Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights 2012

Ahabwe Michael, Founder of ICOD ActionNetwork, Project FOCUS’s partner organization in Uganda, has been invited back to the States to participate the ninth annual Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights (NUCHR).

This year’s NUCHR is entitled From Famine to Food Deserts: Human Rights and the Global Food Crisis. Join Project FOCUS in attending the conference, and don’t miss Ahabwe’s panel discussion, Failure of Distribution: Feeding Today, Starving Tomorrow, in which panelists will explore the failure of international systems to adequately distribute food to those that need it the most.

We look forward to seeing you at this thoughtful and inspiring event!

Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights

January 19-21, 2012
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL

Panel Discussion - Failure of Distribution: Feeding Today, Starving Tomorrow
Saturday, January 21, 2012
2:00 - 3:30 pm
McCormick Tribune Center

During his visit last year, Ahabwe spent four weeks with Growing Power in Milwaukee as a food security-fellow, was an honored guest speaker at the at the Jane Addams Hull House food activism series, Re-Thinking Soup. He was also interviewed on WBEZ’s Worldview for his work as a global activist.

To hear the full interview click here.

Remembering David Kato

On January 26, 2011, Ugandan Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) activist David Kato was brutally murdered in his home. Just a few months ago, a Ugandan newspaper published Mr. Kato’s and other gay Ugandans’ names and pictures, alongside the message “Hang them”.

As local and global allies to the Ugandan LGBTI movement, Project FOCUS and our Ugandan partnering organization ICOD Action Network are standing with Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), and other international organizations to publicly condemn this tragedy, and to call upon the Ugandan Government to protect sexual minorities in Uganda.

We call upon the government of Uganda to carry out a full and fair investigation into David’s murder, prosecute the perpetrators to the full extent of the law, and ensure that members of Uganda’s LGBTI community have adequate protection from violence, starting by eliminating consideration of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Please join us in taking action:

1. Donate to SMUG here or contact florencia@projectfocus.org for a pledge form
2. Inform SMUG of your action around David Kato’s murder: justicefordavidkato@gmail.com
3. Urge the Ugandan Government to take the following steps:
1. Publicly condemn David’s murder
2. Carry out a full investigation into David’s murder
3. Communicate with LGBTI leaders throughout the investigation
4. Ensure that members of Uganda’s LGBTI community have adequate protection from violence
5. Eliminate any possibility of consideration or passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill
4. Contact your own government authorities and urge them to communicate these concerns to the Ugandan authorities in direct and private advocacy.
5. Sign petitions to tell American Evangelicals to Condemn David Kato’s murder and the Ugandan Government to back off anti-gay legislation.

Ugandan Government Contact:
President of The Republic of Uganda H.E. Yoweri Museveni
Parliament Building
PO Box 7168 Kampala, Uganda
info@govexecutive.net
Salutation: Your Excellency

Resources:
Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)
Frank Mugisha on NPR’s Worldview
Ice Breakers Uganda (LGBTI Support Organization)
BBC: Uganda Fear Over Gay Death-Penalty Plans
NYTimes: Remembering David Kato
Reuters: Scuffles at funeral of Uganda gay activist