Announcing a major shift in its refugee policy, on 4th December, 2025, Uganda will no longer grant opportunities for asylum or refugee status to people arriving from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. Making it a sharp reversal for a country once praised for its open-door policy, the decision makes Uganda undergo a severe drop in humanitarian aid.
The country’s minister for refugees, Hilary Onek, announced the change in policy and didn’t fail to include that applications from citizens from those three countries were instructed to be refused by the government. This was done under the basis that “there is no war there.” Though blocking new arrivals, the citizens who already hold refugee rights will continue to possess them.
Being Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country, Uganda, being a commonwealth country, shelters nearly 2 million refugees from across the continent. According to the UNHCR data cited by Uganda’s government, Uganda is sheltering more than 56,000 Eritreans, 50,000 Somalis, and approximately 16,000 Ethiopians from the three aforementioned countries.
Appearing as the main source behind this shift is a drastic reduction in international support. Previously, Uganda received around US$240 million per year from the UN refugee agency, but it now reports that this amount has dropped to under US$100 million, with only US$18 million received so far this year. With this shortcoming, the government proclaims that it is unsustainable to continue granting asylum to new arrivals from other countries. The decision was made because it is internally unsustainable, not as an act of war.
Sparking alarm in the humanitarian organizations and refugee-rights advocates, this policy shift in the pause of granting refugee status to those three countries has caused many concerns to rise. Many warn that individuals fleeing persecution, forced conscription, political repression, or climate-related crises could now be left in legal limbo, leaving the people unable to access essential protections, shelter, or services previously available to refugees.
With critics warning that this action could be a signal of a broader trend among underfunded host nations, leaving asylum seekers in insecurity and uncertainty with implications for regional stability, migration, and vulnerable lives globally. Uganda’s halt to refugee status for Somalis, Eritreans, and Ethiopians marks a sharp departure from its historically generous approach, which allowed refugees to move freely, work, and access services.
This decision highlights how chronic underfunding compels even historically generous nations to limit refugee protections.
