(1) A person shall cease to be a refugee if—
(a) that person voluntarily re-avails himself or herself of the protection of the
country of his or her nationality, or voluntarily re-establishes himself or
herself in the country of origin;
(b) that person surrenders his or her refugee status;
(c) having lost his or her nationality, he or she acquires it again;
(d) that person becomes a citizen of Uganda or acquires the nationality of some
other country and enjoys the protection of the country of his or her new
nationality; or
(e) the circumstances in connection with which that person was recognised as a
refugee have ceased to exist, but he or she without compelling reasons
arising out of previous persecution—
(i) continues to refuse to avail himself or herself of the protection of the
country of origin or nationality; or
(ii) continues to refuse to return to the country of former habitual
residence or to take on another available nationality;
(f) being of a class of persons declared to be refugees in accordance with
section 25 of this Act—
(i) that person has committed a serious non-political crime outside
Uganda after admission into Uganda as a refugee; or
(ii) that person has seriously infringed the purposes and objectives of the
Geneva Convention or the OAU Convention.
(2) The procedure laid down in section 39 of this Act shall apply in relation to a
person who ceases to be a refugee in terms of this section.

(1) Where the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that a person
who has been recognised as a refugee under this Act—
(a) should not have been so recognised; or
(b) has ceased to be a refugee under this Act,
the Commissioner shall refer the case to the Eligibility Committee for a
determination whether or not that person’s eligibility status should be withdrawn.
(2) Where a case has been referred to the Eligibility Committee under
subsection (1) of this section, the Committee shall cause a written notice to be
served upon the person whose refugee status is under consideration—
(a) informing that person of the fact that his or her refugee status is under
consideration for withdrawal; and
(b) inviting that person to make written representations regarding his or her
refugee status to the Eligibility Committee within fourteen days after the
date of service of the notice on him or her.
(3) The Eligibility Committee—
(a) shall consider a case referred to it under subsection (1) of this section;
(b) may make such inquiries or investigations as it may consider necessary
concerning the case; and thereafter
(c) may withdraw the recognition of that person as a refugee on the grounds of
misrepresentation of facts of a material or substantial nature regarding—
(i) his or her nationality, or
(ii) his or her qualification for refugee status under this Act.
(4) The Eligibility Committee shall notify the person concerned in writing of its
decision under this section.
(5) Any person who is aggrieved by the decision of the Eligibility Committee
under this section may, within seven days of being notified of the decision, appeal to
the Appeals Board.
(6) In any appeal under subsection (5) of this section, the Appeals Board may—
(a) confirm or set aside the decision of the Eligibility Committee and
recommend that the person should still be recognised as a refugee and
notify the Eligibility Committee of its decision;
(b) refer the matter to the Eligibility Committee for further investigation and
advice or recommendations; or
(c) make such further enquiries and investigations into the matter as the Board
thinks fit.

(1) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister responsible for
internal affairs, order the expulsion of any recognised refugee from Uganda, if the
Minister considers the expulsion to be necessary or desirable in the interest of
national security or public order.
(2) Before ordering the expulsion of a recognised refugee under subsection (1)
of this section, the Minister shall give due consideration to any representation made
by the refugee concerned or his or her representative or the representative of the
UNHCR.

(1) A recognised refugee shall, subject to this Act, the OAU Convention and
the Geneva Convention—
(b) be permitted to remain in Uganda;

(1) A woman refugee shall have equal opportunities and access to procedures
relating to refugee status; and affirmative action shall be taken to protect women
refugees from gender discriminating practices.
(2) A woman refugee is entitled to equal enjoyment and protection of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms in economic, social, cultural, civil or any other
fields as provided for in the Constitution and other relevant laws in force in Uganda
and international and regional instruments to which Uganda is a party, and in
particular the following—
(a) the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women, 1979; and
(b) the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, 1981.

(1) Without prejudice to the requirement for a just and equitable procedure for
the determination of refugee status, the Commissioner shall deal in an expeditious
manner with applications, which are considered to be clearly abusive or manifestly
unfounded, in accordance with accelerated procedures prescribed by regulations
under this Act.
(2) The Commissioner shall deal with applications of—
(a) persons with disabilities;
(b) trauma victims, detained persons and victims of torture;
(c) minors and vulnerable persons; and
(d) other persons requiring urgent attention, in accordance with special
procedures prescribed by regulations under this Act.

(1) The Office shall be responsible for all administrative matters concerning
refugees in Uganda and shall, in that capacity, co-ordinate inter-ministerial and non-
Governmental activities and programmes relating to refugees.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Office shall—
(a) be the Secretariat of the Eligibility Committee;
(b) advise the Government and the Eligibility Committee on policy and other
matters relating to refugees;
(c) advise the Government on international and regional conventions and
Government’s obligations relating to refugees;
(d) protect refugees and coordinate the provision of services for their welfare;
(e) identify and initiate projects for refugees and refugee-affected areas;
(f) advise and work in liaison with the UNHCR and other organisations on
refugee programmes and their implementation;
(g) implement national and regional development plans relating to refugees, in
line with current international refugee practices;
(h) promote and participate in inter-state and regional initiatives for voluntary
repatriation of refugees;
(i) promote Uganda’s regional and international cooperation on refugee matters
with other countries and international organisations;
(j) obtain country of origin information about applications of asylum seekers;
(k) be the custodian of government properties in refugee settlements;
(l) issue identity cards and recommendations for travel documents to refugees;
and
(m) ensure the maintenance of law and order in refugee settlements.

(1) There is established a Committee to be known as the Refugee Eligibility
Committee consisting of—
(a) the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for refugees, who shall
be the Chairperson of the Committee, or his or her representative;
(b) the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for Internal Affairs or
his or her representative;
(c) the Solicitor General or his or her representative;
(d) the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for Foreign Affairs or
his or her representative;
(e) the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for Local Governments
or his or her representative;
(f) the Director General of the Internal Security Organisation or his or her
representative;
(g) the Director General of the External Security Organisation or his or her
representative;
(h) the Director, Special Branch, Uganda Police Force, or his or her
representative;
(i) the Commissioner for Immigration, or his or her representative.
(2) The Commissioner for Refugees, or his or her representative, shall be—
(a) an ex officio member of the Eligibility Committee without power to vote on
any matter before the Committee, and
(b) Secretary to the Committee.
(3) The UNHCR may attend meetings of the Eligibility Committee in an
advisory capacity.

(1) The Eligibility Committee shall meet as often as is necessary to discharge
its functions but shall in any case meet at least once in every month.
(2) The Chairperson of the Committee shall preside at all meetings of the
Committee and in his or her absence, the members present shall select one of their
number to preside.
(3) The quorum at a meeting of the Committee shall be five members,
including the presiding member.
(4) The Secretary shall keep minutes of the meetings of the Eligibility
Committee.
(5) The Secretary shall forward copies of the minutes of the meetings of the
Eligibility Committee to the Minister.

(1) The Eligibility Committee may co-opt any person to assist it in dealing with
any matter if the Committee is satisfied that the person’s experience or qualifications
are likely to help it deal with any such matter.
(2) A person co-opted under subsection (1) is entitled to take part in the
proceedings of the Eligibility Committee concerning that matter, but is not entitled
to vote on any matter coming for decision before the Eligibility Committee.