The Issue
A surge in Uganda’s Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) – primarily in the power, agriculture, and construction sectors – has led to issues of environmental degradation, labor rights, and land rights. Reports show massive land grabbing for agribusiness and mineral extraction, with communities in Kiryandongo, Kikuube, Mubende, and Moroto experiencing massive evictionss.
Over 60% of Karamoja’s land is under mineral concessions for investors, disproportionately impacting marginalized groups like women, girls, and children. Limited corporate and government accountability creates intersectional inequalities, and communities lack the power to challenge investors or advocate for local development.
Community and individual Land and Environmental Defenders (LEDs) play a crucial role in protecting the environment and defending land rights in Uganda. However, they are often branded as ‘enemies of development’. The country’s civic space situation is repressed, posing difficulties for Human Rights Defenders challenging business operations that violate community rights.
There has been documented attacks on LEDs in Uganda, including those challenging community rights under EACOP (The East African Crude Oil Pipeline) and Kiryandongo Sugar. 28 land defenders in Mubende and those in the oil and gas sector have been arrested. Evidence shows that those defending their land rights are being sued by the government for unfair compensation. However, there is a weak capacity at the grassroots level to monitor and document specific human rights violations. Incomplete documentation and non-existent investigations in Uganda are leading to a culture of impunity in corporate violations and attacks on human rights defenders (HRDs). This has resulted in increased risks for LEDs, perpetrated by both government and businesses.
The Project
This project addresses land and environmental rights violations in Uganda by promoting accountability and a multi-stakeholder approach. It addresses the limited capacity among LEDs to address these violations, particularly the disproportionate effects of government actions on indigenous communities and marginalized groups. The project also aims to provide credible information about the impacts of the environment and natural resources sector on violations, ensuring that violations are reported, documented, and investigated.
The Change
The project aims to create a mass of land and rights defenders in communities and districts, allowing them to participate in policymaking and development processes. This involves sub-regional HRDs, community LEDs, and consortium partners, ensuring community members are aware of legal frameworks protecting their rights and environment.
Another component that will be improved is the economic opportunities for communities through responsible investments, sustainable use of environment and natural resources, secure land access, income-generating activities, livelihood security, and reduced vulnerability to environmental shocks.
The project aims to address land and environmental rights violations among 510,000 community members, focusing on those at risk. Implemented by 570 HRDs and community LEDs, it will ensure protection for frontline HRDs, contribute to an accountability culture and reduce corporate impunity through documented evidence and online documentation.
Lastly, the project will protect land and environmental rights, including those of community LEDs, by implementing legal and policy frameworks. It will improve efficiency, involve private sector and community social structures, build LED capacity, raise awareness of human rights policies, and promote specific policies. It will empower stakeholders, establish community-driven advocacy structures, and contribute to the national agenda by prioritizing sustainable development and natural resource governance policies.
The Results
The project significantly strengthened the protection of land and environmental rights in Uganda’s Mid-Western and Karamoja sub-regions by improving documentation of human rights violations, strengthening community-based defenders, expanding accountability mechanisms, and increasing engagement between communities, civil society, government institutions, and private sector actors.
In 2024 and 2025, the project documented a total of 226 human rights violation cases related to land-based investments and environmental abuses. In 2025, 154 additional cases were documented, the majority involving forceful land evictions, intimidation, land grabbing, arbitrary arrests, and attacks against Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and Land and Environmental Defenders (LEDs). This represented a major increase from the 72 cases recorded in 2024, demonstrating stronger community monitoring systems and improved reporting capacities among defenders on the ground.
The project also strengthened accountability efforts targeting private companies operating in the extractives, agriculture, forestry, and energy sectors. Engagements were expanded to six major companies. These engagements led to tangible accountability outcomes. The project also enhanced collaboration between local communities, HRDs, government agencies, security actors, and international accountability mechanisms. Through shuttle diplomacy meetings, bridge-building dialogues, public advocacy campaigns, and legal support systems, the project created safer avenues for communities and defenders to report violations and demand accountability.
The Partners
DCA is working with two local partners to implement the project:
Witness Radio:
Witness Radio is a non-partisan and non-profit network of human rights investigative journalists, lawyers, and social workers using legal aid support and media approaches to promote and protect economic, social and cultural rights in Uganda.
National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders Uganda (NCHRD-U):
NCHRD-U is a Ugandan organization playing a unique role in coordinating HRDs in Uganda to work collectively in promoting synergy, cooperation and collaboration to effectively advance the protection and safety for HRDs.
About this project
Project Title: Monitoring, Documentation and Advocacy for Human Rights in Uganda
Timeline: October 2023 – October 2026
Local Partners: National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders Uganda (NCHRD-U) and Witness Radio (WR)
Amount: 750,000 EUR
Number of people reached: 590 Human Rights Defenders and LEDs
Donors: European Union (main donor) and Danida
