Sign in Subscribe
African refugees

Uganda Signs Deal with US to Take Asylum Seekers

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Uganda has agreed to take on an unspecified number of third-country nationals who have a pending asylum claim in the US but cannot return home due to safety concerns. The deal, signed on 29 July 2025, followed similar bilateral agreements with other African countries, including South Sudan, Eswatini, Ghana, and Rwanda. While the details of the agreement are shrouded in secrecy, it provides for individual refugee status determination processes for each person once in Uganda.

Key Takeaways:

  • Uganda has agreed to take on an unspecified number of third-country nationals with pending asylum claims in the US.
  • The deal does not include people with a criminal background or unaccompanied minors, according to the official Ugandan statement.
  • Each person will go through individual refugee status determination processes once in Uganda.
  • The US is not alone in its attempts to send asylum seekers to countries in Africa, with plans from the UK, Denmark, and Germany also being considered.
  • Deporting nationals from other countries to African countries is legally questionable and diplomatically unpopular.
  • The African Union has condemned such arrangements as "xenophobic and completely unacceptable."
  • The deal provides the groundwork for much-needed improvements in bilateral US-Ugandan relationship, including development funds and better tariff conditions.
  • Uganda faces a higher tariff of 15% on its agricultural products in the US market, potentially lowering its sales in a key export market.
  • Opposition politicians in Uganda have criticized the new bilateral deal, but President Yoweri Museveni has shown little concern for these misgivings.
  • Uganda has a long history of refugee protection, hosting 1.8 million refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • The country provides refugees with a plot of land to farm, free access to schools and healthcare, and the ability to work, but personal stories highlight challenges and criticisms.

Statistics:

  • 1.8 million refugees and asylum seekers are currently hosted in Uganda, mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • 66% of US funding for Uganda was cut under the Trump administration's development assistance programme.
  • 15% tariff on Uganda's agricultural products in the US market could potentially lower its sales in a key export market.
  • 2,000 refugees from Afghanistan were agreed to be taken on by Uganda on behalf of the US in August 2021.
  • $ Expanded text with the correct format and removed differences of narrative summary and provided content when key takeaways are written in a more consolidated format.

Sources:

  • The Conversation -- Africa -- "Uganda has signed a deal with the US to take asylum seekers — what's behind it and what's at stake" by Franzisca Zanker and Ronald Kalyango Sebba.
  • Uganda has a long history of refugee protection, hosting 1.8 million refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Read more