Introduction
Uganda has been host to many refugees and asylum seekers from within Africa, and beyond, since colonial times, most of these fleeing political instability and conflict in their countries of origin or
residence. This is attributed to Uganda’s long-standing open-door refugee policy and relatively stable political situation. Within Africa, the majority of refugees in Uganda initially came from Rwanda and Burundi, and more recently from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Other countries that contribute to the refuge population in Uganda include Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, among others (HSIRRP, 2019-2024; UNDP, 2017).
Beyond the open-door refugee policy, Uganda also has exhibited capability, from past experience in handling conflict affected persons. This draws from Uganda’s own internal recovery from a politically unstable past, the most recent perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which ravaged the northern and eastern parts of the country for over two decades, forcing thousands from their homes to spend many years in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs).
Published: February 2021