Ahead of the UN Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) examination of Uganda’s compliance with the Convention, the GDP submitted information detailing concerns regarding the country’s treatment of irregular migrants and refugees.
The country’s important role in hosting refugees recently received global attention after it agreed to a deal with the United States to accept deported third-country nationals who have pending asylum claims in the United States. While this agreement has raised concerns about Uganda’s commitments to uphold its human rights and humanitarian commitments, it nevertheless follows a pattern of adopting increasingly restrictive policies and practices in recent years, undermining Uganda’s long-held reputation as a welcoming country.
The GDP followed up these concerns with an in-person statement during the CMW’s informal briefing on 1 December 2025.
Uganda hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world, and the country is often praised for its relatively progressive refugee policies and “open borders.” In 2024, it received a significant influx of refugees and asylum seekers, particularly from Sudan in the wake of intensified conflict; as of August 2025, the country was hosting an estimated 1.93 million refugees, the majority of whom originate from South Sudan and DRC.
Most people who seek asylum in Uganda are granted refugee status–either prima facie or following an individual assessment–and refugees are afforded numerous rights such as the right to work, freedom of movement, access to basic services, and primary education. Ninety percent of the country’s refugees live in 30 refugee settlements where they are provided with a plot of land–most of which are in relatively remote areas. Dwindling international financial support combined with the high number of refugees, however, has forced some services to be cut back, resulting in the country’s “response architecture…increasingly buckling.” The processing time for individual asylum applications has increased significantly, transit centres are operating well beyond their capacity, and services are being cut back.
At the same time, in recent years there has been growing discontent in Uganda among some of the population regarding ongoing arrivals–particularly those from countries that do not border Uganda, such as Eritrea–and the fact that increasing numbers of refugees have been opting to bypass rural settlements in favour of cities like Kampala and Entebbe. Several local media articles claim that the country’s labour market is under excessive strain, costing Ugandans job opportunities, due to foreign migrants working illegally.
In January 2025, Ugandan authorities temporarily suspended the registration of Eritrean asylum seekers, with government officials citing national security concerns and public resource strains. This has significantly heightened their vulnerability to arrest. In July 2025, for example, media reports highlighted the arrest and detention of 110 Eritreans.
While the government does not publicly disclose a list of facilities in which non-nationals are currently detained for migration-related reasons, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has referred to an “Immigration Detention Center at the Headquarters” as well as a “Custody Center.” Non-nationals are also held in prisons. According to the Uganda Prisons Service, in 2024 48 people were imprisoned for immigration-related offences.[9]
