The refugee phenomenon in Uganda is one that is praised globally and sometimes, domestically but yet the question of refugee influx and hosting remains one of the most audacious problems many nation states grapple with or at least even try to avoid. Uganda have had a share of mixed reactions from its own nationals and other critics. The refugee phenomenon has also elicited confrontations and sometimes violent backlash within local host communities. In this two part series, this article will discuss the positive benefits of refugees in Uganda and in the coming week, explore the negative effects of such a problem.
The United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951, defines a refugee as someone who is “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country”. In general terms, a refugee is a displaced person who has been forced to cross national boundaries and cannot return home safely. Usually they are called asylum seekers until granted refugee status by the contracting state or the UNHCR
Uganda’s refugee policy is quite unique as compared to other open door policies around the world. For a period of over six months in 2017, Uganda was receiving on average 2,000 refugees every day, each one in need of medical treatment and other essentials. Uganda is widely praised for its open-door policy and it has helped almost a million South Sudanese refugees so far.
Although Uganda’s open door policy has been gravely tested by the incoming flood of arrivals from neighboring South Sudan, Uganda has been celebrated for its progressive approach toward refugees. The conflict in South Sudan has been raging for more than three years and civil strife continue to this day, but it largely escalated after a tentative peace deal collapsed in July 2016. Since then, more than 841,000 South Sudanese have fled the country, raising the total number of refugees to nearly 1.7 million with over half of them crossing to Uganda.
Uganda now houses more than an estimated 1.25 million refugees approximately 900,000 of whom are South Sudanese and the number keeps rising. Uganda’s less stringent refugee policy clearly explains South Sudan population overflow in the country. With the enactment and coming into force of the 2006 Refugee Act, refugees in Uganda are entitled to internationally recognized refugee rights, freedom of movement in Uganda, the same rights as nationals with respect to practicing their religion and are entitled to elementary education for which they must, and also receive the same treatment as nationals.
With such a policy, Uganda can only attract in more refugees in the country. From the above explanation, one can tell that Uganda’s refugee policy and practices are too liberal hence attracting in large numbers of refugee in the region. This is totally different from the neighboring countries in East Africa as Uganda hosts the most refugees compared to these countries. However, this sort of policy on refugees has moved with both short and long term political social and economic implications for the country. This article, part I discusses the positive benefits and in the subsequent series, we shall explain the negative effects of such a policy.
Refugees at times often bring positive economic impacts to the countries that receive them. Some refugees have skilled and clear educational backgrounds and have experience as workers and can easily integrate into formal labor markets of more developed economies. However, a limiting factor is the transferability of qualifications that often necessarily come with skilled occupations, licenses, certifications, and other credentials recognized by the refugees’ nation of origin may not be recognized by the host nation. Although in Uganda, the refugees living in urban areas are often times employed and given jobs, paid salaries and treated as normal employees.
In Uganda, refugees play a critical role as consumers for local Ugandan produces as refugees in rural settlements buy goods from Ugandan producers. Refugees in Kampala buy goods from Ugandan producers in the urban areas. The economic activity among refugees in settlement areas and camps can have positive trickledown effects for local producers specifically where 80 percent of urban refugees notes that Ugandan producers are their most important suppliers of foods, drinks and other products according to research on economic implications of refugees crises to host countries done in Uganda.
This positive demand shock can lead to increased employment and boost the productive capacity of the host nation. From a producer perspective, refugees in Uganda have mostly become small business owners; this in turn has rippled effects on local employment not just for refugees, but for citizens or locals in Uganda. For example, in the aforementioned Uganda study, refugee entrepreneurs in urban areas employed local Ugandans for roughly 40 percent of their workforce.
In the long run, refugees may increase bilateral trade between their host country and their country of origin. Specifically, immigrants take with them to their host country a knowledge of and wealth of relationships within their country of origin. A number of authors have found that this personal linkage, compounded on a large scale, can increase trade and therefore be beneficial to the host country. For example, south Sudanese refugees can flee their country with better and clear business skills and on arrival, start to practice them which will force the locals to earn these skills and improve on products and services.
Concerning the issue on cash incentives given to the refugees here in Uganda, World Food Program (WFP) has been distributing cash among refugees, in collaboration with the Uganda Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, since 2014. Cash based transfers have not only empowered people by giving them the ability to decide for themselves what they eat, but also boosted their purchasing power. This has increased the strength of the refugees’ contribution to the local economy.
Currently, WFP is assisting over 650,000 refugees, 10% of whom are receiving their food assistance in the form of cash transfers. The multipliers are significant, regardless of whether a refugee family receives cash or food. Research reveals that when a refugee household receives cash from WFP, the annual income in the Ugandan economy increases by US$1,100 and by $850 when the assistance is given in the form of food.
On issues concerning land and progressive agriculture Uganda has provided land to refugees. This is mainly to help them grow crops that can easily be used in droughts or when there are delays in food supplies from the donor organizations. Usually, subsistence farming is the order of the day in the Ugandan refugee camps
Socially, Uganda as a host community has benefited from the various social services provided by donor organizations for the betterment of the life of refugees flowing in. Specifically, schools built explicitly for refugee children have served local students as well. The presence of refugees ensures enrollment stability, thereby helping to keep the schools open and functioning for all children; this in turn encourages continued investment and can improve the educational infrastructure of the country.
The above positive benefits certainly are good for the host community as explained above. This, however, is not in anyway supposed to downplay the far reaching consequences as well as the associated negative effects but in short, medium and long term to host community in regard to such an open door policy. Tune in the next article, in which we delve into the larger and wider negative implications.
Moses Owiny
Is the Chief Executive at the Centre for Multilateral Affairs
