The U.N. human rights office was forced to end its operations in Uganda, impeding the work of human rights defenders, journalists and others.
The government's refusal to renew an operating agreement forced the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, to shutter its main office in Kampala, the capital, on Saturday.
“I regret that our office in Uganda had to close after 18 years," said OHCHR head Volker Türk.
"We were able to work closely with civil society, people from various walks of life in Uganda," he said, "as well as engaging with state institutions for the promotion and protection of the human rights of all Ugandans."
Little more than a week ago, another arm of the world body, the U.N. Human Rights Committee, released a report warning of human rights violations including extrajudicial killings in the East African country.
It also cited reports of police making arbitrary arrests and detentions of human rights defenders, journalists and others and called on Uganda to repeal the nation's harsh new anti-gay law.
'Serious human rights challenges' remain
OHCHR had employed 45 staff in Uganda; all but nine were Ugandans. Field offices in Gulu and Moroto also were closed earlier in summer.
Since it began operating in Uganda in 2005, OHCHR worked to improve the nation's human rights record and to integrate the U.N.'s 17 anti-poverty Sustainable Development Goals into the government's planning.
That included advising the government on how to bring its laws into compliance with international human rights laws and standards.
Türk said a lot of progress was made over the years "but serious human rights challenges" still block universal enjoyment of those rights.
Most of the 54 NGOs arbitrarily suspended two years ago remain closed, he noted, and things could worsen ahead of the 2026 general elections.
One of Africa's longest-serving strongmen, Yoweri Museveni, has maintained his grip on the presidency of Uganda since 1986. His main rival accused him of fraud in the 2021 election, which was marked by violence including at least 54 deaths, attacks on media and harassment and arrests of the opposition.
Türk warned against any further retreat from the international human rights treaties that Uganda ratified, and called out the nation's new anti-gay law signed by Museveni in May that calls for life imprisonment for anyone convicted of engaging in same-sex sexual relations.
The new anti-gay law threatens journalists such as those working for the Kuchu Times, which was founded to give voice to Uganda's LGBTQ+ community, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
OHCHR's partner, the Uganda Human Rights Commission, has been "chronically under-funded and under-staffed" amid reports of political interference that "undermine its legitimacy, independence and impartiality," he said.
Türk urged Museveni's government to support the commission and vowed OHCHR would still work to protect Ugandans' rights "in line with my global mandate."
