Uganda stops granting refugee status to nationals from Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea
He clarified that the government will not revoke refugee status from those who have already obtained it, but will not accept new arrivals from the affected countries.
Uganda has halted the granting of refugee status to people coming from countries that are not currently at war, citing shrinking donor support amid a continued influx of refugees into Uganda.
The Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness, and Refugees, Hilary Onek, told the Daily Monitor that he has instructed officials to stop according refugee status to nationals from such countries, specifically Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.
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“I have instructed our officers not to give refugee status to citizens coming from those countries because there is no war there, particularly those from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia,” he said as quoted by the Daily Monitor.
He clarified that the government will not revoke refugee status from those who have already obtained it, but will not accept new arrivals from the affected countries.
Onek made the remarks during the official handover of 2,544 metric tonnes of rice, worth $2.9 million (UGX10.5 billion), donated to the World Food Programme (WFP) by the Government of Korea at the WFP warehouse in Gulu last week.
According to details shared with the Daily Monitor, the rice donation will support 600,000 refugees in 13 settlements and 200,000 schoolchildren in the food-insecure Karamoja Sub-region for one year.
The minister also said Uganda is engaging the governments of countries that are at war to encourage them to end hostilities so that refugees currently hosted in Uganda can return home.
“We are in discussion with those governments, although those with many factions look at Uganda as though we are interfering. But we have not given up because they have to come to terms, have some tolerance, and enable their citizens to go back.”
He revealed that Uganda is now hosting close to two million refugees, with numbers increasing daily. “The refugee number is now going to two million, and it is increasing every day. We've been receiving between 100 and 200 refugees every day from DR Congo. Even from South Sudan, which we thought was peaceful, refugees are still flowing in from there,” he said, as quoted by the Daily Monitor.
“So, we wish the government there would tolerate their political opposition so that they can agree to work together and let their people go back home,” he added.
Onek warned that while Uganda’s refugee policy is very friendly, allowing refugees to work, trade, move freely and access services enjoyed by citizens, the approach “loads us heavily, economically”.
He said Uganda spends about Shs2 billion every year on refugee needs.
He further noted that Uganda used to receive about $240 million (UGX866 billion) annually from UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, but despite the refugee population approaching two million, the country now gets less than $100 million (UGX361 billion).
“This year, they received only $18 million (Shs65 billion). So, the situation is dire, and it is our people who shoulder those costs, which the UNHCR used to handle,” he said.
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