Supported, facilitated and participate onsite monitoring .

Onsite monitoring was done in mining communities within Moroto and Abim districts by the District Mineral Watch Platforms (DMWPs), sub county local leaders precisely on the operations of mining companies in the mining communities’ focusing on the impacts of mining activities on women, youth & Disabled and on social –economic performance, hear out cases of human rights violations related to natural resources on local communities within the mining areas

Hon. Apollo Dan Marjory, the LC3 of Rupa Sub-county during the on-site monitoring visit responding to critical community concerns and grievances at Lontingir gold mining site 

Legal literacy done among the mining communities

Legal caravans to facilitate legal literacy training and legal clinics were conducted within the mining areas in Moroto and Abim districts targeting people living within the mining areas/sites. These caravans covered issues regarding the mining policy, mining law & regulations, mineral related rights, access to justice avenues.

Information on free legal aid services and information was provided to community members who raised issues to do with human rights violations while others were referred for further follow up and arbitration in addition referrals to key legal aid providers were effected to support victims of violations in the Extractives Sector a case in question being a case involving DAO local employee, employed as a driver. He reported having been working for DAO for eleven months without pay and accumulated arrears to a tune of six million two hundred night seven thousand two hundred shillings. ECO together with other legal aid providers in Moroto like FIDA, Uganda Law Society filed a case and are following up in the courts of law

Supported and Facilitated Community Consensus Building for a fair agreement for Tapac

Eco facilitated the development of a  final draft Community Development Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding in an effort to facilitate local justice for community members of Tapac, The MOU process brought key stakeholders like the MOU drafting committee members, the technical committee comprising of CSO’s and key district officials like the RDC, LCV, and District Magistrate among others who participated in the review and sharing of the semi-final draft Community Development Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding between the local community of Tapac and Tororo Cement Limited.

Some of the participants during the meeting held in Rapona Hotel in Moroto. (From right: Hon.Pulkol Helen-Deputy RDC, Fr.Jimmy-priest from Tapac, Mr. Frederick-MoU Lawyer,Hon.Lokoru Albert-the Mp Tepeth,etc).

Provision of information on published concessions licences and fiscal transfers by MEMD /DGSM  

The information on concessions the state has granted in all the seven Districts of Karamoja was shared throughout the quarter with support from Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines and the Moroto and Abim District Mineral Watch Platforms. The   information disbursed related to district specific contracts, lists of companies, maps, types of right/ licenses; status, their acquisition and processing, maps. All fiscal transfers of revenue to the sub-national level that relate to natural resources revenue or extractive activity were also shared.

This enabled ASM, local communities and local leaders to access information about the developments and enhanced their ability to hold license holders (mining companies), government and their respective leaders accountable .For the case of Abim DLG commitments were made by the office of the CAO through the ACAO who pledged to support the two groups of Alerek and Morulem in their application for renewal of their location licenses