Refugee Law Project

The Refugee Law Project (RLP) was established in November 1999 as an autonomous project within the Faculty of Law of Makerere University in Uganda, with the aim of protecting and promoting refugees' rights. Since then we have grown rapidly and become an important resource for refugees and asylum seekers in Uganda. We seek to combine this direct service provision with research and advocacy as well as with education and training of other stakeholders. Through this combination of activities we have rapidly gained a national and international reputation as a critical and independent voice on matters relating to refugees and IDPs, as well as associated questions of conflict and transitional justice in Uganda. The RLP is now made up of three departments and a staff of around 30, depending on the number of volunteers and interns. We seek to work in such a way that the activities of each department are complementary to and in synergy with those of the others, thus maximising the possibility of effective, targeted actions. For example, through its direct service provision to refugees the Legal Aid & Counselling Clinic might receive information that refugees in a certain area not being treated fairly according to their rights. The Research & Advocacy Department would then visit the camp to examine the situation and determine the necessary actions to take. After an evaluation, the Education & Training Department could be called upon to conduct trainings to camp administrators to work through issues related to the rights of refugees or more progressive interpretations of existing laws. At each stage, the flow of information between departments allows the RLP to take coherent, concrete steps to help improve the lives of displaced persons in Uganda.