The Department of Refugees, established under the Office of Prime Minister by Act of Parliament (Section 7 – 10 of the Refugees Act 2006), responsible for all administrative matters concerning refugees in Uganda, and to co-ordinate inter- ministerial and non-Governmental activities and programs relating to refugees.

Departmental Vision: To find durable solutions for the refugee problems within the broad Government policy, that leads to social development initiatives in refugee hosting areas.

Departmental Mission: To manage the response to refugees’ situation in Uganda by assuring their welfare and protection within the relevant institutional frameworks.

SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF REFUGEES

• Is the Secretariat of the Eligibility Committee;
• advises the Government and the Eligibility Committee on policy and other matters relating to refugees;
• advises the Government on international and regional conventions and Government’s obligations relating to refugees;
• protects refugees and co-ordinates the provision of services for their welfare;
• identifies and initiates projects for refugees and refugee-affected areas;
• advises and works in liaison with the UNHCR and other organisations on refugee programmes and their implementation;
• implements national and regional development plans relating to refugees, in line with current international refugee practices;
• promotes and participates inter-state and regional initiatives for voluntary repatriation of refugees;
• promotes Uganda’s regional and international cooperation on refugee matters with other countries and international organisations;
• obtains country of origin information about applications of asylum seekers;
• it’s the custodian of government properties in refugee settlements;
• issues identity cards and recommendations for travel documents to refugees; and
• ensure the maintenance of law and order in refugee settlements.

CRRF is an international comprehensive refugee response Framework that was adopted from the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees in New York in September 2016.

It provides a platform for stakeholders to come together and find common solutions to challenges arising from refugee migration and influx.

This comprehensive response is being pursued under the leadership of Government and UNHCR, as a means of ensuring that the host communities are supported to build their resilience in the face of increased refugee numbers, as they strive to treat them humanely and with dignity; so that the two groups can continue to live in peace, harmony and dignity.

The CRRF is multi-stakeholder model formed to safeguard refugee matters that focus on humanitarian and development needs of both refugees and host communities.

The CRRF in Uganda encompasses five mutually reinforcing pillars, as outlined by the global objectives;

• Admission and Rights
• Emergency Response and Ongoing Needs
• Resilience and Self-reliance
• Expanded Solution
• Voluntary Repatriation

The objectives of CRRF Uganda chapter include

• Supporting Government Policy and protect asylum space.
• Supporting resilience and self-reliance of refugees and host communities.
• Expanding solutions, including third country options, and
• Supporting Uganda’s role in the region and invest in human capital and transferrable skills.