A Situational Analysis of Second-Generation Rights in The Oil Palm Sector in Kalangala District, Uganda

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Date
2012-09
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Publisher
Kampala International University, Colleges of Humanities and Social sciences
Abstract
In Uganda, as in every other country, Social and Economic Rights, also known as the Second-Generation Human Rights (SGR5), are seldom given the same intellectual and empirical consideration as the civil and political rights. Yet, the violation of these rights is always enmeshed in the ruthless implementation of development agendas whose ostensible purpose is to enhance economic growth. This research takes the Oil Palm Sector (OPS)in Kalangala district as an illustration of a development agenda with ramifications for SGRs. Drawing on Focus Group Discussions, involving diverse categories of workers across the OPS, this study makes a situational analysis of the SGRs in this sector. The study reveals that while the Oil palm sector has had an indelibly impressive impact on the economy of the 84- island district, the workers’ basic SGRs like the right to a fair termination of service and the right to join trade unions have been decidedly swept under the carpet, The researcher attributes the status quo to a fundamental attitudinal problem which he aptly calls, ‘investor paranoia’, compounded by the structural deficiencies apparent in the legal framework. Guided by Karel Vasak’s theory of three generations of human rights, the researcher opines that the non observance of SGRs is turning the sector into a hotbed of social injustice, The researcher proposes a cor’nbination of well coordinated legal interventions at all levels if a commendable respect for SGRs in the OPS is to be attained and sustained. Key Concepts Second Generation Rights, Development Agenda, Oil palm Sectoi-, Vasak~c Theoty ofthree generations of human nqhts.
Description
A Thesis Presented to the College of Higher Degrees and Research, Kampala International University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution and Peace Building
Keywords
Second-Generation Rights, Oil Palm Sector
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