According to the CIVICUS Monitor, civic space in Uganda is rated as “repressed”. Press freedom and freedom of peaceful assembly continue to be unduly restricted by the government, with documented cases of harassment, attacks and arbitrary arrests of journalists, activists, protestors and human rights defenders. In addition, authorities continue to use excessive force during protests, with members and supporters of opposition groups bearing the brunt of excessive and sometimes lethal force and brutal crowd control tactics by the state.

Freedom of association is undermined by the harassment and intimidation of CSOs, with documented cases of arbitrary deregistration, suspension and raids on CSO offices and events, including those working to advocate for LGBTQI+ rights.  On 29th May 2023, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 into law. The new law criminalises  ‘engaging in acts of homosexuality’ and introduces offences likely to affect the work of CSOs including the promotion or funding of LGBTQI+ activities, and also imposes  a death penalty for offences considered to be ‘aggravated homosexuality’, such as cases where one of the parties has a disability.

In February 2023, Uganda announced it would not extend the UN human rights office’s (OHCHR) term, citing ‘progress in domestic capacity to monitor rights’ and ‘existence of a vibrant civil society and strong national human rights institutions’ as primary reasons for its decision. 

For more information about the country, visit: https://monitor.civicus.org/country/uganda/ 

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