Safeguard rights of refugees 

It was disheartening and surprising to see some legislators in the Parliament of Uganda during a session on Thursday February 15,  2024 raising an alarm about the refugee situation in their constituencies. 

The legislators led by  Mr Allan Ssewanyana from Makindye West Constituency found in one of the five divisions of Kampala Capital City,  submitted that there is an influx of refugees who will overtake the population of the indigenous city dwellers if government does not mitigate their overflow.
 
“They (constituents) are asking us if government cannot control these people, at least harbor them in one place,” the legislator said.

The legislator also added that most of the refugees are well off compared to the residents, no wonder the landlords are now preferring to rent their premises to the refugees who pay relatively much more money than the indigenous locals. 

It is absurd that the legislator chooses to ignore the facts and generalise the situation of a few refugees who could have some reasonable financial capacity as therefore the status for all the refugees in the country. 

This is misrepresentation as many refugees spend many days with food and medical care, lack proper dwellings and have zero access to financial support. On top of these challenges, they continue to be stigmatised in some of the host communities. Such talk from the legislator could actually promote and worsen this stigmatisation of refugees.

These comments were made during debate on the report tabled by the Committee on Equal Opportunities Deputy Chairperson,  Ms Dorcas Acen, which recommended the review of the refugee policy to “forestall a probable long-term conflict resulting from overflow of refugees and underfunding resulting from cuts in budgetary support from donors.” 

However genuine the concerns of the legislators and Committee on Equal Opportunities could be, it would be absurd for Uganda to take such a drastic shift from its highly globally recognised and cherished refugee policy. It was such a sigh of relief though, when the Deputy Speaker, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, who was chairing the session, shot down this recommendation from the committee, appropriately recognising its abhorrible consequences, especially for the refugees. Tayebwa said: “I do not want us to break news here that Parliament has stopped refugees coming into our country.” 

The Deputy Speaker rightly further noted: “It’s our obligation under international laws to host refugees.” 

The Deputy Speaker referred the report back to the committee for “clean up”. This is commendable action from the Deputy Speaker. Most refugees in Uganda are in the country due to political instability and turmoil in their countries rather than for economic reasons. These include citizens from our neighbours DR Congo, South Sudan, Somali, and lately Sudan. We also have a number of refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Uganda is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its protocol, as well as the 2006 Refugee Act. Under these legal frameworks, refugees in Uganda are granted a number of rights, including the right to work, the right to the establishment of businesses, and freedom of movement.

Uganda’s policy allows refugees to settle in local communities and access land and makes it convenient to easily integrate with the host population. This is a sustainable policy mechanism as it fosters self-reliance and reduces dependence on aid. 

Refugees in Uganda also have access to public services such as education and healthcare and are eligible to apply for citizenship after a specified period. With this kind of progressive national refugee policy Uganda remains an icon on the world stage in the handling of the global refugee crisis as was affirmed during the Global Refugee Forum in 2003, Geneva.

Uganda hosts about 1.6 million refugees in over 10 districts. There are general and unique challenges faced in maintaining the refugee camps and sustaining them. However, the government must think deeply about how to address the concerns of stakeholders like Mr Ssewanyana and the Equal Opportunities Committee, but closing our doors is not an option. Care must also be taken not to promote stigmatisation of the refugee community. 

Therefore, as the Equal Opportunities Committee cleans up its report, it should be mindful of the above facts. Let me remind us of Jesus’ message in the Bible; Mark 12:31. “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

Nuwaha Deborah Yamu, Executive Director- EARi Education for All Refugees Initiative