Foreword.
-Issues of equal opportunities, human rights, gender equity, inclusion and equal protection before the law can only be achieved through an informed and continued demand by people for their protection. It is with this in mind, as well as the quest to fulfill our Mission and Vision that the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) developed this training manual. The Mission of the EOC is “to give effect to the Government of Uganda’s mandate to eliminate discrimination against any individual or groups of persons through taking affirmative action to redress imbalances and promote equal opportunities for all”, and our Vision is “a just and fair society wherein all persons have equal opportunity to participate and benefit in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life”.
The Equal Opportunities Commission believes that persons must be educated on issues of equal opportunities as an essential contribution to the long-term prevention of human rights abuses, promotion of gender equality, ensuring inclusion for all and that this represents an important investment in the endeavor to achieve a just society in which all persons are valued and respected. One of the core functions of the EOC stipulated in section 14(c) of the EOC Act, 2007 is to develop, conduct and manage educational and informational programs to facilitate awareness and understanding of equal opportunities and affirmative action.
This Training Manual is developed as one initiative by the Commission in implementing the above mentioned section of the EOC Act. It also acts in response to findings of the baseline study undertaken in early 2012 which highlighted that there was limited awareness about the aspect of equal opportunities. According to the baseline, many actors and agencies lacked knowledge and capacity to implement equal opportunities programmes. It noted specifically that plans and programmes implemented by districts were not promoting inclusion of marginalised groups in their development agendas, the concept of equal opportunities and human rights were not well understood and thus not integrated in development planning.
Now that the planning framework adopted by the Government of Uganda (GoU) is informed by a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA), the EOC intends to undertake awareness creation on equal opportunities through trainings so as to address the gaps raised in the baseline study. This Training Manual expounds on the role of the Electoral Commission, the concept of Equal Opportunities as well as other core values of the Commission such as Equality, Equity, Non discrimination, Inclusion and Diversity and how different groups of persons in Uganda interface with these values. It highlights different marginalised groups in Uganda and the role of both public and private entities as well as citizens in ensuring equal enjoyment of rights and inclusion into public affairs. The manual further outlines guidelines for advocacy, monitoring and evaluation and integrating a Human Rights Based Approach into development planning. The task of developing the Training Manual benefitted from existing literature on equal opportunities, human rights and development.
The main purpose of this Training Manual is to help all public, private agencies and individuals to understand their role in protecting equal opportunities especially for marginalised groups. It is expected that with more awareness created through the topics in this manual, there will be better recognition of factors that disadvantage individuals and groups, resulting into better understanding and eventual utilization of the concept of equal opportunities in inclusive planning and programming for vulnerable / marginalised groups so as to enable the Commission to meet its mandate of redressing imbalances and ensuring equal opportunities for all persons in Uganda.