Uganda Abstains Vote On Sudan

New Vision (Kampala) April 19, 2003 Posted to the web April 21, 2003 John Kakande Kampala

UGANDA has broken ranks with the African Group at the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR) by declining to vote against a motion to censure Sudan and Zimbabwe for human rights abuses.

Uganda on Wednesday also declined to support or oppose resolutions by UNHCR condemning alleged human rights abuses in the North Korea and Turkmenistan. The European Union sponsored the motion.

Recently, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Eritrea broke ranks with other African and non-aligned countries when they supported the Iraq war.

The UNHCR on Wednesday adopted resolutions condemning rights violations in North Korea (DPRK), Turkmenistan and Myanmar, but rejected bids to censure the abuses in Zimbabwe and the Sudan.

Uganda, Thailand and Venezuela were the only three countries that opted to abstain on the motion to censure Sudan for human rights violations, according to a statement issued by the UN.

In all, 26 countries opposed the Sudan motion. They include Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Libya, Senegal, South Africa and Zimbabwe.