation with a goal to Increase Average Household Incomes and Improve the Quality of Life of Ugandans. This plan is welcome at a time when
the country will be recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic and set to deliver many Ugandans
including the vulnerable especially women from the trap of extreme poverty. For this to happen
however, there is need to pursue a human rights-based approach in this implementation. This
is because a HRBA empowers rights-holders to claim their rights, and supports duty-bearers to
meet their obligations. There is therefore, need to have a paradigm shift towards an enabling
legal framework for economic, land and livelihood rights especially in implementing the Parish
Development Model.
This situation is more pronounced for women as more households are recently headed by
women- whether expressly or impliedly. For example, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics report
of 2020 shows that, about one in every ten female children (15-17 years) have ever been
married while the corresponding proportion for their male counterparts was less one percent
implying the big sex differentials of age at marriage.
There is therefore an urgent need to engage duty bearers at parish/ward level and women on
critical principles of human rights ie Participation, accountability, non-discrimination, transparence, human dignity, empowerment, and rule of law in the implementation of the Parish Development Model.