Human rights in Uganda have trended for the past decades towards increasing harassment of the opposition, cracking down on NGOs which work on election and term limits, corruption, land rights, environmental issues, women's, children and gay rights. In 2012, the Relief Web sponsored Humanitarian Profile – 2012 said Uganda made considerable developments. Since at least 2013, the annual Freedom in the World report by Freedom House has consistently classified Uganda as "Not Free". There are several areas of concern when it comes to human rights in Uganda, and the "Not Free" classification is due to both low political rights and civil liberties rankings.
Law In 1995, Uganda signed on to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is part of the International Bill of Human Rights.
Conflict in the north
Since various rebel groups started fighting the Government of President Yoweri Museveni in August 1986, about 2 million Ugandans were displaced and tens of thousands killed. Since 1987 the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) kidnapped an estimated 67,000 children for use as child soldiers and slaves.
In 2006 a cessation of hostilities agreement was signed due to a successful campaign executed by the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) and put an end to the LRA violence in Uganda. The past conflict in the north of the country decimated the economy, retarded the development of affected areas and led to numerous gross human rights violations. These violations centered upon the poor emergency provision provided to Internally Displaced Persons fleeing their homes to avoid LRA. In the twelve years since the signing of hostilities agreement many of those displaced persons have returned to their homes and a rehabilitation and redevelopment program is underway. It has been acknowledged by both the Ugandan Government and the United Nations that this is a work in progress and that considerable improvements must be made. In this regard a rehabilitation program has been launched
By 02-04-2021 Dominic Ongwen, a former child soldier and one of the leaders of the LRA was convicted by the International Criminal Court(ICC) for a wide range of sexual and Gender-based crimes, 70 crimes in number committed between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005 in Northern Uganda.
Repression against environmental activists In 2010, community opposition against plans to build the Uganda Oil Refinery led to repression against environmental activists.
In 2016, the NGO Act created obstacles for people to organize themselves in non-governmental organizations.
In August 2021, Uganda arbitrarily suspended the activities of 54 NGOs.
In 2022, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association on human rights confronted the government of Uganda with its arrest of 8 members of AFIEGO and spoke to the criminalization and intimidation of NGOs working on oil and gas issues.
Political freedom In April 2005, two opposition Member of Parliament were arrested on what were believed to be politically motivated charges. Ronald Reagan Okumu and Michael Nyeko Ocula are from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), the movement believed to pose the greatest threat to the reelection of President Yoweri Museveni in 2006.
The most prominent opposition to President Museveni, Kizza Besigye has run for office three times and been defeated each time. On the occasion of his last defeat (the 2011 elections) Besigye called for all his FDC party members to boycott the parliament and not take up their seats as elected. As party members refused to do this Besigye stood down as party leader. Besigye has identified several incidents whereby his political freedom was violated. Notably in 2011 he was placed under preventative arrest, however he was immediately released as this arrest was deemed unlawful by the Ugandan Courts.
After a heavily contested 2016 election campaign, Museveni was re-elected into office. While his re-election was independently verified by Amnesty International, Amnesty did express concerns over alleged election violence and freedom of press restrictions. though
In 2020, dozens of people were killed by security forces like police and other security organs in the country in different parts in the context of electoral campaigns ahead of the 2021 general elections. Two days after the elections, on 16 January 2021, Meseveni who has been president for 35 years was declared presidential winner by the Electoral Commission which stated that he had 58.6% of the total votes, and that Robert Kyagulanyi, head of National Unity Platform (NUP) had 34.8% of the total votes. Kyagulanyi filed a legal challenge with the supreme court but on 22 February, withdrew claiming that the judges were biased.
Freedom of the press In late 2002, the independent Monitor newspaper was temporarily closed by the army and police. Journalists from the paper continued to come under attack in 2004, two of whom were publicly denounced as "rebel collaborators" by a spokesman for the UPDF.
In February 2004, the Supreme Court ruled the offence of "publication of false news" to be void and unconstitutional.
In 2005, Uganda was rated as the 13th most free press of 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa In 2010, Uganda was rated the 15th most free press of 48 countries.
On the 24th day of January 2012 Issac Kasamani, a photo journalist alleged in a newspaper report that he had been shot at by a police officer whilst covering an opposition rally. An independent investigation into this incident was immediately ordered and an independent report completed by a foreign national concluded that no live ammunition was fired on the date in question.
Upon release of this report Ugandan Minister Hon. James Baba expressed concern over the standards of reporting surrounding the incident and announced his intention to look closely at media regulation. This is of international concern.
In November 2012, John Ssegawa, co-director of the critical State of the Nation play reported that Uganda's Media Council had decided to ban further showings. Ssegawa said the theatre production company would continue to stage the production and defy the ban.
Persecution of homosexuals
In October 2009, a bill was tabled in the Ugandan Parliament entitled "Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009" calling for harsher penalties for homosexuals, up to and including death penalty. As originally drafted and tabled this bill also requires that any citizen who suspects another person of being homosexual, is required to report the homosexual to police, or they too may receive a fine or time in prison. The proposed bill goes so far as to forbid landlords from renting to a known homosexual, and would ban any public discussion of homosexuality.
The international community was greatly opposed to the introduction of this bill and expressed concerns about the fact that it may become law, indeed U.S. President Barack Obama called it 'odious'. As a result of mounting international pressure the bill never proceeded past committee stage.
On 7 March 2012 backbench MP David Bahati reintroduced the bill to much controversy. He was however at pains to point out that the provision for death penalty had been decided upon as unnecessary and removed from the bill at committee stage in the 8th parliament. As such, the bill as introduced into the 9th Parliament, had no provision for the death penalty.
This bill remains highly criticised and controversial. It has again been met with widespread condemnation. The Ugandan government in replying to this condemnation issued a statement citing the fact that the bill was a private members bill and that it did not have the support of the government.
On 24 February 2014 President Yoweri Museveni signed the '"Anti Homosexuality Bill" into law. The following day the tabloid "Red Pepper" published a list of 200 allegedly gay men.
Following the tightening of the bill several western industrial nations, among others Sweden, the United States and the Netherlands have suspended their aid to Uganda. The World Bank postponed a $90 million loan to Uganda's health system over the law.
Abuses by Ugandan security forces "On 14 June Violent Crime Crack Unit Green officers arrested Nsangi Murisidi, aged 29, on suspicion that he had facilitated friends to commit robbery and for alleged possession of a gun. Relatives tried in vain to visit him in detention. On 18 June the lawyer representing the family received confirmation of his death in custody while at the VCCU headquarters at Kireka, a suburb of Kampala. The death certificate established the cause of death as extensive loss of fluid and blood, severe bleeding in the brain and extensive deep burns on the buttocks. The body also bore 14 deep wounds. In October the Minister of Internal Affairs informed AI that an inquiry had been ordered, but no progress was subsequently reported."
In 2020, security forces including police, army (UPDF) and the Local Defense Forces used extensive, unnecessary and at some points lethal force to enforce social distancing and other measures that were laid out to combat COVID-19 and not less than 66 people were killed from March 2020 onwards and around 12 killed because of violating lockdown measures.
On 28 Dec 2021, a PEN Pinter Prize International Writer award winning novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was arrested over allegations of being a critic of President Yoweri Museveni and his son. He is said to have been tortured in custody by security forces.
In April 2025, allegations of human rights violations by Ugandan security forces intensified following the abduction of Eddie Mutwe, chief bodyguard to opposition leader Bobi Wine. Mutwe was reportedly seized near Kampala on 27 April by unidentified armed men, an incident the National Unity Platform (NUP) characterized as a politically motivated abduction. Days later, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, military chief and son of President Yoweri Museveni, claimed responsibility on social media, stating that Mutwe had been captured "like a grasshopper" and was being held in his basement. Kainerugaba’s public statements included threats of further violence against opposition figures and references to mistreatment, including beating and forcibly shaving Mutwe. These remarks sparked widespread condemnation, with the Uganda Law Society describing the abduction as part of a broader campaign to suppress dissent. The Uganda Human Rights Commission issued a release order for Mutwe on 2 May 2025, and the incident drew renewed international scrutiny over the state’s use of force against political opponents ahead of the general elections scheduled for January 2026.
Women's rights
Ugandan officials ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on July 22, 1985. Countries that chose to ratify CEDAW had one year to submit a formal report to the convention and are required to file one every four years after the first report. The Ugandan government, however, submitted its formal CEDAW report five years after ratification, in 1990. CEDAW mandates that signatories abolish discrimination against women and implement policies that further women's equal rights. Article 21 of the Constitution of Uganda, follows CEDAW policies, securing the right to equality for all people in the political, economic, and social spheres of Uganda. The article further asserts that no person shall experience discrimination because of their sex, race, ethnicity, disability, tribe, religion, socio-economic standing, or political affiliation.