The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It has a population of 45 million residents and is a popular draw for tourists who want to hike in the mountains to see the majestic gorillas. Out of 54 African nations, Uganda is ranked 15th in annual GDP and its economy is primarily based on agriculture.
Over the past few decades, this country has developed multiple laws and policies to protect its residents with disabilities. Not only have the members of Parliament taken steps to pass legislation protecting the rights of residents with disabilities, but they have worked to create programs to include and empower these individuals. Learn more about the laws protecting people with disabilities across Uganda.
The Constitution of Uganda, 1995
The first place to turn to in regard to people with disabilities is the Constitution of Uganda [PDF]. The most recent constitution was published in 1995 and is the country’s fourth constitution since it gained independence from Great Britain in 1962. This most recent publication laid out the roles and powers of Uganda’s governing bodies, along with the rights of citizens.
As the supreme law of Uganda, the constitution is frequently updated. The most recent update was 2017 and you can read the abridged version online. People with disabilities are protected directly in the constitution. As section 16 states:
- “Society and the State shall recognise the right of persons with disabilities to respect and human dignity.”
Additionally, these rights are reinforced in the sections on equality and freedom from discrimination.
- “A person shall not be discriminated against on the ground of sex, race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion, or social or economic standing, political opinion or disability.”
The constitution mentions people with disabilities and their rights in regard to voting, participating in Parliament, and living with respect and human dignity. Because of these constitutional provisions, the Parliament of Uganda is able to further create laws protecting the rights of people with disabilities.
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2008
One of the main drivers of accessibility laws in Uganda is the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the United Nations. This charter was established in May 2008 and is expected to improve the lives of more than 650 million people.
The charter signaled the transition away from a welfare model that focused on the inability of people with disabilities, instead guiding countries toward a human-rights model that highlighted the capabilities of individuals.
This treaty set a record in its passing. It took less than five years for it to be fully negotiated and passed. It took less than a year for 20 countries to sign the convention, officially ratifying it. Since then, the majority of global nations have signed the convention – including Uganda on April 3, 2007.
The challenge that Uganda has faced, similar to other nations, is taking the charter set forth by the UN and applying it to its own laws. This has led the Ugandan Parliament to develop legislation to support and fund accessibility initiatives within the country.
Persons with Disabilities Act, 2020
The most recent law to protect the people of Uganda is the Persons with Disabilities Act of 2020. The legislation was approved in September 2019 and went into effect in February 2020. This is a highly detailed law that covers most aspects of daily life for people with disabilities, along with protecting their rights to participate in major milestones like seeking higher education, marriage, and pregnancy. The law is published in English.
- A person with a disability shall enjoy the fundamental and other human rights and freedoms in the constitution.
- The government and people of Uganda shall uphold the rights and freedoms of people with disabilities.
- The laws of Uganda will be implemented and enforced without discrimination because of disability.
Along with the high-level overview of the law, the PWD Act goes into greater detail on how people with disabilities have a right to enjoy family life, including having sexual or intimate relationships and raising children. Babies and children with disabilities also have the right to healthcare and education, along with safe family life. The law prohibits the cruel treatment of people with disabilities and bans harmful cultural practices or forced sterilization.
General laws need concrete resources and guidelines
While the PWD Act is significant, some disability advocates in Uganda have criticized the lack of actual support provided by the law. For example, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MoGLSD) issued a plan for community-based rehabilitation for children with disabilities to increase accessibility in local communities. Its goal was to reach only 600 children with disabilities from 2015 to 2020, which means helping around 120 children per year.
Provisions like this have frustrated advocates who see that there is a far greater need for support but the budget doesn’t provide enough to work with. Advocates also find that many policies lack practical details and actional steps. This creates challenges for implementation and could potentially lead to valuable resources getting squandered or misused.
This shows that passing a law isn’t enough to completely change a society. Not in Uganda and not in any country across the globe. There need to be detailed guidelines to protect specific populations along with resources to make programs effective for the people who use them.
ICT for Disability Policy, 2017
The MoGLSD isn’t the only body working to protect the rights of people with disabilities. As the world becomes increasingly digital, global leaders are realizing the need to make sure everyone can benefit from online resources. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) [PDF] has a published policy for people with disabilities.
“ICTs play a great role in improving the livelihood of PWDs by enabling them to have equitable access to information and knowledge thus enabling them to live more-or-less independently and also reducing on their living costs such as fees for hiring guides and sighted readers.”
Essentially, this guide states that by proactively developing digital infrastructure for people with disabilities, the government can prevent discrimination. It can also prevent people with disabilities from experiencing additional burdens to their time and finances by making communications technology accessible.
The policy discusses public accessibility, mobile communications, televisions programming, and web accessibility requirements for government and private sector organizations.
Learn More About Disability Rights in Uganda
If you want to learn more about Uganda and what it’s like living there with a disability, read about the experience of Nakiyemba Shamim, a disability rights advocate who is deaf. Sherinah (as she prefers to be called) was recently interviewed by the Accessibility.com team about her experiences advocating in her country. Check out the interview to learn about the progress and frustrations of her organizational work.
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