Outcome UGA_D_1.2

Women’s Rights, Gender Responsive Peace, and security

This year, the legislative and policy landscape in Uganda did not see significant new developments. However, UN Women’s strategic engagement has kept gender equality at the forefront of Uganda's development agenda, positioning the country for future advances in women’s rights and empowerment. Despite challenges posed by limited funding for normative work, UN Women maintained a strong presence in Uganda's gender equality landscape. Through strategic engagement with key stakeholders, UN Women played a pivotal role in driving momentum towards policy reform, ensuring that gender equality remained a priority within national and local frameworks. This included continued support for the integration of gender considerations in the National Development Plan IV (NDP IV), which remains a cornerstone of Uganda's development strategy. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index (GPI), Uganda ranked 126 th in the world. The GPI is a yearly report that ranks countries based on their level of peacefulness . UN Women’s work under the Women Peace and Security project is engaging state and non-state actors to enhance social cohesion and prevent conflict especially election related violence ahead of the country’s general election in 2026. UN Women’s support to the Women Situation Room is enhancing the capacity of political parties to mainstream human rights and gender into party codes of conduct with emphasis on promotion of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. The establishment of peace committees in the project districts has enhanced coordination mechanisms between the district and community level, enabling women mediators to play pivotal roles in identifying and documenting conflicts.

Women’s Rights, Gender Responsive Peace, and security

Uganda recorded the largest improvement in peacefulness within Sub-Saharan Africa, ranking 113th out of 163 countries with a Global Peace Index score of 2.217, an improvement from 126 th position in 2024, reflecting gains across militarization, ongoing conflict, and safety and security domains. UN Women contributed to this progress through gender-responsive programming on conflict prevention and peacebuilding in communities most at risk of violence. In Karamoja, a region historically associated with armed cattle raids, UN Women strengthened the capacity of women peace mediators, enabling them to engage raiders and the Karachuna youth to abandon raiding and surrender firearms. Women mediators also spearheaded community peace dialogues and cross-border engagements with Turkana communities in Kenya, fostering trust and reducing cross-border tensions. In Karamoja, trained women mediators successfully led cross-border peace dialogues in Turkana, Kenya, organized inter-community dialogues between the Jie and Matheniko, and the Jie and Dodo. Their leadership in these initiatives demonstrated a significant shift in gender norms around conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Women have transitioned from passive victims to active agents of change, demonstrating that gender-transformative, community-led approaches are essential for lasting peace in Karamoja. Recognizing that cattle raiding was deeply embedded within their own households, trained women mediators in Kotido, Moroto and Napak have innovatively utilized Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to address cattle raids related violence and conflicts. This innovative approach has increased community vigilance and accountability. Following UN Women-supported training on peacebuilding, the women mediators from Napak established three VSLAs inclusive of men and youth. The VSLA group meetings act as a community-led surveillance mechanism where absenteeism is tracked, and missing members are followed up as potential suspects in cattle raids. Additionally, peace messaging has been mainstreamed into VSLA meetings, thus serving a dual purpose of economic empowerment and peace monitoring. This approach has been instrumental in shifting the attitudes of the men and youth who once participated in raids. UN Women’s support for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) revitalized community vigilance and collaboration with security actors. In Kabarole, the strengthened capacity of RIDE Africa, a women’s rights organization, facilitated monthly community security meetings, improved surveillance, and enhanced early response to radicalization risks. Coordinated discussions with the Uganda Wildlife Authority led to increased park patrols, reducing tensions over animal encroachment and reinforcing trust between communities and authorities. These locally driven initiatives demonstrate the transformative impact of women’s leadership in sustaining peace, preventing violent extremism, and promoting social cohesion. By embedding gender-responsive approaches in peacebuilding and DRR systems, UN Women has contributed to reducing conflict drivers, strengthening resilience, and advancing Uganda’s trajectory toward lasting peace.

Women’s Rights, Gender Responsive Peace, and security

While the central government has not allocated funds in the national budget specific to National Action Plan (NAP) III Women Peace and Security (WPS) implementation, district local governments that have developed Local Action Plans (LAPs) have taken a step to allocate 1% of their district budgets to implement the LAPs. More so, districts have utilised the LAPs to mainstream the key issues into district development plans which has ensured that the LAPs are resourced. In the coming year, UN Women plans on working with the district local governments to track the actual expenditure on LAP interventions which will contribute to reporting on NAP funding.