Equal Opportunities Commission seeks online media support

What the report says

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has urged online media outlets in Uganda to give more attention to discrimination, marginalisation and equal-opportunities issues, arguing that many people still do not understand the commission’s role or how to seek help. The appeal was made during a half-day engagement with digital journalists in Kampala on October 15, according to The Independent Uganda.

EOC officials said social media and other online platforms can help the commission reach wider audiences more quickly, especially communities that may have limited access to information about their rights and available remedies. Shaft Nasser Mukwaya, the commission’s secretary, said stronger cooperation with digital media could improve public communication and support the EOC’s mandate. Yusuf Muziransa, the principal information and communications officer, similarly called on journalists to give more visibility to the commission’s programmes and interventions.

The article said the commission wants more reporting on the experiences of women, persons with disabilities, older persons, children and other groups that face barriers to opportunity and public services. It also encouraged coverage of the wider structural issues behind inequality, not only individual cases.

The EOC said its outreach comes amid operational challenges, including limited staffing and funding, no regional offices and delays in renewing some commissioners’ contracts. Mukwaya also said the commission has raised objections to a proposed merger with the Uganda Human Rights Commission, but that no decision has yet been made.