{UAH} UNHCR - Uganda hosts record 500,000 refugees and asylum-seekers

KAMPALA, Uganda, Dec 18 (UNHCR) – More than half a million people fleeing violence and human rights abuses, mostly from South Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have now found protection and safety in Uganda.

By early December, Uganda had become home to almost 511,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, the highest number ever in the country's history. More than 100,000 have so far arrived in 2015, making Uganda the third-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, after Ethiopia (736,000) and Kenya (594,000).

Uganda is widely recognized as having progressive and forward-thinking refugee and asylum policies. Upon receiving refugee status, refugees are provided with small areas of land in villages integrated within the local host community; a pioneering approach that enhances social cohesion and allows both refugees and host communities to live together peacefully.

Refugees have access to the same services as Ugandan nationals, have the right to work and to establish their own businesses. They enjoy freedom of movement and are given land for agricultural use, reducing dependency on humanitarian aid.

http://www.unhcr.org/567414b26.html


Sincerely,

Brian M. Kwesiga

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