Uganda adopted its third National Action Plan (NAP) in 2021 for the period 2021-2025. It is preceded by two others, for the periods 2008-2010 and 2011-2015.
In 2008, Uganda adopted its first National Action Plan (NAP). The NAP was developed by the Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development and constitutes a part of a broader national strategic framework on the advancement of women; in particular, the five year National Action Plan on Women (2007) which set out priorities in peacebuilding, conflict resolution and the rights of women and girls to live free from violence. Relatedly, the NAP addresses the gendered impacts of small arms and light weapons as well as referencing Uganda’s arms control and disarmament measures. A second NAP was adopted for the period 2011-2015.
A participatory development process was formulated as a roadmap to NAP III in January 2019, informed by the review and evaluation of the two previous Ugandan NAPs, as well as UN Women’s 2015 global study on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The NAP is implemented through a localisation strategy that is people-focused and bottom-up. Rather than a prescriptive tool, it is intended to be ‘an essential guiding tool for different sectors’ (p. 31) including governmental ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), NGOs and cultural institutions. NAP III focuses on four core goals: all forms of violence prevented and conflicts resolved; good governance enhanced at all levels; natural and human-made disasters prevented and mitigated; systems and structures for the implementation and coordination of the NAP III strengthened. It has a comprehensive and detailed Monitoring and Evaluation Plan based on annual reporting from civil society, MDAs and district local governments, as well as a mid-term evaluation in 2023. It also has an estimated total budget of 90,570,166,912 UGX.
Uganda reported on the implementation of its NAP, as well as WPS commitments, in its national reporting for Beijing+25 and in preparation for CSW64. Specifically, Uganda stated that the country conducted an evaluation of the NAP, and a multi- stakeholder technical committee to develop a successor national action plan was put in place. The identified legal priority areas of the NAP were legal and policy frameworks; improved access to health and medical services and psychosocial services for GBV victims/survivors; women in leadership and decision making and prevention of GBV in Society; and budgetary allocations for implementation on UNSCR 1325. Local governments also developed and implemented peace action plans with support from civil society organizations. In the implementation of the plans, community members were assigned roles in conflict analysis, early warning, prevention and response.
Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, after decades of colonial rule by the British Empire. Uganda experienced a military dictatorship from 1971 until 1979, a civil war, which lasted from 1980 until 1986, as well as a protracted conflict between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army, ongoing since 1987. Women have been deliberately targeted with sexual violence during these conflicts, and a study on displaced and conflict-affected populations in Uganda found that women were twice as likely to demonstrate systems of PTSD as well as being four times as likely to show systems of depression.
In 2019, Uganda was among the top 5 countries in the world with the biggest increase in their military expenditure, with a 52% increase in its military spending.
At the multilateral level, Uganda most recently served as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2009-2010.