Uganda

Working environment

• Uganda has one of the most favourable refugee protection environments in the world: a settlement-based – no camp – approach; freedom of movement; and equal access to basic social services through integrated service delivery. Economic opportunities are supported by the Government’s National Development Plan and Settlement Transformative Agenda, the UN Development Assistance Framework, and the World Bank-UN ReHOPE Strategic Framework.
• Steady inflows from South Sudan (42,000 new arrivals), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (26,000) and Burundi (14,000) occurred throughout the year, stretching operational response capabilities and straining available human, financial and material resources.

Population trends

• Between January and December 2015, the population seeking protection in Uganda grew from 421,000 to 513,000 people, spread across nine urban and rural districts. 

Achievements and impact

• Effective operational responses to three concurrent refugee influxes along three borders (South Sudan, the DRC and Burundi) and continued support to those in protracted situations.
• Government of Uganda’s inclusion of refugees in the National Development Plan and subsequent request to the World Bank (WB) for a USD 50M loan to enable implementation of its area-based strategy for refugee-hosting districts .
• Joint formulation and adoption of a UNCT-WB ReHOPE Strategic Framework to support the implementation of the Government’s area-based, inclusive development strategy for refugee-hosting communities.

Unmet needs

• 33 per cent of urban-based children under 12 months could not register for a birth certificate compromising their right to valid identification.
• 20 per cent of adolescent girls and women did not have access to adequate sanitary supplies, with negative consequences to dignity, hygiene and school attendance.
• 28 per cent of South Sudanese new arrivals could not access adequate shelter.
• 23 per cent of the Congolese, Somali, Burundian and Rwandan refugees could not access livelihood and resilience opportunities.

Working environment

The traditional hospitality and generous asylum policies of the Ugandan Government were further demonstrated when ­ fighting erupted in South Sudan in December 2013. Given the magnitude of the resulting humanitarian emergency, the Ugandan Government recognized South Sudanese fleeing to Uganda on a prima facie basis, and, in coordination with UNHCR and other partners, mounted one of the country’s largest coordinated emergency responses. Nearly 125,000 South Sudanese in Uganda can access life-saving protection and assistance services.

Some improvements in security in parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have led tens of thousands of Congolese refugees to voluntarily repatriate from Uganda, either spontaneously or with humanitarian assistance. This momentum of returns from Uganda to the eastern DRC is expected to continue in 2015 and the Government, UNHCR and its partners will support Congolese who elect to voluntarily repatriate.

The Government and host communities allocate land to refugees in designated settlements in Uganda. However, growth in national and refugee populations means that land is becoming scarce and plot sizes are shrinking to accommodate new arrivals. A key 2015 challenge will be to optimize opportunities, productivity and returns from these smaller plots in order to achieve adequate social and economic security for affected households.

With UNHCR’s support, the Government also: registers and issues civil identity documents to individual refugees; decides on asylum applications and appeals; deploys civil servants, health workers and teachers to refugee settlements; and contributes medical supplies and staff to refugee operations.

Regional diplomatic and military efforts to re-establish peace, security and stability, could significantly shape future domestic political and security agendas as well as operational trends. Domestic security risks and priorities likely to result from potential instability in the region may also affect humanitarian access and programme priorities and strategies.

Needs and strategies

In 2015, UNHCR’s focus will remain on maintaining robust and effective systems in: inter-agency emergency preparedness, coordination and response capacity in a fluid geopolitical environment; access to asylum, safety, security and international protection; delivery of primary health care; sufficient food and nutrition support, education, clean drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, shelter and other infrastructure; timely provision of core relief items such as soap, jerry cans, blankets and other essential domestic items; targeted interventions for the most vulnerable refugees; and support for opportunities to achieve durable and livelihoods solutions.

Planned multi-year response strategies in international protection, basic service delivery, solutions and capacity building of local service providers, will be strengthened by strategic partnerships to ensure sustainable interventions and outcomes. The Of­fice will work closely with refugees and host communities; governmental, humanitarian and development agencies; and other strategic partners, to achieve objectives set.

The multi-year Refugee and Host Population Empowerment (ReHOPE) strategy, led by UNHCR on behalf of the UN Country Team, plans to support resilience-building efforts targeting refugee-affected districts by implementing a coordinated, multi-sector programme.

The pursuit of a multi-year, comprehensive solutions strategy, particularly for protracted groups, will remain an operational priority in 2015. To improve refugee security management and access to the judicial system, UNHCR will support the deployment of female and male police offi­cers in refugee settlements. This will enhance community policing, as well as strengthen peaceful coexistence among different refugee communities and host communities. The Offi­ce will concurrently invest in training and logistical and material support, to advance broader protection goals, including child protection and SGBV prevention and response systems. This will enable effective community-based protection systems and solutions, as well as better relations between the police and communities.

The Government’s refugee policy permits freedom of movement and the pursuit of livelihood opportunities. To optimize these opportunities, UNHCR will seek multi-year donor support for coordinated interventions in refugee-hosting areas to help advance prospects for long-staying refugees to acquire an alternative legal residency status.