Uganda Declines to Renew Mandate of UN Human Rights Office

Facts

• Uganda has decided not to renew the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) office in the country, with the government stating it will instead rely on domestic institutions to safeguard human rights.¹
• This comes as Reuters reported on Wednesday that it had access to a letter sent by Uganda's Foreign Affairs Ministry to the Office of the OHCHR last Friday, in which progress in developing a domestic capacity to monitor rights was cited as the main reason for its decision.²
• This move has been justified on the grounds that the government has grown in its commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, while peace has been achieved in the country, as well as strong institutions and a vibrant civil society.³
• Rights activists and advocacy groups have reacted critically, accusing the government of evading international scrutiny on abuse and protection of human rights less than three months after the UN Committee against Torture adopted concluding observations on Uganda. The mandate of the OHCHR office in the country expires in August.⁴
• The OHCHR Uganda office was established in 2006 and was initially focused only on human rights issues in high-conflict areas in Uganda’s north and northeast, but was later allowed to cover the rest of the country.³
• Pres. Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country since 1986 and is expected to seek a new term in the 2026 elections, has been criticized over the years for human rights violations including torture, illegal detentions, and extrajudicial killings of opponents and critics.²

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Voa, ³Al Jazeera and ⁴Guardian.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Allafrica.com. Uganda recognizes that it has had a far from perfect human rights record in the past, but that time is behind the country and the current overwatch by the UN human rights office is no longer necessary. Uganda now has a harmonious enough civil society and strong enough institutions to monitor the human rights situation in the country on its own.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Barrons. The UN human rights office in Uganda has not finished its crucial work. Human rights violations still continue to happen, though the government has repeatedly claimed otherwise. This decision is down to government paranoia about overwatch and accountability. In the absence of the OHCHR, torture, detention, and extrajudicial killings will continue to happen unhindered.