Uganda halts admission of Somali, Eritrean, Ethiopian refugees amid aid funding cuts

Kampala, Uganda — Uganda has halted the granting of refugee status to asylum seekers from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, citing an absence of active armed conflict in those countries and a steep decline in donor support that officials say is straining the country’s capacity to assist new arrivals.

Hilary Onek, Uganda’s minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, said he has instructed officials to stop processing new claims from citizens of the three countries. The move comes even as Uganda continues to receive hundreds of refugees daily from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, where fighting remains intense.

“There is no war happening in Eritrea, Ethiopia or Somalia, so we are not granting refugee status to people from those countries,” Onek said. He added that the decision will not affect those previously granted refugee status, but new applications from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia will no longer be processed.

Uganda hosts nearly two million refugees — the largest number in Africa and the third largest globally — under what has long been regarded as one of the world’s most progressive asylum regimes. Refugees in Uganda can work, move freely and access public services, a model built under the Self-Reliance Strategy and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework.

That system is now under pressure. Funding pledged to support refugees and host communities has dropped from about $240 million last year to less than $100 million, with only $18 million received so far in 2025 to support nearly two million people, according to Ugandan officials and UNHCR estimates. Onek said Uganda spends more than 2 billion shillings annually on refugee support as international financing shrinks.

“This situation is dire, and it is our people who shoulder those costs, which the UNHCR used to handle,” Onek said.

Humanitarian agencies have warned that core services are being cut back as resources dwindle. UNHCR has flagged potential reductions to emergency shelter, food distribution and protection programs, including support for children, survivors of gender-based violence and unaccompanied minors.

The policy shift targets a small but longstanding community. Somalis make up an estimated 51,845 refugees in Uganda, about 3.3% of the total. Many live in Kampala’s Kisenyi neighborhood and in the Nakivale settlement, arriving in successive waves since the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, during the Islamic Courts Union conflict of 2006 and after the 2011–2012 drought.

Uganda’s ties to Somalia run deep. Ugandan troops have been central to African Union peacekeeping missions battling al-Shabaab insurgents, and Kampala’s historically flexible asylum practices helped make Uganda a preferred destination for some Somali asylum seekers seeking documentation, mobility and economic opportunities.

The new restriction does not extend to refugees fleeing active conflicts in neighboring countries. Uganda continues to register large numbers of people escaping violence in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. Officials say the country’s open-door policy remains in place for those contexts, but dwindling donor funding necessitated tighter controls elsewhere.

Onek said Uganda is engaging governments in conflict-affected states to pursue political settlements that would enable voluntary returns for refugees when conditions allow.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.