A Critical Analysis Of Uganda’S Refugee Regime

Abstract

The research study has analyzed the refugee policy in Uganda, which is deemed as one of the most progressive in the world. A lot of literature has been extracted from policy documents, Acts, reports, books and newspapers articles and other materials that talk about refugee policies and how refugees have been treated in different parts of the world. The following questions have been answered in the study 1) How the internal refugee regime evolved, 2) How the refugee policy of Uganda has been effective, 3) the challenges and opportunities that Uganda has faced in the course of implementing their refugee policy and 4) What lessons can be learned by other East African countries from the progressive refugee policy of Uganda. The study adopted case study research design where a detailed study of Uganda refugee policy, the beneficiaries, and policy makers have been involved. The case study was after exploring and describing how Uganda´s refugee regime has been working and how it is the best amongst the East African partner states. Theoretical framework was borrowed from Kunz´s exile and resettlement theory. 100 refugees from Uganda were interviewed and complemented by 10 key informants from policy makers, refugee camp managers, UNHCR officials, NGO staff and EAC officers. The Refugees were interviewed through a questionnaire which was send to them through emails. The Research assistant called the KIs to interview them. The data was then entered in Excel template, cleaned validated and exported to SPSS for analysis. South Sudanese were found to be majority of the refugees hosted in Uganda. Uganda’s´ refugee policy was found to be very effective in the manner that refugees can access basic needs and social amenities such as move freely, they can get employment, they can access education just as the Ugandans, they live in settlements and are given good health care. Uganda has various ways of empowering refugees. However, the goodies do not come without some challenges. In the competitive world where jobs are getting scarce, the refugees face the same challenge, at times; water is a scarce resource to both the refugees and the host community. There are also some difficulties in accessing food while some refugees have reported cases of harassment by authorities. The open door policy, refugee response framework, refugee regulations, education sector strategic management are some of the lessons to be learned by EA at large. The study recommends Uganda to analyze and understand the gaps that affect effective implementation and sustainability of her refugee policies. The international community and other well-wisher can give funds to sustain the refugee projects. With increasing refugees and refugee projects, there are potential negative impacts to the environment and over exploitation of resources. Uganda can consider repatriating those that are willing and feel safe to go back home. The government of Uganda should work towards improving their economy and create more job opportunities if at all refugees need to be considered in the new jobs created.