Rising Restrictions on Civic Space in Uganda: Statement on the Targeting of Civil Society Organizations Before the 2026 Elections

SUMMARY

The Vance Center for International Justice (Adaobi Egboka, Africa Initiatives Director, and Yasmine Palmer, Staff Attorney, Africa Initiatives) and the African Affairs Committee (Melissa M. Verpile, Chair) issued a statement expressing deep concerns over Uganda’ targeting of civil society organizations and the closure of civic spaces amidst the January 2026 presidential elections. Days before the election, Uganda’s National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations arbitrarily suspended at least seven prominent civil society organizations that monitor human rights, governance, and electoral integrity, citing “intelligence information” and invoking national security without due process. These suspensions took immediate effect, violating Uganda’s Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Uganda’s own NGO Act, which requires advance written notice. The actions mirror similar unlawful suspensions ahead of the 2021 elections and reflect a broader, recurring pattern of targeting civil society during electoral periods.

The Vance Center also condemns Uganda’s nationwide internet shutdown and prolonged social media blackout around the elections, which further restricted freedom of expression, access to information, and independent monitoring. Combined with reports of arbitrary arrests, intimidation, and violence against journalists, human rights defenders, and opposition figures, these measures demonstrate a systemic assault on democratic participation and accountability. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has warned that such actions undermine electoral integrity and violate Uganda’s regional and international obligations. Therefore, the New York City Bar Association calls on the Ugandan government to reverse the CSO suspensions, release those arbitrarily detained, protect fundamental freedoms, allow an independent international investigation into election-related abuses, and reform the NGO Bureau’s regulatory powers to comply with human rights standards.

REPORT

STATEMENT ON THE TARGETING OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS AND THE RESTRICTION OF CIVIC SPACE IN UGANDA AMIDST THE 2026 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The New York City Bar Association[1] expresses deep concern at the escalation in the targeting of civil society organizations (CSOs) and the continued closure of civic space in the East African nation of Uganda.

I. ARBITRARY SUSPENSION OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS

On January 9, 2026, just days before the January 15 general elections, the Ugandan National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO Bureau) suspended at least seven Ugandan CSOs, including Chapter Four Uganda, the Alliance for Election Finance Monitoring (ACFIM), the Center for Constitutional Governance, the Human Rights Network for Journalists–Uganda (HRNJ-U), the National NGO Forum, the African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV), and the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders.[2] These independent organizations monitor human rights, government accountability, and electoral integrity in Uganda. The NGO Bureau, a Ugandan Ministry of Internal Affairs body, reportedly based the suspensions on undisclosed “intelligence information” that alleges that the CSOs were engaged in activities that threaten national security.[3]

The rights to freedom of association and assembly are guaranteed under Articles 10 and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) and Articles 22 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), respectively.[4] Article 29 of the Ugandan Constitution crystallizes these rights as fundamental human rights within the country’s domestic legal framework.[5] Suspending CSOs on an arbitrary basis violates Uganda’s obligations under its Constitution and as a state party to the African Charter and the ICCPR. The suspensions also violate Section 33(2) of Uganda’s NGO Act, which requires that registered organizations such as these be given 30 days’ written notice prior to suspension for cause. Here, the suspensions went into effect immediately.

These arbitrary suspensions mirror previous efforts by the NGO Bureau to impede the operations of CSOs during an electoral period. A few months before the 2021 general elections, the NGO Bureau issued similar immediate suspensions of fifty-four Ugandan CSOs.[6] The NGO Bureau’s decision was condemned by international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), which identified the suspensions as violations of the NGO Act, African Charter, and ICCPR.[7] In a letter to the Special Rapporteurs on the Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly and on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, ICJ noted Uganda’s history of impeding the work of CSOs and of failing to protect civil society and human rights organizations operating in the country.[8]

II. UNLAWFUL NATIONWIDE INTERNET SHUTDOWN

The New York City Bar Association also expresses concern about the internet shutdown[9] imposed by the Uganda Communications Commission in the days leading up to the general elections. Some internet access was restored five days after the election, but social media platforms were blocked for almost two weeks.[10] The government imposed a similar nationwide internet ban two days before the 2021 general election, and it took several weeks for full access to social media platforms to be restored.[11] This restriction of public communications is a repeated tactic used by Ugandan authorities to constrict civic space, electoral participation, and chill dissent, especially during important national decisions such as elections.

Internet shutdowns of this kind violate Ugandans’ freedom of expression and right to access information, which Uganda is obligated to protect under Article 29 of its Constitution and Articles 9 and 19 of the African Charter and the ICCPR, respectively. As consistently noted by the UN Human Rights Committee[12], the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“African Commission”)[13], and global digital rights organizations[14], internet shutdowns during elections severely restrict access to information, obstruct independent monitoring efforts, and prevent the documentation of human rights violations. As attorney Alex Atwemereireho has observed, internet shutdowns also impose economic costs both apparent and hidden, amounting to a “silent tax” imposed without the legislative branch of government.[15]

III. IMPLICATIONS FOR UGANDAN CIVIC SPACE

The internet blackout and CSO suspensions, coupled with reports of arbitrary detentions, abductions, assaults, and intimidation of human rights defenders[16], journalists[17], and political opposition actors[18], evidence a systemic and unlawful attack on Ugandan civic space. The Ugandan authorities’ actions gravely undermine civic participation and are incompatible with the country’s binding obligations under international and regional human rights law.

The African Commission asserted in a Press Release on January 16 that the internet shutdown and NGO suspensions pose a threat to Ugandan civic space and violate the rights of Ugandans protected under the African Charter.[19] The Commission recalled its Resolution 648 on Strengthening Electoral Integrity in Africa, which affirms that electoral democracy cannot be achieved “without the cultivation of an open and safe civic space that facilitates citizen participation.”[20] It is the duty of the Ugandan government, as a party to the African Charter, to avoid undue and disproportionate interference with civil society organizations.[21]

The Ugandan government’s actions do not bode well for the credibility, transparency, or legitimacy of the nation’s electoral process. They prevent citizens from accessing accurate and legitimate information, weaken independent oversight and accountability, and create an environment of fear and opacity around the elections.[22] The 2026 elections have been marred by other problems, including the failure of biometric voter ID machines[23] and the intimidation of opposition candidate Bobi Wine[24] and those associated with his campaign. Though President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of the election on January 15, the validity of this outcome has already come under scrutiny in the wake of the various troubling features of this election period. Museveni’s win marks the beginning of his seventh consecutive term as President. The situation in Uganda reflects a worrying regional trend of shrinking civic space across parts of Africa, especially around elections.[25]

The New York City Bar Association calls on the Government of Uganda to:

• Immediately overturn the NGO Bureau’s recent suspension order;
• Protect the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression, access to information, and assembly for all Ugandans.
• Order a comprehensive legal review of the NGO Bureau’s regulatory powers to align them with regional and international standards on freedom of association and expression; and
• Permit credible, independent, and impartial investigations into election-related reports of abductions, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.

Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice
Adaobi Egboka, Director of Africa Initiatives
Yasmine Palmer, Staff Attorney

African Affairs Committee
Melissa Verpile, Chair

February 2026