particular. Rolling out the SAGE Programme, therefore, will be one way of promoting the rights of older persons to social security.”142 We are deeply concerned that Uganda’s national ID system, especially the requirement to have a Ndaga Muntu in order to receive social rights, has erected a sometimes insurmountable barrier for many women and older persons to access their right to health and social security. As the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has held in its General Comment No. 14, the right to health in the CESCR means that, “[Health] facilities, goods and services have to be accessible to everyone without discrimination.”143 The principle of non-discrimination requires, according to the CESCR that, “health facilities, goods and services must be accessible to all, especially the most vulnerable or marginalized sections of the population, in law and in fact, without discrimination on any of the prohibited grounds.”144 In General Comment No. 19, the CESCR has equally held that the right to social security, “encompasses the right to access and maintain benefits, whether in cash or in kind, without discrimination.”145 The right to access benefits also means, according to the CESCR, that qualifying conditions for benefits “must be reasonable, proportionate and transparent.”146 The fact that registering for and obtaining a Ndaga Muntu is arguably more difficult for women and older persons, especially those living in poverty, that no special provisions have been made to facilitate women and older persons to register and obtain a Ndaga Muntu, and that women and older persons without a Ndaga Muntu are excluded from enjoying their right to health and social security, are all factors that may amount to a violation of their right, as Ugandan citizens, to health and social security without discrimination. Not only is blocking access to Ndaga Muntu a potential human rights violation but the fact that it disproportionately affects these specific groups suggests an unreasonable discriminatory practice as well. For healthcare workers, the impact of the national ID on access so far has been clear. One nurse summarized this well when we spoke with her, “although a person has a right to identity, the ID card should not be extended to health service provision because it is a matter of life and death.” This not only follows from international human rights law, but also from the Ugandan Constitution. Article 21 of the Constitution establishes that, “[a]ll persons are equal before and under the law in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life and in every other respect and shall enjoy equal protection of the law,” and, “a person shall not be discriminated against on the ground of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion, social or economic standing, political opinion or disability.” Women are afforded special consideration, and under Article 33, which states that the “State shall provide the facilities and opportunities necessary to enhance the welfare of women to enable them to fulfil their full potential and advancement.” Uganda has also endorsed the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging in 2012 (MIPAA), which recognizes discrimination against older persons as a violation of fundamental human rights. An additional human rights concern is the absence of effective remedies to address these potential human rights violations. The CESCR has held that, “Any person or group victim of a violation of the right to health should have access to effective judicial or other appropriate remedies at both national and international levels.”147 State parties are also obliged to monitor effectively the right to social security and the right to health.148 As we will further discuss below, the complete absence of an accountability mechanism where individuals can complain about their inability to obtain a Ndaga Muntu and the resulting 62 Chased Away and Left to Die