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Content type: Case Study
The Ugandan government has a running contract with the Chinese tech giant, Huawei, to supply and install CCTV cameras along major highways within the capital, Kampala, and other cities.
While details of the contract remain concealed from the public, the Uganda Police Force (UPF) released a statement, simply confirming its existing business partnership for telecommunication and surveillance hardware, and software between the security force and Huawei. However, it is not clear whether the…
Content type: Examples
Our partners from Unwanted Witness in Uganda wrote a formal letter to the Ministry of Information Communications Technology and National Guidance demanding for strict observance of human rights for any intended use of surveillance technologies to fight COVID-19.
In a letter addressed to the Permanent Secretary Ministry of ICT, Hon. Vincent Bagiire and copied to Minister Judith Nabakooba, calls on government to respect its human rights obligation and restrain from exercising excessive…
Content type: Examples
Our partners from Tedic in Paraguay analysed different tech proposals from the Paraguayan government, saying that emergencies are not a 'blank check' for them to do whatever they want (in Spanish).
Link: https://www.tedic.org/noesunchequeenblanco/
Content type: Examples
Our partners from Tedic in Paraguay analysed a government proposal to use drones to enforce the lockdown measures in that country (in Spanish).
Link: https://www.tedic.org/uso-de-drones-covid19/
Content type: Examples
Ten Ugandan police officers were charged with torture after allegedly caning 38 women and forcing them to swim in mud in Elegu, a town in the northern part of the country. Police have also arrested 23 people during a raid on a shelter for homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, accused them of disobeying orders by remaining in the shelter, and charging them with a negligent act likely to spread infection or disease.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-52214740…
Content type: Examples
The Uganda Communications Commission announced on March 22 that it would crack down on people spreading fake videos and misinformation about the novel coronavirus through social media, noting that this behaviour is illegal under the Computer Misuse Act, the Data Protection and Privacy Act, and other penal laws. UCC went on to warn in a public notice that it would arrest and prosecute violators.
Sources:
http://www.china.org.cn/world/Off_the_Wire/2020-03/23/content_75847935.htm
https://twitter…
Content type: Examples
After police officers in Paraguay posted videos of themselves punishing people who have been caught breaking quarantine on social media, Paraguayans expressed outrage over their actions. The punishments seen in the videos, which were recorded and shared by the officers themselves, include threatening people with a taser to force them to do star jumps or making them repeat "I won’t leave my house again, officer" while lying face down on the floor. The country's interior minister, Euclides…
Content type: Examples
The CovPY Auto Reporte project is an auto-reporting system created by Penguin Academy in the hope of smoothing the peak impact of the pandemic on the Paraguayan health system. It allows anyone to access it and report their symptoms and get quick feedback what steps to take next as well as generate data on the situation.
Source: https://github.com/penguin-academy/covid-19-py
Content type: Examples
The presidential decree declaring a health emergency in Paraguay empowers the Ministry of Public Health to order "general preventive isolation" from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m, with exceptions for those doing vital work such as delivering food or transportation. The Ministry of the Interior and its police forces patrol the streets to enforce the measures.
Sources:
https://news.yahoo.com/military-roadblocks-curfews-latin-america-023213811.html
https://www.presidencia.gov.py/archivos/documentos/…
Content type: News & Analysis
This piece was originally published by Unwanted Witness here.
Today marks exactly one year since Uganda passed its data protection law, becoming the first East African country to recognize privacy as a fundamental human right, as enshrined in Art 27 of the 1995 Uganda Constitution as well as in regional and International laws.
The Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019 aims to protect individuals and their personal data by regulating processing of personal information by state and non-state…