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More than 2.27m people have fled South Sudan since April of 2014 with 790 000 crossing south to Uganda, one of the poorest nations on earth. Uganda ranks 120th on inequality-adjusted HDI, and even worse at straight-HDI (World Bank, 2018). Despite these challenges Uganda is home to 1.2 million refugees (UNHCR, 2018), and thanks to modern policies it has supported its refugee population better than richer nations. Uganda’s gives refugees far more rights than they enjoy in other nations and allows them to work and travel nearly freely within the country. (The Economist, 2016) This article will briefly explain how South Sudanese refugees are being treated in Uganda.
Uganda’s 2006 Refugee Act was based significantly off other works by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. (Feins, 2017) In Uganda, refugees have freedom of movement, freedom from discrimination, and freedom to join unions. They are guaranteed, at minimum, the same treatment as aliens regarding the establishment of companies, and profitable employment opportunities in a refugee’s preferred profession (Government of Uganda, 2006). Uganda operates a completely open border, allowing refugees to immediately apply for asylum. All refugees are given a plot of land, access to education and aid in finding employment (Feins, 2017). Only 1% of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda are entirely aid-dependant. Uganda’s low unemployment rate of 2% helps local Ugandans to feel as if they are not being put out of work by refugees. (Economist, 2016) To further appeal to locals 30% of all external infrastructure donation is invested in communities near refugee areas
Refugees’ freedom - economically and personally - allows them to better integrate within the Ugandan society. Instead of being kept within a refugee camp, they are free to travel within their province. In combination with the economic boost the added aid and population give these regions the refugees are looked at as a benefit to Ugandan society. This stands in sharp contrast to refugee camps in western Europe which are more like open air prisons for people who committed no crime than being born in the wrong place than they are to support networks for people in need. (Watera et Al, 2017)
While the progressive policies are cause to be hopeful, the situation in Uganda is not perfect, and may not be translatable to Canada. Refugees are viewed as temporary residents in Uganda, so there is no path to citizenship available. (Feins, 2017) Refugees who arrive in Canada are seen as less likely to return to their country of origin, so Canada offers a slow process towards citizenship (Government of Canada, 2019). It is heartening to see a country stand by the principles of its founding and the principles of humanitarianism as Uganda has with its incredible generosity towards refugees.
Works:
Feins, Anna, "A Comparative Case Study of American and Ugandan Refugee Policies" (2017). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2708. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2708
2018. Refugee Situations: Uganda. December 31. Accessed January 10, 2019. https://data2.unhcr.org/en/country/uga.
The Economist. 2016. "Why Uganda is a model for dealing with refugees." October 26: 52-3.
UNHCR. 2019. Refugee Situations: South Sudan. January 15. Accessed February 9, 2019. https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/southsudan.
Watera, Winnie, Claire Seremba, Ivan Otim, Donnas Ojok, Bernard Mukhone, and Anna Hoffmann. 2017. "Uganda's Refugee Management Approach Within the EAC Policy Framework." youth4policy.