The Government of Uganda through the office of the Prime Minister formulated the National Refugee Policy 2024 to support an integrated refugee response and management at the backdrop of unprecedented caseload of refugees over time. As part of the ongoing consultations and input to the development of the policy, VNG International together with United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG) facilitated a 2-day consultative workshop to review the draft National Refugee Policy. This was attended by City and Municipal Mayors, Town Clerks from the ten regional cities and representatives of the Local Government Associations and Refugee Associations.

The structure and content of the consultative workshop was informed by the draft policy, studies conducted by VNG International in collaboration with UNCDF, Makerere University and the MoLG on urban refugees in Arua City, Koboko District and Municipality and the implications for local government service delivery and capacity. The workshop focused on four (4) salient issues; (i) the alignment of the policy to existing frameworks and national arrangements, (ii) the national and local level coordination mechanism for refugee response and management, (iii) sustainable land use and management for refugee response and (iv) existence of refugees in urban and peri- urban areas across the country.   

The political and technical leaders expressed great interest and optimism to have their views and input captured in the draft policy, to address the long-standing challenges whereby refugees are registered in designated settlements and are expected to receive support from implementing partners and refugee agencies. Instead, they opt to relocate to urban areas to access better social services, or into the rural communities to access more land for farming and livestock. The leaders noted that this additional population is not catered for within their planning figures, putting a strain on the already stretched public services and social amenities. It also forms a trigger for social conflict and violence between refugees and host communities. They further noted that, whereas the unofficial figures of the refugee population in each of the urban areas do not correspond to the data by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the National Population and Housing Census (2024) report reflects the reality of the existence of refugees in the urban areas and therefore needs to be integrated into local government planning and service delivery.

The leaders further emphasized the need for the refugee policy to comprehensively address the rights and limitations of refugees, to avoid situations whereby refugees and migrants exploit policy and legal loopholes to engage in illegal activities or manipulate processes to have a similar status as citizens. His Worship Brian Kaboyo, the Mayor of Hoima City, pointed out that while refugees have the right to own movable and immovable property, owning land on freehold is prohibited by law. His Worship Sam Atul, the Mayor of Lira City, proposed that the policy should consider regional integration, incorporating the policies and practices of partner states.

Mr. Charles Magumba, the Commissioner Urban Administration at the MoLG, thanked the leaders for their participation and assured them that their input and recommendations will be captured and submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister for consideration. "…I am happy your roles and functions have been clearly stipulated in this engagement because you are the people hosting the refugees, and you are key stakeholders in this process…" he said.

VNG International will continue to work closely with the MoLG and the Local Government Associations (ULGA and UAAU) to document the reflections of the City, Municipal and District technical and political leaders to ensure that their views and recommendations are considered in the National Refugee Policy 2024.